5th Gen Recent Happenings Thread

[Ishiftyounot]

I have company at last! No longer alone in this part of the forums. Fantastic stuff.

A short update for once - I'm currently saved just before Iris in the Opelucid City gym after having my ass repeatedly handed to me by Fraxure's and Druddigon's. This team hates Dragon types it seems despite being a pretty bulky team (as opposed to a speedy and aggressive squad). Twist Mountain was pretty easy to traverse in the snow, and Iccirus City was pretty uneventful all things considered, like there's no real story agency until you progress past the gym and unlike in previous cities where stuff happens before you go for the badge, nothing really occurs here. It was... not fun. The gym was even worse, even if the puzzle wasn't too terrible. Emboar one-shot everything with either Heat Crash or Hammer Arm, it was a joke.

Did the Dragonspiral Tower shenanigans which was also a bit of a slog (might be my mood, might be me being bored of the area, I dunno) but it happened, N got Reshiram and buggered off to the Pokemon League or something. I meanwhile had to head to Relic Castle for some reason, then fly to Nacrene City for the Dark Stone, then go BACK to Iccirus City to progress onwards? Ugh. Bianca was no hassle either except her Stoutland KOing my Duosion at +1 Attack with Crunch, otherwise Leavanny took over. Got to Opelucid, did some dialogue, cleared the route before Victory Road, took on the gym, had to heal after every battle because oh my god does Fraxure/Druddigon do a lot of damage. My team was fully evolved by then - I had absolute units in Krookodile, Jellicent and Reuniclus and we were getting bullied! Not fun at all.

At this point I've stopped rolling numbers and settled on my current team, which might explain my sudden feeling of boredom regarding this game (again, might be my mood - UK heatwave is murdering me and lethargy sucks a ton). Team is fine, although Krokorok was feeling a bit weak before it evolved (and still feels a bit weak really). Emboar has been doing super well since it evolved, Reuniclus feels almost broken with how much damage it's been doing, Jellicent has done pretty well (and learns Sludge Bomb, who knew?) and Archeops is genuinely broken when it one-shots things; when it doesn't it's quite depressing. Will be interesting to see how they do when I'm feeling better and we're up against the last leg of the game. Also starting to consider whether to take on the post-game or not - it would be good for transfers once I clear out my Gen 3/4 games, and beating Cynthia + Alder properly sounds dope. But yeah, also feels like a lot of effort, and I'd rather not leave it then come back later on since then it feels odd to me.

White Team:

Chonker the Emboar, Level 42 (♂)
Return, Heat Crash, Hammer Arm, Rock Slide

Ruffian the Krookodile, Level 42 (♂)
Strength, Crunch, Dig, Rock Slide

Beaky the Archeops, Level 42 (♂)
Fly, Rock Slide, Dig, Crunch

Bubbles the Reuniclus, Level 42 (♀)
Psychic, Hidden Power [Bug], Psyshock, Shadow Ball

Leafyboi the Leavanny, Level 43 (♀)
Return, Leaf Blade, X Scissor, Shadow Claw

Pringles the Jellicent, Level 42 (♂)
Shadow Ball, Surf, Blizzard, Sludge Bomb

Former & Unused Members:

 

[Ishiftyounot]

Iris was not as tough as I thought, suggesting that my prior difficulties with the gym were related to my mood more than the game itself. Her Fraxure was 2HKOed by Reuniclus and its Psychic attack, whilst Jellicent two-shot her Druddigon with Blizzard (which did not miss). Haxorus was outsped by Archeops even at +2 and KOed with Rock Slide, which was a surprise given it was a level lower at the time. I continued on towards Victory Road and defeated Cheren whilst doing so. Victory Road was... not that fun. I guess it never is really? Didn't really feel like one final challenge before the Elite Four but that might be me wanting this over and done with. I got to the Pokemon League, grinded my team to level 47 and saved ready for the final few matches of the main story.

Grimsley was my first challenge, and a challenge he was not! Emboar took out Scrafty with a Flamethrower into a Hammer Arm whilst Leavanny 2HKOed Krookodile with X Scissor. Emboar returned to crush Liepard with Hammer Arm after it wasted turns with Fake Out and Attract, but both opponents had left Emboar weakened, and I forgot Bisharp knew Aerial Ace. Krookodile came out to avenge and did so with 2 Dig attacks.

Shauntal was my hardest challenge as my team does not handle the varied types of her Ghosts too well. Cofagrigus wasted a turn on Will 'o Wisp on Jellicent, who 2HKOed with Shadow Ball. Leavanny landed a critical hit Leaf Blade on her own Jellicent for an 0HKO, and then the trouble started. Chandelure left Krookodile on low health with Fire Blast, and Crunch failed to defeat it. She healed, I went for Crunch again and got burnt by Flame Body, which KOed Krookodile. Archeops then missed two Rock Slides in a row to be KOed by Shadow Ball - it had never missed the move prior to now, and it's known it for 15 levels! Emboar came in to win with its own Rock Slide instead. I kept my starter in to weaken Golurk with a Blaze-boosted Flamethrower, before Jellicent finished the match with Shadow Ball.

Caitlin was a joke - Reuniclus was beaten by Leavanny's X Scissor (I thought she led with Musharna), Sigilyph failed to 2HKO Jellicent with Shadow Ball but my spooky boi one-shot with the same move, and Krookodile got a Moxie boost from beating Gothitelle with Crunch to one-shot Musharna with the same move.

Marshal led with Throh when I thought he'd lead with Mienshao (it's actually his ace, which was odd since I thought Conkeldurr would be) - either way it one-shot with Fly. It did the same to his actual Mienshao, even outspeeding despite being 3 levels lower than it. Reuniclus 2HKOed Sawk with Shadow Ball into Psychic (to avoid Sturdy) but was outsped by Conkeldurr and KOed - Archeops one-shot it (as it tends to do).

I then witnessed the coolness which is the Plasma Castle coming up to wreck the Pokemon League (not sure how it happened without anyone noticing before now, but eh). In my long time away from Unova I also forgot the cool characters of Anthea and Concordia (N's mums I guess?) and the wicked music inside the building. I also didn't realise how word-for-word the Pokemon Generations episode was for the Gym Leaders vs. Seven Sages. That was funky. Not too big a fan of how evil Team Plasma started sounding in the castle though and all about their manipulations, like it feels very sudden I guess? Before they made a good point, but now in the castle it's just like "aha, we stole Pokemon to use for our goals!" which felt wrong. Except for that one guy who was given a Pokemon by N, they're fine. Don't get me wrong - they are bad, and did bad things, so we know they're bad. But their goals came very much out of the blue at this stage. Should also say that the Shadow Triad need to bugger off in this castle, their bits of dialogue are more annoying than interesting. N's room has very creepy music, but it's a very sad room I think.

The legendary cutscene is really cool though, big bad Zekrom coming to the rescue! Now I'm older the concept of being the hero of truth or ideals is so epic, like oh my god. No other legendary feels so perfect for the player character, I don't think, outside of maybe Nebby (which really Lillie should've kept) and the Swsh legendary wolf (which felt less fleshed out over time, since you weren't necessarily battling for a concept and more just against a big bad). Again, love the music. Caught it in two Ultra Balls. I placed Reuniclus in the PC since it wasn't very helpful against the next two opponents, and it didn't do so well against the Elite 4. Legend the Zekrom joins the party to kick N's ass once and for all!

Zekrom vs. Reshiram, the big battle! Zekrom paralysed Reshiram with Dragon Breath, weakened it with Fusion Bolt and then KOed with another Dragon Breath after surviving a Hyper Beam. Emboar beat Vanilluxe with Hammer Arm after it set up hail, which worked against N with Carracosta later on - Leavanny brought it to Sturdy range with Leaf Blade but was destroyed by Stone Edge, but the hail made it a double-down. Krookodile was 2HKOed by Archeops, whose Acrobatics proved too strong for my croc. Jellicent 2HKOed with Surf after N healed it. I brought out my trusty starter again to Hammer Arm the hell out of Klinklang, who went for Metal Sound into Hyper Beam (it very nearly KOed). Fearing Emboar would be defeated by Zoroark, I used Archeops against it... and it lost. Focus Blast did not miss and 2HKOed, so Jellicent was sacrificed to heal up my pig. Emboar then Hammer Arm'd the Zoroark for the win.

Turns out Ghetsis is a douche, what a surprise. I mean I get he slipped up a fair bit, so him being evil isn't out of the blue but my points above still stand! Funny how he thinks taking on the dude with the legendary was a smart idea. His theme slaps as well, like my god.

Zekrom lost to Cofagrigus, making everything I just said obsolete. Toxic + Protect + Full Restore tactics, who'd guess that was going to win? Fusion Bolt was never quite the 2HKO I needed it to be. Jellicent won instead though with Shadow Ball. Emboar smacked Bouffalant with Hammer Arm but failed to KO... but the recoil from Head Charge (which left my starter on 6HP) sorted that for me. Leavanny cleaves Seismitoad in two with a super effective Leaf Blade, and I decide to try my luck versus Hydreigon. Big mistake, the dragon one-shots with Fire Blast. I sacrifice Jellicent to heal Emboar but decide to Blizzard first since it'll live a Dragon Pulse (no Dark moves on Hydreigon) - Blizzard misses, for the first time this playthrough. Emboar is brought to the red by Surf and Hammer Arm does not KO. A second Surf KOes it back. Archeops is OUTSPED AND KOed by Surf, so Krookodile is sacrificed for Emboar again to win with Hammer Arm. Emboar is sac'd for Krookodile to be healed against Eelektross, who 3HKOes with Crunch. Emboar is then healed again to one-shot Bisharp with Hammer Arm, and I have beaten the main story of Pokemon White! What do I do now? The postgame makes sense - can clear the last few routes, beat up Cynthia, Cheren and Bianca one last time and then crush the Elite 4 and Alder once and for all (for the first time ever for me). Or I can play something else. Choices choices.

White Final Team:

Chonker the Emboar, Level 51 (♂)
Wild Charge, Heat Crash, Hammer Arm, Rock Slide
Conclusion: Emboar is pretty damn good, probably the best starter in Unova (maybe Samurott clinches it, I dunno). Fighting STAB is so gosh-darn good and it had a good moveset from the beginning really. It came in clutch when in the most important battles (especially against Ghetsis) and was pretty tanky. My only complaints are it was too slow, I regret teaching it Flamethrower over Heat Crash and I wish it got a better Fighting STAB. Other than that, a solid starter.

Ruffian the Krookodile, Level 48 (♂)
Strength, Crunch, Dig, Rock Slide
Conclusion: I have mixed views on Krookodile. As a Sandile and Krokorok it was really good, since Ground was a good typing around the mid-game and Dark is pretty much always good and it got good mid-game moves. It evolved into a Krookodile and just felt kind-of average? It never quite hit hard enough unless it had Moxie, it was fast but not fast enough for the battles I needed it to be and by the time it had evolved its typing became a burden weakness-wise. Plus it felt overshadowed by Archeops who had the same 3 major moves on what felt like better attack and definitely better speed. It was good, but I wouldn't use it again in a hurry.

Beaky the Archeops, Level 48 (♂)
Fly, Rock Slide, Dig, Crunch
Conclusion: This thing is godly, and I knew it would be. It's so fast, and it hits so hard! And it learns good moves? Perfection (if we ignore the ability). Even as an Archen it felt perfectly good to use and my only major complaint is the ability and maybe lacking some stronger moves (Earthquake is where?) plus the utility of Fly versus the power of Acrobatics was a toughie! But I use items a lot for levelling so the utility won out. Still, this thing was super good and a great first showing for me using fossil Pokemon, excellent stuff.

Bubbles the Reuniclus, Level 48 (♀)
Psychic, Hidden Power [Bug], Psyshock, Shadow Ball
Conclusion: This thing is a bit like Krookodile, except slightly better. It's been extremely powerful ever since it learnt a STAB move assuming you don't place this Psychic boi up against a Dark or Steel type, but as a Reuniclus the speed has become a greater issue. I guess I just prefer fast heavy-hitters versus slow ones? If I'd caught a Sigilyph perhaps things would be different. Still! I loved my blob even if it wasn't that helpful versus the final battles of the game. Psychic spam is really really good and it had solid enough coverage. Just wish it was faster.

Leafyboi the Leavanny, Level 48 (♀)
Return, Leaf Blade, X Scissor, Shadow Claw
Conclusion: Now this one was a surprise! Leavanny tends to stop feeling as useful past Clay for me, but I kept it around this time around and I am very glad I did! It hits pretty damn hard thanks to reliable STAB options and Return, was reasonably fast and its typing was actually really useful throughout the game? Excellent stuff, recommend using Leavanny if you need a Grass type in Unova - it won't let you down (even if Rock moves mess it up).

Pringles the Jellicent, Level 49 (♂)
Shadow Ball, Surf, Blizzard, Sludge Bomb
Conclusion: Another surprise, this late addition to the squad was pretty easy to level up and learnt some solid moves pretty quickly! Jellicent hit hard and could take a hit with ease, dishing out good damage with some solid coverage. I wish I had Ice Beam earlier (or at all) but the other 3 moves made up for it. Ghost and Water were great types to use and just reinforces that we should all have a Water type on our team in any given game (Ghost is debatable, but much appreciated). I liked it, didn't let me down in the end-game. Wish I caught it earlier.

Former & Unused Members:

 

[JourneymanN00b]

Hello everyone. This is a roguelike addict who is taking a very unique approach to playing a main Generation V game for the first time. I previously played parts Red/Blue/Yellow as an elementary school student around 1999, but never completely finished a game until 2010 due to my stupidity, the games accidentally getting deleted, and real life/homework forcing a near-decade hiatus. I was able to fully finish Gold in the summer of 2010, but never progressed further than that due to preparing for college and not having enough time for video games. Now that the pandemic is freeing up time to reconsider these games, I decided to continue my Pokémon explorations. Just several weeks ago, I managed to complete Sapphire as a Lithium Rogue to make the experience memorable and relatively quick. I then completed Diamond as a Lithium Rogue shortly thereafter. I learned a lot of skills when doing the Lithium Rogue challenge in Sapphire and Diamond, and I will be trying to play the character as a Lithium Rogue in Black. What is a Lithium Rogue, and what does it entail, you ask? Well, it is a player that attempts to beat the Elite Four and Ghetsis by adhering to the below set of rules:

1. Lithium is the simplest possible metal. As such, the Lithium Rogue will be taking the most direct possible path towards beating the Elite Four. No locations outside this direct route to victory can be visited. No optional sidequests can be undertaken, either.

2. In a roguelike, the player gets only one life. If the player dies, a new game must be started from the beginning. As such, if the Lithium Rogue gets a black out, the run is over, and a fresh game must be started to begin the adventure anew. However, any fainted Pokémon is allowed to be revived using a Pokémon Center or appropriate items, provided that at least one Pokémon is still in active condition.

3. Zero grinding is allowed. This is one of the golden rules of a Lithium Rogue. The Lithium Rogue is expected to advance through the game as quickly as possible and not waste time training Pokémon like lesser mortals with infinite time. The Lithium Rogue is also expected to use whatever resources that are on hand to overcome any obstacles that may be encountered from following this simple approach.

4. No backtracking is permitted. Unless it is to advance the story, an area can only be visited once. The Lithium Rogue is not permitted to go back to an area to catch a desired Pokémon or to return to a town to heal up in a Pokémon center.

5. Any trainers that are not necessary to fight to move to the next area must be avoided, if possible. However, it is understood that mistakes can be made, especially with those involving “spinners”, and the Lithium Rogue will occasionally be forced to fight these trainers in order to advance. As such, any run-in fights with “unnecessary” trainers may be utilized to provide the Lithium Rogue’s Pokémon with additional experience.

6. The Lithium Rogue is permitted to pick up items, but is strongly encouraged to only pick up those that would be typically picked up in typical speedruns. Like trainers in the previous rule, additional items may be picked up and utilized if doing so would not add unreasonable time to the Lithium Rogue’s journey.

7. Any time spent on wild grass must be kept to a minimum. Any Pokémon encountered in these areas can be battled and caught to suit the Lithium Rogue’s needs. The Lithium Rogue is not playing a Nuzlocke challenge, so there are no Pokémon catching limits.

8. No manipulations are allowed to be used here. The Lithium Rogue has no knowledge of such acts of cheating, and utilizing them ruins the spirit of this adventure. Any disadvantages from not utilizing these manipulations may be made up by fighting additional trainers or picking up additional items, as needed.

From what I have heard about Black and White, doing this should be a perfectly achievable challenge, given the proper application of common sense, decent luck, and adherence to appropriate guides when suitable. Now that the ground rules have been set, I will be starting a run that adheres to all of the above rules, which will be reported by parts divided by gyms. So the goal of the first part is to clear the first gym and get the Trio Badge.

Part 1 Plan:

Nuvema Town, Route 1:

Choose Snivy, and battle Bianca. Tackle spam her Oshawott. Then battle Cheren. Use Leer and Tackle three times on Cheren’s Tepig. Go downstairs, get the XTransceiver, and leave. Go to Bianca's house, and then go to the Professor's house. After saying yes to all her questions, head to Route 1. Partake in the tutorial and walk north to Bianca. After saying yes to her question, head to Accumula Town.

Accumula Town:

Buy 5 Potions, and head left. Battle N, and use Leer against his Purrloin. Then Tackle Spam his Purrloin. Go to Route 2, and get the Running Shoes. Pick up the Poke Ball and 2 Potions. If a Lillipup is not encountered in the grass after getting the items, then restart the game and consider another route. Otherwise, keep throwing Poke Balls at the Lillipup to catch it. Put the Lillipup in the first slot. Fight Youngster Jimmy, and use Tackle at least 3 times against his Patrat. Fight Bianca again, and use Leer and Tackle against her Lillipup. Then use Tackle at least 2 times against her Oshawott. Enter Striaton City.

Striaton City:

Heal at the Pokemon Center, then battle Cheren again. Use Tackle and then a Leer on Cheren’s Tepig, and then keep using Tackle to finish it off. Then use Tackle at least twice to finish Purrloin off. After getting the Full Heal when answering the questions, and healing back at the Pokémon Center, enter the gym. Fight Waiter Maxwell, and use Bite twice and then a Tackle on his Lillipup. Battle Waitress Tia and Tackle her Patrat twice. Forget learning Helping Hand if Lillipup reaches level 12. Tackle her Purrloin twice. Start Chili battle. Use Leer, Bite, then Tackle against his Lillipup. Then use Leer and Tackle twice against his Pansear. Get the Trio Badge.

I hope that there are no flaws with this first part of the game plan to complete the challenge. I can always adjust the above rules to make things more challenging/reasonable. To those that are interested in seeing this type of challenge unfold, feel free to vote on the gender and name of the first Lithium Rogue that will operate in Black. I will come back to this thread after a couple of days, read any replies, and begin the first run.

 

[JourneymanN00b]

Okay, so I begin the first part with a male trainer named Harry, and quickly find that the plan was a disaster, since no Lillipup was encountered in Route 2. Below is how the failed attempt went.

The Lithium Rogue’s Journey Attempt #1: Harry

Part 1-1:

I begin choosing Snivy and battling Bianca. I then Tackle spam her Oshawott, who manages to put Snivy to 6 HP due to a critical hit Tackle. However, I manage to win the battle against Bianca and proceed to battle Cheren. I use Leer and then Tackle three times on Cheren’s Tepig to win the battle. I go downstairs, get the XTransceiver, and leave. I then head to Bianca's house, and then go to the Professor's house. After saying no to giving my Snivy a nickname, and yes to the Professor’s other question, I get a Town Map and head to Route 1. I partake in the tutorial, get 5 Poke Balls, and walk north to Bianca. After saying yes to her question, I head to Accumula Town.

I buy 5 Potions, and head left. I then battle N, and use Leer against his Purrloin, and proceed to Tackle his Purrloin twice, one of which turned out to be a critical hit. My Snivy also learns Vine Whip in the process. After healing at the Pokémon Center, I go to Route 2, and get the Running Shoes. I get a Potion, and encounter and run from a Patrat. I then fight Younger Jimmy, and use Vine Whip and then Tackle twice to take out his Patrat. I then encounter and run from a Patrat, and pick up the Poke Ball and Potion. So this run was unfortunately a failure and I am thus forced to reset and devise an alternative plan.

So below is the new plan that I am devising for this next run.

Part 1 Plan:

Nuvema Town, Route 1:

Choose Tepig, and battle Bianca. Tackle spam her Snivy. Then battle Cheren. Also Tackle spam his Oshawott. Go downstairs, get the XTransceiver, and leave. Go to Bianca's house, and then go to the Professor's house. After saying no to giving a nickname and yes to filling out the Pokedex, head to Route 1. If a Lillipup is encountered, keep throwing Poke Balls to catch it, and put the Lillipup in the first slot. KO any other encounters. Partake in the tutorial and walk north to Bianca. After saying yes to her question, head to Accumula Town.

Accumula Town, Route 2:

Buy 5 Potions, and head left. Battle N, switch to Tepig if a Lillipup was acquired, and use Tail Whip against his Purrloin. Then Tackle Spam his Purrloin. Go to Route 2, and get the Running Shoes. Pick up the Poke Ball and 2 Potions. If a Lillipup was not caught in Route 1 and one is encountered in the grass, catch it using the same tactic above. Fight Youngster Jimmy, and use Tackle at least 3 times against his Patrat using either the Lillipup, or use a Tackle and then 2 Embers using Tepig. Fight Bianca again. If a Lillipup was caught, have it use Leer and Tackle against her Lillipup. Then use Tackle at least 2 times against her Snivy. Otherwise, use Tepig to tackle her Lillipup twice, and then use Ember twice against her Snivy. Enter Striaton City.

Striaton City:

Heal at the Pokémon Center, get the Dusk Ball, then battle Cheren again if a Lillipup was acquired. Use Tackle and then a Leer on Cheren’s Oshawott, and then keep using Tackle to finish it off. Then use Tackle at least twice to finish Purrloin off. After getting the Full Heal when answering the questions, and healing back at the Pokémon Center, enter the gym. However, if a Lillipup was NOT acquired, then head to the Dreamyard. Fight Lass Eri and use Tackle twice each for her two Purrloins. If Tepig gets Growled, then use Ember. Fight Younger Joey, and use a Tackle and then an Ember for his two Patrats. Then use two Tackles and then an Ember for his Lillipup. Get Pansage, return to Striaton City, and then heal at the Pokemon Center. Then fight Cheren, where a Tackle, Tail Whip, and then a Tackle should be used against his Oshawott. Then use Tackle twice against his Purrloin, replacing the second Tackle with an Ember if Tepig gets Growled. Enter the gym, and fight Waiter Maxwell. Lillipup should use Bite twice and then a Tackle on his Lillipup, while Tepig should use a Tail Whip, two Tackles, and then an Ember on his Lillipup. If a Tepig is still used, give up on learning Defense Curl upon reaching level 13. Battle Waitress Tia and Tackle her Patrat twice, using a Tail Whip first if a Tepig is used. Lillipup should forget about learning Helping Hand if it reaches level 12. Tackle her Purrloin twice with either Tepig of Lillipup. Start Cress battle. Use Leer, Bite, then Tackle against his Lillipup if Lillipup is used. If a Tepig is used, then use Tail Whip, Tackle twice, and then an Ember on his Lillipup. Then use Leer and Tackle twice against his Pansear if a Lillipup is used. If no Lillipup is in possession, then switch to Pansage, and then use Leer and then Vine Whip three times against his Panpour. Get the Trio Badge.

To the few people who are interested in seeing this type of challenge unfold, feel free to vote on the gender and name of the second Lithium Rogue that will operate in Black. I will come back to this thread tomorrow, read any replies, and begin the second run.

 

[JourneymanN00b]

Okay, so I begin the first part of the new run with a female trainer named Misty (although there is certainly no emphasis on Water Pokémon at all in this challenge), and get MASSIVELY screwed in the Gym Leader Battle due to my caught Lillipup fainting too many times along the way.

The Lithium Rogue’s Journey Attempt #2: Misty

Part 2-1:

I start off by choosing Tepig, and battling Bianca. I Tackle her Snivy 4 times to win the battle. I then battle Cheren, and Tackle his Oshawott 4 times to also win that battle. I go downstairs, get the XTransceiver, and leave. I go to Bianca's house, and then go to the Professor's house. After saying no to giving a nickname and yes to filling out the Pokedex, I get the Pokedex, the Town Map, and head to Route 1. I partake in the tutorial, get 5 Poke Balls, and head to Bianca. I encounter a level 2 Lillipup, and catch it using only one Poke Ball. After reaching Bianca, and saying yes to her question, I then head to Accumula Town.

I buy 5 Potions, and head left. I battle N, switch to Tepig, and use Tail Whip against his Purrloin. I then Tackle spam his Purrloin to win the battle. Tepig learns Ember as a result of the victory. After healing at the Pokémon Center, I go to Route 2, and get the Running Shoes. I encounter and KO a Lillipup, where my Lillipup learns Odor Sleuth as a result of winning the battle. I pick up the Potion, and catch a Patrat after Tackling it once, which turned out to be a critical hit. I then fight Youngster Jimmy, and use Tackle at 3 times against his Patrat. Unfortunately, my Lillipup faints from Patrat’s Tackle and Bite and I am forced to continue the battle with Tepig, who finishes the battle with a Tackle. I pick up the Poke Ball and the second Potion, cursing at my rotten luck and stupidity. I encounter and run from a Lillipup in the process. I fight Bianca again with Tepig, and have it use Ember three times against her Lillipup. I then use Ember 2 times against her Snivy and enter Striaton City.

Cursing at my luck, I heal at the Pokémon Center, get the Dusk Ball, and then battle Cheren again. I use Tackle and then a Leer on Cheren’s Oshawott, and my Lillipup faints AGAIN from a well placed Tackle. Cursing at the top of my mouth, I switch to Tepig and use Tackle twice to finish it off. I then use Tackle and then a Potion to heal up after taking 2 Critical Hit Scratches from his Purrloin. I then use Tackle twice to finish Purrloin off. After getting the 3 Oran Berries and the Full Heal when answering the boy’s questions, and healing back at the Pokémon Center, I enter the gym and get a Fresh Water. I fight Waiter Maxwell, and switch to Tepig since Lillipup fainted too many times for it to be useful. I use Ember twice, and Tackle twice before using another Potion to heal Tepig up. Unfortunately, that was not enough to save Tepig, who falls victim to a Critical Hit Bite. I switch to Lillipup, who luckily survives the Bite and delivers a Tackle to finish it off. Lillipup learns Bite and goes all the way to level 9 from the near-death Experience. I use a Potion to heal Lillipup, and battle Waitress Tia. I tackle her Patrat three times, and Tackle her Purrloin twice. I use another Potion on my Lillipup, give it an Oran Berry to hold, and start the Cress battle. I use Leer, Bite, and then attempt to use Tackle against his Lillipup, only for Cress’ Lillipup to flinch when facing his Bite. My Lillipup faints on his Lillipup’s next Bite, and my Patrat falls to a single bite. Truly a terrible and embarrassing loss.

So I will start another Lithium Rogue run based on the previous plan, as I think a lot of the failure was due to very bad luck and poor judgment on my part on when to heal up. The only exception that I will make is to catch the first Patrat or Purrloin that I encounter along the way as an HM slave if I should also successfully catch and find a Lillipup.

To the few interested people, feel free to vote on the gender and name of the third Lithium Rogue that will operate in Black. I will come back to this thread tomorrow, read any replies, and begin the third run.

 

[Drummerdude]

I saw Ishiftyounot was playing White and decided to start a new game on Black but started just a bit too late to play along. Due to my own laziness I never bothered posting about it but since COVID hit a few people at the office they have everyone working from home for a few weeks which meant I could play while I worked. So yeah I beat Ghetsis earlier today.

N was tough. I led with Emboar against his Zekrom because I didn't really have anything that was super effective against N's Electric/Dragon Pokemon. Unfortunately Brick Break didn't do much against it and Fusion Bolt is a very strong attack. Bouffalant's Head Charge did decent damage but like Emboar also fell to Fusion Bolt. Scolipede was fast enough to finish it off with Poison Jab. I kinda regretted not using Reshiram. N sent out Klinklang and I assumed it would be Zoroark because obviously N would send out a Dark type against my Bug type. I was wrong. X Scissor barely did anything and Thunderbolt took out Scolipede. I sacrificed Swoobat to revive Emboar and had Emboar take down Klinklang with Flamethrower. Eelektross brought down Archeops with a single Thunderbolt. Emboar defeated Zoroark, Eelektross zapped Carracosta and Emboar returned to finish off Vanilluxe.

Since you have no choice Emboar led off against Ghetsis and his Cofagrigus. It used Toxic and spammed Protect but fortunately it only took two Flamethrower's to knock it out once Protect didn't work. Ghetsis went to his Bouffalant which almost fell to a single Brick Break but Emboar's poison proved to much too handle. I wanted Swoobat to do something but Psychic wasn't enough for a healed Bouffalant and Swoobat was knocked out by Wild Charge. My own Bouffalant came in and finished off his with Head Charge. Then Ghetsis went to Hydreigon.....and it outsped Scolipede. Not awesome. Bouffalant returned to the fight and won with two Megahorn attacks after Focus Blast missed luckily. I sacrificed Bouffalant against Seismitoad but Head Charge did enough so that Carracosta could finish it off with Surf. Carracosta's Surf (powered up by Rain Dance thanks to Seismitoad) was also what beat Bisharp and the final battle was against both of our Eelektross with mine prevailing thanks to a critical hit Crunch. Ghetsis was taken away and N flew off into the sunset. Fin.

Ganonborf, Lv53
- A staple of my Gen 5 playthroughs and my favorite Unova starter. I prefer when starters are dual typed and Fire/Fighting is really strong in this game...especially against N. Honestly Emboar may be my favorite of the three Fire/Fighting types. Too cool.

Barbara, Lv49
- When I start new games I always try to use at least one or two Pokemon I have never used before. Swoobat was something I had never used throughout an entire run. Sometimes weaker Pokemon surprise me and end up being fun to use like a Delcatty I used in Emerald. Swoobat was not one of thos surprises. Right when it evolved it was decent but near the end every attack against her was a OHKO and her own super effective attacks didn't do enough damage. I thinking Swoobat will be a one time use only.

Wiggler, Lv51
- It had been a long time since I used a Scolipede and I was really excited to use it. Scolipede was weird because right when it evolved it was alright and then around badge 7 it became really good and was huge in helping me defeat the trainers in Drayden's gym. And then like Swoobat it fell off at the end. I'm still stunned that Hydreigon outsped it.

Cap'n Jack, Lv51
- Always a solid choice. I'm not really sure if Solid Rock was the right choice over Sturdy as far as abilities go but thank goodness I gave this thing a Quick Claw or otherwise it would not have worked out as well as it did.

Ordeel, Lv52
- I like Eelektross. Levitate is great for it and both attacking stats are good. Hits hard and was surprisingly tanky. Took me forever to find the Emolga that I used it's Static ability to make finding Tynamo easier though. Just saying Tynamo has brought back the memories of trying to train it!

Bouffalant, Lv53 (Oh god I just realized I never gave it a nickname!!)
- Bouffalant, like Swoobat, was one I had never used before because of how late you catch it. I would say overall I was whelmed using it. It wasn't terribly strong but also wasn't weak. So yeah I was whelmed. And then the Elite 4 happened. This thing tanked so many hits and somehow actually defeated two of Marshall's fighting types. Definitely the MVP once I reached the Elite 4. I'm glad I used it.

I may start up a White 2 challenge run and see how far I get before I have to return to work. We shall see.

 

[JourneymanN00b]

I begin the first part of the third run with a male trainer named Perry, and managed to complete the first part this time with some mildly tense moments.

The Lithium Rogue’s Journey Attempt #3: Perry

Part 3-1:

Once again, I start off by choosing Tepig and battling Bianca. I Tackle her Snivy 5 times and win the battle. I then battle Cheren and Tackle his Oshawott 4 times to win that battle as well. I go downstairs, get the XTransceiver, and leave. I go to Bianca's house, and then go to the Professor's house. After saying no to giving a nickname and yes to filling out the Pokedex, I get the Pokedex and the Town Map, and head to Route 1. I partake in the tutorial, get 5 Poke Balls, and walk north to Bianca. Along the way, I encounter and catch a level 3 Lillipup after using 2 Poke Balls to do so, and switch it to the front. After saying yes to Bianca’s question, I head to Accumula Town.

I buy 5 Potions, and head left. I battle N, switch to Tepig, and use Tail Whip against his Purrloin. I then Tackle his Purrloin 3 times, the second which ended up being a critical hit. Tepig learns Ember, and Lillipup learns Odor Sleuth from that battle. After healing at the Pokémon center, I go to Route 2, and get the Running Shoes. I encounter a Purrloin, Tackle it once with Lillipup, and catch it using one Poke Ball. I then get the Potion, and fight Youngster Jimmy, where I use a single Tackle and heal Lillipup with a Potion. I then Tackle his Patrat 3 times to KO it. I then encounter and KO a Patrat, and my Lillipup learns Bite in the process. I then get the second Potion and the Poke Ball, use a Potion and fight Youngster Roland. I use Bite three times to take out his Lillipup. I then fight Bianca again, and use Leer and then Tackle against her Lillipup. I then use Tackle twice against her Snivy to win the battle, and enter Striaton City.

I heal at the Pokémon Center, get the Dusk Ball, and then battle Cheren again. I use a Tackle and then a Leer on Cheren’s Oshawott, and use Tackle to finish it off. I then use Tackle twice to KO Purrloin. After getting the 3 Oran Berries from Cheren and the Full Heal after answering the boy’s questions, I heal at the Pokémon Center, then enter the gym. I get a Fresh Water, and fight Waiter Maxwell. I use Bite twice and then a Tackle on his Lillipup. I then battle Waitress Tia and Tackle her Patrat twice, with one of them being a critical hit. I forego having Lillipup learning Helping Hand in the process. I then tackle her Purrloin twice to win the battle. After using a Potion on Lillipup and equipping it with an Oran Berry, I begin the battle with Leader Cress. I use Leer, Bite, then Tackle against his Lillipup. I use Leer and then Tackle four times against his Panpour to knock it out, who manages to take my Lillipup down to 2 HP with 2 Worked Up Water Guns and trigger an Oran Berry consumption in the process. I get the Trio Badge and TM83.

So below is my plan to finish the second part and get the Basic Badge:

Part 2 Plan:

Striaton City, Dreamyard:

Meet Fennel, and get HM01. Teach Cut to Purrloin, and teach Work Up to Lillipup over Leer. Heal at the Pokémon Center, get X Speed, and head to the Dreamyard. Fight Lass Eri, and use a Tackle each on both of her Purrloins. Battle the first Team Plasma Grunt, and use Bite twice on the first Team Plasma Grunt’s Patrat. Then fight the second Team Plasma Grunt, and use Tackle twice on the Second Team Plasma Grunt’s Purrloin. Return to Striaton City, go to Fennel’s Lab, and talk to Fennel. Say “No” to turning C-Gear on and “Yes” to learning more, and heal at the Pokémon Center. Buy 8 Super Potion and 4 Antidote. Head to Route 3.

Route 3:

Fight Twins Kumi and Amy. Tackle the Purrloin on the right with both Lillipup and Tepig. Repeat the two Tackles on the right Purrloin if needed, or the left Purrloin if the right Purrloin is KO’d. Teach Take Down over Odor Sleuth when Lillipup reaches level 15. Use Take Down to finish off the left Purrloin, while the other Pokémon should heal Lillipup with Potions. Head to the daycare to heal up, and fight Cheren, and use Work Up and then a Take Down against his Oshawott. Then use Tackle on his Purrloin. Head to Wellspring Cave, talk to Cheren, and say yes to his question.

Wellspring Cave, Route 3:

On the first Woobat encountered, use a Tackle and then the Dusk Ball. Battle the first Team Plasma Grunt, and use Take Down against the Plasma Grunt’s Patrat. Then fight the two Team Plasma Grunts, and use Tackle on the left Patrat, and Take Down on the right Patrat. Exit the cave, get the 3 Heal Balls, and get the Hidden Rare Candy. If a Woobat was not caught, then use a Tackle and then the Dusk Ball on the first Pidove encountered. Head to Nacrene City.

Nacrene City:

Enter Pokémon Center, heal up and put Woobat/Pidove in the second slot. Enter Battle Item Store, and buy 3 X Speed, 1 X Attack, and 3 Guard Spec. Talk to Cheren to get 3 Chesto Berries, and get the hidden Revive. Enter Museum and battle N. Use Take Down on his Pidove. Use Work Up, and then a Take Down on his Timburr, and finish the battle by using Tackle on his Tympole. Heal Herdier, and enter the gym. Battle School Kid Carter, and use Take Down on his Patrat. Fight Scientist Satomi, and use Work Up, Take Down, Tackle, and then a Bite if necessary on Satomi’s Herdier. Face School Kid Lydia, and use Work Up. Then use a Tackle each of her three Lillipups. Heal Herdier and equip a Chesto Berry, and then put Woobat/Pidove to the front slot. Face Lenora, use Guard Spec, Work Up, then two Tackles against Lenora’s Herdier. When facing against her Watchog, use a Super Potion on Herdier to survive Retaliate, then use Tackle twice to knock it out. Use an X Speed if Herdier gets hit by Hypnosis. Get the Basic Badge and TM67.

I might have some tense moments here, but I feel that I will be able to manage this part without too much problems. My Pokémon consist of a level 14 Lillipup, level 7 Tepig, and level 5 Purrloin. I will begin the next part and have a report within several days.

 

[Drummerdude]

White 2 Challenge Mode let's go! Because it's Challenge Mode it only seemed fair to pick Snivy as my starter. We made it through the beginning with no real problems and I caught a Mareep in Floccessy Ranch to have some help against Cheren. Turns out that was not enough. Snivy took care of his Patrat and Lillipup well enough but that stupid Pidove and it's stupid critical hits. So I lost. I'm pretty sure I lost to him the last time I did Challenge Mode because of his stupid Pidove's stupid critical hits also. I trained Snivy and Mareep in Floccessy Ranch and tried once more this time prevailing with ease since Mareep got a critical hit Thundershock on Pidove. In your face Cheren!

With my first badge finally in possession I headed east to Virbank City and immediately headed into the Virbank Complex to catch my second team member, a Koffing! But I tried catching it in the double grass and it teamed up with a Magnemite that kept confusing me and my team ended up fainting which put me back in Aspertia City. I ran back and tried once again and this time successfully caught a Koffing. I trained it against the trainers in the complex as well as a few Audino and headed to the Virbank Gym. Honestly I thought this would be a little more rough than it ended up being. Servine actually defeated Roxie's Koffing somehow but was defeated by her Grimer so my Koffing had to step in and finish the job. I had Mareep go in and paralyze Whirlipede so that Koffing could use Tackle/Assurance to finish the fight. Then I made a movie. Yay.

After dealing with Team Plasma I rode a boat to Castelia City, healed up, and headed north to Route 4 where I caught my third team member, a Scraggy! I then spent a decent amount of time exploring the city/sewers in an attempt to level up my new team member and once I had progressed through the story enough I headed to the Castelia Gym. Koffing once again got its chance to shine and after riding the.....cocoon webs.....strands (?) all the way to the top I challenged Burgh. Servine's Leaf Tornado was enough to take down Dwebble after a few turns and Burgh immediately went to Leavanny. Obviously I used Koffing who managed to poison Leavanny with Sludge which meant Venoshock the next turn could finish it off. I tried out Scraggy and Servine against his Karrablast and Shelmet but neither were much help so Koffing had to finish them off as well.

I once again headed to Route 4 where I battled Colress after he moved some Crustle. Once he left I made haste to Nimbasa City and headed straight to Route 5 so Bianca could tell me about Hidden Grotto's. She heard one and I followed her into one where a Minccino was waiting for us. I caught it and added it to the team! I ran back to Route 4 and the Desert Resort to train everyone for the upcoming fight against Elesa. I can't say I'm looking forward to it...

Groff, Lv27

COVID-2020, Lv27

Vitamin-Z, Lv26

Marshall, Lv26

 

[JourneymanN00b]

I start the second part, and Perry barely manages to finish the second part after making several mistakes and using more items than expected in the Lenora battle.

Part 3-2:

I meet Fennel, and get HM01. After that, I teach Cut to Purrloin, and teach Work Up to Lillipup over Leer. From there I heal at the Pokémon Center, get a Great Ball and an X Speed, and head to the Dreamyard. I fight Lass Eri, and use a Tackle each on both of her Purrloins. I battle the first Team Plasma Grunt, and use Bite once on the first Team Plasma Grunt’s Patrat, which was a critical hit and enough to take it out. I then fight the second Team Plasma Grunt, and use Tackle twice on the Second Team Plasma Grunt’s Purrloin. I teach Take Down over Odor Sleuth in the process. I return to Striaton City, go to Fennel’s Lab, and talk to Fennel. After saying “No” to turning C-Gear on and “Yes” to learning more, I get the C-Gar and the Pal Pad. I then head to the Pokémon Center, buy 8 Super Potion and 4 Antidote, and head to Route 3.

In Route 3, I fight Twins Kumi and Amy. I begin by tackling the Purrloin on the right with both Lillipup and Tepig. Lillipup’s Tackle was a critical hit and took out the right Purrloin, so the Tepig’s Tackle went to the left Purrloin. With that, I repeat the two Tackles on the left Purrloin to win the battle. I head to the daycare to heal up, and then fight Cheren. I use Work Up and then a Take Down against his Oshawott. I then use Tackle twice on his Purrloin to win the fight. I get a Super Potion, head to Wellspring Cave, talk to Cheren, and say yes to his question.

I battle the first Team Plasma Grunt, and use Take Down against the Plasma Grunt’s Patrat. My Lillipup evolves into a Herdier in the process. I then fight the two Team Plasma Grunts, and use Tackle twice on the left Patrat, and a single Tackle on the right Patrat, who was weakened by Cheren Oshawott’s two Water Guns. I exit the cave, get the 3 Heal Balls, and run into a Pidove, and unintentionally KO it with a Tackle from Herdier. Cursing my stupidity, I switch to Tepig and get a Repel. I encounter another Pidove, use Tepig to Tackle it once, and catch it. I switch back to Herdier, get an Antidote, and encounter and KO a Blitzle. I talk to Cheren again, and encounter and KO 2 Pidoves, a Purrloin, and a Patrat. Tepig faints in a double battle in the wild, and I use a Potion on Herdier. I get the Hidden Rare Candy, and encounter and KO another Pidove. I run into School Kid Edgar, and use two Bites on his Pidove. I then use four Bites on his Roggenrola to win the battle. I head to Nacrene City with a Herdier at 17 HP.

Once at Nacrene City, I get 3 Chesto Berries from Cheren, enter the Pokémon Center, heal up and put Pidove in the second slot. I enter the Battle Item Store, and buy 3 X Speed, 1 X Attack, and 3 Guard Spec. I then get the hidden Revive, and battle N. I use Take Down on his Pidove. I then use Work Up, and then a Take Down on his Timburr, and finish the battle by using Tackle on his Tympole. I then enter the museum and then the gym, where I get a Fresh Water upon entering. I battle School Kid Carter, and use Take Down on his Patrat, which takes two tries due to his Patrat’s Protect on the first one. After using a Potion on Herdier, I fight Scientist Satomi, and use Work Up, Take Down, and then Tackle on Satomi’s Herdier. I face School Kid Lydia, and use Work Up. I then use a Tackle on each of her three Lillipups. I heal Herdier with 2 Potions and equip it with a Chesto Berry, and then put Pidove to the front slot. I then face Lenora, and try to use Guard Spec, but use it improperly. My Pidove faints to her Herdier, and I switch to my Purrloin in order to have another opportunity to use Guard Spec. This time, the Guard Spec is properly used, and my Purrloin falls to her Herdier. I then have my Herdier use Work Up once, then three Tackles against Lenora’s Herdier. I then use a Super Potion on Herdier to survive Lenora’s Watchog’s Retaliate, then use Tackle on it. My Herdier dodges a Hypnosis attack along the way, but fails to land the second Tackle before it gets KO’ed by Hypnosis. I switch to Tepig and use a Revive on Herdier. After my Tepig goes down to a single Retaliate, I have my Herdier use a Tackle and then use another Super Potion after getting hit by a Retaliate. It gets hit by a Hypnosis and forces the use of its Chesto Berry, but manages to dodge another Hypnosis attack to knock the Watchog out with a Tackle. I get the Basic Badge and TM67 and let out a sigh of relief.

So below is my plan to finish the third part and get the Insect Badge:

Part 3 Plan:

Nacrene City, Pinwheel Forest, Skyarrow Bridge:

Get the Dowsing Machine, heal at the Pokémon Center. Teach Herdier Retaliate over Bite, and deposit Tepig, Purrloin, and Pidove. Head to Pinwheel Forest, and talk to Burgh. Fight the First Team Plasma Grunt and use Take Down on the Team Plasma Grunt’s Sandile. Face the second Team Plasma Grunt and use Tackle on Team Plasma Grunt’s Purrloin. Try to avoid unnecessary spinners and face Pokémon Ranger Audra. Use Take Down on Pokémon Ranger Audra’s Pansage. Fight the first Team Plasma Grunt, and use Tackle twice against the first Team Plasma Grunt’s Patrat. Fight the second Team Plasma Grunt. Use a single Tackle on each of the second Team Plasma Grunt’s two Patrats, then use Take Down on the second Team Plasma Grunt’s Sandile. Use Rare Candy on Herdier, and head to Skyarrow Bridge. Cross the bridge to Catelia City.

Castelia City:

Heal at the Pokémon Center, retrieve the stored Pokémon, and head to Burgh’s gym. Head to Middle Pier and then back above the gym to fight the Team Plasma Grunt. Use Tackle on Team Plasma Grunt’s Sandiles. Get the Yache Berry, and enter the gym. Fight Harlequin Jack, and use two Tackles on his Sewaddle. Then use Take Down on his Venipede. Teach Crunch over Tackle when Herdier reaches level 24. After using a Super Potion, Fight Harlequin Louis, and use Take Down on his Venipede and Sewaddle. Use Oran Berries to put Herdier’s HP between 38 and 52. Fight Burgh. Use Work Up twice, use a Super Potion if HP reaches below 26, the use Work up twice, use X Speed, and then use Crunch his Whirlipede. Use Crunch on his Dwebble, and Retaliate on his Leavanny. Get the Insect Badge and TM76.

This part is going to cause a lot of headaches for sure, especially since I will not have a Revive as a safety net if anything goes wrong. My Pokémon currently consist of a level 21 Herdier, a level 10 Tepig, a level 8 Pidove, and a level 5 Purrloin. I will begin the next part and have a report in a couple of days.

 

[JourneymanN00b]

Okay, so I start the third part, and Perry actually manages to finish it without too much problems.

Part 3-3:

I get the Dowsing Machine, heal at the Pokémon Center, teach Herdier Retaliate over Bite, deposit Tepig, Purrloin, and Pidove, get a Hidden Ultra Ball, and head to Pinwheel Forest. I get a hidden Super Potion on the way. I talk to Burgh, and fight the First Team Plasma Grunt, where I use Take Down on the Team Plasma Grunt’s Sandile, which takes two tries to connect. I face the second Team Plasma Grunt and use Tackle on the second Team Plasma Grunt’s Purrloin. I get a Super Potion, use a Repel, and face Pokémon Ranger Audra. I use Take Down on Pokémon Ranger Audra’s Pansage, and get a Chesto Berry after winning the fight. I get an Antidote, and fight the first Team Plasma Grunt, and use a single Tackle against the first Team Plasma Grunt’s Patrat. I get a Parlyz Heal, and fight the second Team Plasma Grunt. I use a single Tackle on each of the second Team Plasma Grunt’s two Patrats, then use Take Down on the second Team Plasma Grunt’s Sandile. I get a Moon Stone and a Miracle Seed, head to Skyarrow Bridge, where I get a Quick Claw that I equip to my Herdier, and cross the bridge to Catelia City.

I heal at the Pokémon Center, retrieve my stored Pokémon, and head to Burgh’s gym. I then head to Middle Pier and then back above the gym to fight the Team Plasma Grunt. I use Tackle on Team Plasma Grunt’s Sandiles, the second which required two Tackles to KO it. I get the Yacha Berry and a Smoke ball, and enter the gym. I get a Fresh Water, and fight Harlequin Jack, where I use Retaliate and then a Tackle on his Sewaddle. I then use Take Down on his Venipede, and use a Rare Candy after winning the battle. I teach Herdier Crunch over Tackle, and use an Antidote and Super Potion to heal up. I then fight Harlequin Louis, and use Take Down on his Venipede. I then use Take Down and a Crunch to KO his Sewaddle. After using an Oran Berry to up Herdier’s HP at 51, I fight Burgh. I use Work Up 4 times, and then use a Super Potion and X Speed. I then use Crunch against his Whirlipede. I proceed to Crunch on his Dwebble, and Retaliate on his Leavanny to win the battle. I get the Insect Badge and TM76 and end the part with pride.

So below is my plan to finish the fourth part and get the Bolt Badge:

Part 4 Plan:

Castelia City, Route 4:

Exit the gym and take the phone call with Bianca. Heal at Pokémon Center and buy 1 Revive. Fight Bianca. Use Work Up twice, then use Crunch against her Herdier. Use Crunch against her Munna, Crunch against her Panpour, and Retaliate against her Servine. Enter Route 4, heal with a Super Potion, and fight Cheren. Use Work Up and then Crunch against his Pidove. Use Retaliate against his Dewott, and then Crunch against his Pansear. Then use Retaliate against his Liepard. Try to dodge the spinner, and enter Nimbasa City after receiving Ultra Balls from Juniper.

Nimbasa City:

Fight Team Plasma Grunt, and use Take Down against his Watchog. Then use Retaliate against his Trubbish. Get the Bicycle, X Attack, and HM04. Heal at the Pokémon Center, put Pidove in the second slot, and buy TM27, 4 Paralyze Heals, and 6 Hyper Potions. Teach Herdier Return over Take Down. Head to the amusement park and battle N. Use Work Up and Return against his Sandile, then use a Return each on his Scraggy and Darumaka. Use Crunch against his Sigilyph. Heal at the Pokémon Center, and head to the gym. Fight Lady Magnolia, and use Work Up. Then Return against each of her Emolgas. Forego Herdier learning Roar at level 29. If a Static activation occurs, use a Paralyze Heal on Herdier. Fight Rich Boy Cody and use Return against his Blitzle. Then battle Rich Boy Rolan and use a Return each on his two Blitzles. Face Lady Colette. Use Work Up and Return against her Emolga. Use a Super Potion and use a Paralyze Heal if needed. Battle Elesa. Use X Speed and Work Up, then use Return against her first Emolga. Use Return against her second Emolga and another Return against her Zebstrika. If a paralysis prevents a Return from connecting, use a Super Potion to heal Herdier. Get the Bolt Badge and TM72.

This part is certainly easier, though the gym battle fight could be trouble if Herder gets Paralyzed in the Elesa Battle. My Pokémon currently consist of a level 25 Herdier, a level 10 Tepig, a level 8 Pidove, and a level 5 Purrloin. I will begin the next part and have a report within several days.

 

[Drummerdude]

I trained my team in the stadiums and on Route 16 (mostly against Audino) to Level 30 and decided to tackle Elesa's gym. That was a mistake. I lost very very badly because she just wouldn't stop using Volt Switch. I got Servine to Level 32 so it could learn Leaf Blade and everyone else to Level 31-32 and tried again. Koffing led off against Emolga who Volt Switch'd into Flaaffy who got poisoned with Sludge. Flaaffy Volt Switch'd back to Emolga who got hit with a critical hit Sludge before it once again swapped back to Flaaffy while I healed. Once Flaaffy swapped back Koffing got a second critical hit on Emolga which knocked it out. Servine entered the fight and finished off Flaaffy with Leaf Blade. Minccino did decent damage against Joltik but fell to Zebstrika's Volt Switch. I gave Scraggy a shot against Joltik and correctly predicted a Hi Jump Kick when it swapped to Zebstrika which did good damage. Servine was able to bring down Joltik with Return and finish off Zebstrika with Leaf Blade. The only turn Elesa didn't use Volt Switch was on Zebstrika's last turn it used Stomp against Servine. Ugh glad that is over.

Hugh and I defeated a few Plasma grunts and I returned to Route 4 where I battle a few trainers, including a Heartbreaker, and crossed the Driftveil Drawbridge into Driftveil City. After healing I made my way along Route 5 towards Chargestone Cave so I could capture my fifth team member, a Nosepass! I considered Claydol because Ground and Psychic would be good types to have but this is Challenge Mode so let's make it hurt! I flew back to Driftveil on a Tranquill I caught along the way and explored the city before talking with Team Plasma and battling Rood I believe. I got the gift Zorua which went immediately into the PC and headed to the gym. The first trainer I battled led with a Level 34 Baltoy and considering I had no one at Level 34 I decided to leave and train on Route 5. Since I ended up back near Chargestone Cave I went ahead and evolved Nosepass into Probopass as well as grabbed the Shiny Stone from a nice child and evolved Minccino into Cinccino. Once all the trainers and plenty of Audino were defeated and everyone was Level 34 I took a well deserved break.

Groff, Lv34

COVID-2020, Lv34

Vitamin-Z, Lv34

Marshall, Lv34

Luigi, Lv34

 

[JourneymanN00b]

I start the fourth part, and Perry clears it after using a *lot* more Super Potions than expected in the gym battle.

Part 3-4:

I exit the gym and take the phone call with Bianca. After healing at Pokémon Center and buying 1 Revive, I fight Bianca. I use Work Up twice, then use Crunch against her Herdier. I use Crunch against her Munna, Retaliate against her Servine, and Crunch against her Panpour. I enter Route 4, and fight Cheren. I use Work Up and then Crunch against his Pidove. I then use Retaliate and then Crunch against his Dewott, and then Crunch against his Pansear. Finally, I use Retaliate against his Liepard. I use a Super Potion, and get a Burn Heal. I encounter and KO a Sandile, and get an Ether. I fail to dodge Backpacker Jerome, and use two Crunches against his Pidove to win the battle. I enter Nimbasa City after receiving 10 Ultra Balls from Juniper.

Once at Nimbasa City, I fight Team Plasma Grunt, and use Take Down against his Watchog. I then use Retaliate against his Trubbish. I get the Bicycle and HM 04, and enter the Pokemon musical. After going through the cutscenes, I heal at the Pokémon Center, put Pidove in the second slot, and buy TM27, 3 Paralyze Heals, and 6 Hyper Potions. I teach Herdier Return over Take Down. I then head to the amusement park and battle N. I use Work Up and Return against his Sandile, then use a Return each on his Scraggy and Darumaka. I then use Crunch against his Sigilyph. I then forego Herdier learning Roar and win the battle. I get an X Attack, heal at the Pokémon Center, and head to the gym. After getting a Fresh Water, I fight Lady Magnolia, and use Work Up. Then I use Return against each of her Emolgas. A Static activation occurred on the second Emolga, so I use a Paralyze Heal on Herdier. I fight Rich Boy Cody and use Return against his Blitzle. I then battle Rich Boy Rolan and use a Return each on his two Blitzles. Next, I face Lady Colette. I use Work Up and Return against her Emolga. After using a Super Potion on Herdier, I battle Elesa, where I use X Speed and Work Up, then use Return against her first Emolga. My Herdier takes two Volt Switches and a Static activation in the process. I attempt to use Return against her second Emolga, but does not connect because of the paralysis. A Volt Switch causes me to face her Zebstrik. I use a Super Potion to heal Herdier, and take a Volt Switch from her Zebstrika. I attempt to use Return against her Emolga again, but fail again and suffer another Volt Switch against her Emolga. Facing Elesa’s Zebstrika again, I use another Super Potion, and attempt to use Return again, which succeeds. I use yet another Super Potion on Herdier since it took two Sparks from her Zebstrika, and attempt to use a Return on her second Emolga, but fail to do so. I use another Super Potion, and manage to use a Return to take the Emolga out. I get the Bolt Badge and TM72, and let out a “finally” sigh.

Below is my plan to finish the fifth part and get the Quake Badge:

Part 5 Plan:

Nimbasa City, Route 5:

Heal at the Pokémon Center, and head to Route 5. Battle Cheren, and use X Attack. Then use Return on his Liepard. Then use Return on his Dewott, and then Retaliate on his Tranquill. Finally, use Crunch on his Pansear. Fight Preschooler Sarah and Preschooler Billy. Use Work Up on the first turn and then use Return on both of their Herdiers. Get the Revive, and head to Driftveil City.

Driftveil City:

Heal at the Pokémon Center and head to the Cold Storage. Get PP up, dodge the cold Storage spinners, and fight the first Plasma Grunt. Use a Retaliate each on the first Team Plasma Grunt’s Watchog and Scraggy. Then fight the second Team Plasma Grunt, and use Retaliate against the second Team Plasma Grunt’s Liepard. Battle the third Team Plasma Grunt, and use Crunch against the third Team Plasma Grunt’s Crunch. Then face the fourth Team Plasma Grunt, and use a Retaliate each against the fourth Team Plasma Grunt’s Sandile and Watchog. Heal at the Pokémon Center, and enter the gym. Battle Worker Felix, and use a Return each on his Palpitoad and Drilbur. Then face Worker Don, and use Return on his Krokorok. Next, battle Clerk Katie, and use Return against her Drilbur. Begin Clay battle, and use Return on his Krokorok. Use Work Up and then Return with Palpitoad. Finally, use Return twice on his Excadrill. Get the Quake Badge.

This part is certainly doable if there are no major deviations from the plan. My Pokémon currently consist of a level 31 Herdier, a level 10 Tepig, a level 8 Pidove, and a level 5 Purrloin. I will begin the next part tomorrow and have a report within several days.

 

[JourneymanN00b]

I start the fifth part, and Perry finishes it after running into more trainers than he expected.

Part 3-5:

I heal at the Pokémon Center, and head to Route 5. I battle Cheren, and use X Attack. I then use Return on his Liepard. Next, I use Return on his Dewott, and then Crunch on his Pansear. I then use Retaliate on his Tranquill. My Herdier evolves into a Stoutland. I fight Preschooler Sarah and Preschooler Billy, where I use Work Up on the first turn and then use Return on both of their Herdiers. I get a Hyper Potion and skip the Revive, and head to Driftveil City.

I heal at the Pokémon Center and head to the Cold Storage. There, I get PP Up and a Net Ball, and fail to dodge Worker Patton. I use Return against his Vanillite, and another Return against his Timburr. I pick up an Ice Heal and fight the first Plasma Grunt. I use a Retaliate each on the first Team Plasma Grunt’s Watchog and Scraggy. I then fight the second Team Plasma Grunt, and use Retaliate against the second Team Plasma Grunt’s Liepard. I battle the third Team Plasma Grunt, and use Crunch against the third Team Plasma Grunt’s Trubbish. I then face the fourth Team Plasma Grunt, and use a Retaliate each against the fourth Team Plasma Grunt’s Sandile and Watchog. I get a NeverMeltIce, and run into Worker Ryan on my way out. I use a Return each on his two Timburrs and his Vanillite. I get a Hyper Potion, heal at the Pokémon Center, and enter the gym. I get a Fresh Water, and battle Worker Felix. I use a Return each on his Palpitoad and Drilbur. I then face Worker Don, and use Return on his Krokorok. I run into Clerk Issac and use a Return against his first Sandile. I then use two Returns against his Palpitoad, and a Return against his second Sandile. I battle Clerk Katie, and use Return against her Drilbur. After using a Super Potion on Stoutland, I begin the Clay battle, and use Return on his Krokorok. I use Work Up and then Return with Palpitoad. Finally, I use Return twice on his Excadrill to win the battle. I get the Quake Badge and end the part with pride.

Below is my plan to finish the sixth part and get the Jet Badge:

Part 6 Plan:

Driftveil City, Route 6:

Heal at the Pokémon Center, and buy 4 Max Repels, and 4 Super Potions. Fight Bianca, and use Work Up. Use Return on her Herdier, and Return on her Panpour. Use Crunch against her Musharna, and Return on her Servine. Get HM02, and head to Route 6. Dodge the spinners and pick up the Elixir. Get TM78 and enter Chargestone Cave.

Chargestone Cave:

Get the Lucky Egg, and equip it to Stoutland. Heal Stoutland and use PP Up on Herdier’s Return. Get the hidden Elixir, dodge the spinners, and head downstairs. Fight the first Team Plasma Grunt. Use Retaliate against the first Team Plasma Grunt’s Sandile, and a Return each on the first Team Plasma Grunt’s Scraggy and Watchog. Fight the second Team Plasma Grunt and use Return on the second Team Plasma Grunt’s Scraggy. Face the third Team Plasma Grunt and use a Return each on the third Team Plasma Grunt’s Trubbish and Liepard. Battle the fourth Team Plasma Grunt and use a Crunch on each of the fourth Team Plasma Grunt’s three Trubbishs. Fight the fifth Team Plasma Grunt. Use Return and Retaliate on the fifth Team Plasma Grunt’s Watchog and Sandile respectively. Face the sixth Team Plasma Grunt and use Return on the sixth Team Plasma Grunt’s Liepard. Battle the seventh Team Plasma Grunt and use a Retaliate each on the seventh Team Plasma Grunt’s Sandile and Watchog. Finally, battle N. Use Crunch against his Boldore, then use Work Up twice, and then finish it off using another Crunch. Use Crunch against his Joltik, and a Return each against his Ferroseed and Klink. Head to Mistraltron City.

Mistraltron City, Route 7, Celestial Tower:

Heal at the Pokémon Center, and head to Route 7. Teach Pidove Fly, avoid any Rangers, and enter Celestial Tower. Fight Psychic Doreen. Use Crunch against Doreen’s Elgyem, Retaliate against Doreem’s Solosis, and Crunch against Doreen’s Sigilyph. Talk to Skyla, ring the bell, and Fly back to Mistraltron City.

Mistraltron City:

Enter the gym. Battle Worker Cliff, and use a Return each on each of his two Tranquills. Face Pilot Ted, and use a Return each on his Ducklett and Sigilyph. Fight Pilot Chase, and use Return against his Unfezant. Use a Super Potion if Stoutland is below 50 HP. Face Worker Arnold, and use Crunch against his Swoobat. Teach Stoutland Reversal over Retaliate when it reaches level 42. Begin Skyla battle, and use Work Up. Then use Crunch against her Swoobat. Then use a Return each on her Unfezant and Swanna. Get the Jet Badge and TM62.

This part is certainly doable if there are no major deviations from this plan. My Pokémon currently consist of a level 36 Stoutland, a level 10 Tepig, a level 8 Pidove, and a level 5 Purrloin. I will begin the next part tomorrow and have a report within several days.

 

[Drummerdude]

Clay ended up not being too difficult. Scraggy brought down Krokorok and Onix with Brick Break and did decent damage against Sandslash with Ice Punch before Servine had to come in and finish it off. Excadrill was a nuisance for sure but I just had literally everyone do as much damage against it as possible so Servine could win the battle with Leaf Blade. Servine even evolved after the battle! After the victory Clay led Hugh and I to the Pokemon World Tournament where my overpowered team of Scraggy, Probopass and Cinccino handily beat my opponents. Hugh got all in a tizzy again after seeing Team Plasma so Cheren and I had to board a boat and help him and his recklessness out. Fortunately Koffing evolved during these battles to make them even easier. Once we were kicked off I explored Relic Passage before arriving back in Castelia City so I flew back to Driftveil and headed to Chargestone Cave once more.

Without Team Plasma in here it really doesn't take too long to make your way through the cave. Nothing out of the ordinary occurred during my trek and before I knew it I was in Mistralton City. After speaking with Juniper and Skyla I journeyed onto Route 7 and up to the Celestial Tower. Some of the trainers inside were more difficult than I expected. Scraggy did evolved during my climb though. I rang the bell for no good reason and returned to Mistralton City to challenge the gym. Probopass finally got a real chance to shine and did most of the work against the gym trainers with Power Gem and Discharge. I navigated the winds and challenged Skyla. Scrafty defeated Swoobat with Crunch and Skyla went to Swanna. I knew Probopass was going to faint but I still went to it to get a Discharge off since Sturdy let it survive a Surf. Serperior had to come in and finish Swanna off with Leaf Blade. Scrafty went back in to bring down Sigilyph with Crunch. Skarmory, like Excadrill in the last gym battle, was a team effort of just doing any damage I could with Scrafty finishing it off with Brick Break. Weird my fighting type did so much work. Skyla gave me a badge and we flew to Lentimas Town.

I explored the tiny town and headed to the Strange House for a minute before heading into Reversal Mountain and teaming up with Bianca. I trained my team up to the level 42-43 range against the trainers and wild Pokemon before leaving Bianca behind and arriving in Undella Town. First things first....new team member! But I realized I have nothing that can Surf so I flew to Driftveil and caught a Ducklett and headed straight to the Seaside Cave. Even though the Roggenrola block your path there is still a little bitty patch of cave you can walk in so walk I did until I found my final team member, a Seel! I left the cave and returned to Aspertia City to reexplore the region now that I can Surf. Turns out there really isn't that much to do compared to Black/White. Seel did evolve into Dewgoing while exploring Mistralton Cave. I returned to Undella Town, battled Hugh in a battle that I completely forgot about and took a break.

Groff, Lv43

COVID-2020, Lv43

Vitamin-Z, Lv43

Marshall, Lv42

Luigi, Lv42

GONGONGONG, Lv39

 

[JourneymanN00b]

I start the sixth part, and Perry finishes it without a hitch, since I had quite a bit of spare time.

Part 3-6:

I heal at the Pokémon Center, and buy 4 Max Repels, 1 Revive, and 4 Super Potions. I then fight Bianca, and use Work Up. I then use Return on her Herdier, and Return on her Panpour. Finally I use Return on her Servine, and Crunch against her Musharna. It surprisingly does not take out Musharna, and my Stoutland ends up taking a Psybeam and gets confused. When I attempt to use Crunch again, I fail and end up taking damage twice. I use a Super Potion and end up getting hit by her Musharna’s Hypnosis. I use a Chesto Berry, and use Crunch again, which connects. Another Crunch attempt fails, but the next five Crunches connect before Mushrana, who used Defense Curl to survive the assault, succeeds in using Hypnosis again. I use another Chesto Berry and use one final Crunch to take the Musharna out. I get HM02, heal back to the Pokémon Center to heal up, and head to Route 6. I encounter and KO a Deerling and pick up a Hyper Potion and the Elixir. I fail to dodge Scientist Maria and use a Return to take out her Deerling. I encounter and KO a Deerling and 2 Foongus, and use a Paralyz Heal to get rid of an Effect Spore that Stoutland suffered. I get TM78 and enter Chargestone Cave.

I get the Lucky Egg, and equip it to Stoutland. I then use PP Up on Stoutland’s Return and encounter and KO a Joltik. I get a Parlyz Heal, encounter and KO another Joltik, get the hidden Elixir, and encounter and KO a Klink and a Joltik. I fail to dodge Ace Trainer Jared, and use a Return against his Archen, which turned out to be a critical hit and enough to take it out. I then encounter and KO a Ferroseed and choose to use a Max Repel to conserve PP. I get a Hyper Potion, and head downstairs. From there, I get a Timer Ball and fight the first Team Plasma Grunt. I use Retaliate against the first Team Plasma Grunt’s Sandile, and a Return each on the first Team Plasma Grunt’s Scraggy and Watchog. I fight the second Team Plasma Grunt and use Return on the second Team Plasma Grunt’s Scraggy. I face the third Team Plasma Grunt and use a Return each on the third Team Plasma Grunt’s Trubbish and Liepard. I then battle the fourth Team Plasma Grunt and use a Crunch on each of the fourth Team Plasma Grunt’s three Trubbishs. I fight the fifth Team Plasma Grunt and use Return and Retaliate on the fifth Team Plasma Grunt’s Watchog and Sandile respectively. Next, I face the sixth Team Plasma Grunt and use Return on the sixth Team Plasma Grunt’s Liepard. I then battle an additional Team Plasma Grunt and use a Retaliate each on the seventh Team Plasma Grunt’s Sandile and Watchog. After using a Super potion to heal Stoutland and using another Max Repel, I get a Hyper Potion and a Rare Candy after taking a wrong turn and battle N. I use Crunch against his Boldore, then use Work Up twice, and then finish it off using another two Crunches. I use Crunch against his Joltik, and a Return each against his Ferroseed and Klink. I head to Mistraltron City.

Once at Mistraltron City, I heal at the Pokémon Center, and buy 6 Max Repels. I get my Pokedex upgraded and head to Route 7. I teach Pidove Fly, encounter and KO 2 Deerlings and a Foongus, and fail to dodge Ace Trainer Elmer. I use Return on his Swoobat, and have Pidove learn Quick Attack over Growl. Purrloin also learns Assist and foregos learning Sand Attack in the process. I use another Return on his Liepard, and have Pidove learn Air Cutter over Leer, and Purrloin learn Fury Swipes over Growl. I use Return on his Watchog, and have Purrloin learn Pursuit over Assist. I then get a PP Up, encounter and KO a Foongus, and enter Celestial Tower. I encounter and KO a Litwick before using a Max Repel and fighting Psychic Doreen. I use Crunch against Doreen’s Elgyem, Retaliate against Doreem’s Solosis, and Crunch against Doreen’s Sigilyph. I teach Stoutland Reversal over Retaliate, and get a Hyper Potion. I then battle Nurse Sachiko, and use Return against her Gohita and Alomomola. I then get healed by Nurse Sachiko, and get TM65. I then talk to Skyla, ring the bell, and Fly back to Mistraltron City.

I enter the gym and get a Fresh Water. I battle Worker Cliff, and use a Return each on each of his two Tranquills. I face Pilot Ted, and use a Return each on his Ducklett and Sigilyph. I then fight Pilot Chase, and use Return against his Unfezant. Next, I face Worker Arnold, and use Crunch against his Swoobat, which takes two tries since his Swoobat manages to Attract my Stoutland. I then begin the Skyla battle, and use Work Up. I then use Crunch against her Swoobat, and then use a Return each on her Unfezant and Swanna. I get the Jet Badge and TM62, and happily end the part.

Below is my plan to finish the seventh part and get the Freeze Badge:

Part 7 Plan:

Mistraltron City, Route 7, Twist Mountain:

Heal at the Pokémon Center, and head to Twist Mountain using Route 7. Fight Cheren. Use Work Up and then use a Return each on his Unfezant, Dewott, Simisear, and Liepard. Get HM03, and fight Hiker Terrell. Use Crunch, Work Up, then Crunch on Hiker Terrell’s Boldore. Use Return on Hiker Terell’s Gurdurr. Navigate through Twist Mountain and try to dodge the trainers. Head to Icirrus City.

Icirrus City:

Say Yes to Cedric’s question, and head to the gym. Fight Black Belt Grant, and use a Crunch each against his first Cubchoo, Cryogonal, and Cubchoo. Face Battle Girl Miriam, and use Crunch against her Cryogonal. Battle Black Belt Kendrew, and use Crunch against his Cubchoo. Face Battle Girl Mikiko, and use Crunch against her Cubchoo, and Return against her Vanillish. Fight Battle Girl Chandra, and use Return on her first Vanillish, and Crunch against her Second Vanillish. Fight Black Belt Thomas, and use Return on his Vanillish, and Crunch on his Cubchoo. Begin Brycen Battle, and use Work Up. Then use Crunch against his Vanillish, Return against his Beartic, and Crunch against his Cryogonal. Get the Freeze Badge and TM79.

This part is certainly doable if there are no major deviations from this plan. My Pokémon currently consist of a level 45 Stoutland, a level 17 Pidove, a level 15 Purrloin, and a level 10 Tepig. I will begin the next part tomorrow and have a report within several days.

 

[JourneymanN00b]

I start the seventh part, and Perry finishes it after running into quite a few more trainers than expected.

Part 3-7:

I heal at the Pokémon Center, and head to Twist Mountain using Route 7. Along the way, I encounter and KO a Tranquill and Deerling and run into Pokemon Ranger Mary after taking a wrong turn. I use Return each on her Swadloon, Simipour, and Tranquill. I get an Aspear Berry and encounter and run from a Watchog. I fail to dodge Backpacker Ruth and use a Return against her Minccino. I encounter and KO a Deerling and a Tranquill and encounter and run from a Zebstrika. I then fight Cheren. I use Work Up and then use a Return each on his Unfezant, Dewott, Simisear, and Liepard. I get HM03, and fight Hiker Terrell. I use Crunch, Work Up, then Crunch on Hiker Terrell’s Boldore. I then use Return on Hiker Terell’s Gurdurr and enter Twist Mountain. I use a Max Repel and navigate through Twist Mountain. I fail to dodge Battle Girl Sharon and use Return, Reversal and then Return to deal with her Throh. I then get a Stardust and use another Max Repel. I then fail to dodge Hiker Neil and use Crunch to deal with his Woobat and Crunch, Return, and then Crunch to KO his Boldore. I then run into Worker Rich and use Crunch and then two Reversals against his Gurdurr, I then use Return and two Reversals against his Boldore to win the battle. I reach Icirrus City without any further trouble.

At Icirrus City, I say yes to Cedric’s question, and head to the gym. I get a Fresh Water, and fight Black Belt Grant, and use a Crunch each against his first Cubchoo, Cryogonal, and Cubchoo. I then face Battle Girl Miriam, and use Crunch against her Cryogonal. Next, I battle Black Belt Kendrew, and use Crunch against his Cubchoo. Then I face Battle Girl Mikiko, and use Crunch and then Reversal against her Cubchoo, and two Reversals against her Vanillish. Next, I fight Battle Girl Chandra, and use Return on her first Vanillish, and Crunch against her Second Vanillish. I fight Black Belt Thomas, and use Return on his Vanillish, and Reversal on his Cubchoo. I begin the Brycen battle, and use Work Up. I then use Reversal against his Vanillish since its Frost Breath brought me to 48 HP. I then use Return against his Beartic, and Crunch against his Cryogonal to win the battle. I decline teaching Stouland Last Resort in the process. I get the Freeze Badge and TM79, and end the part with pride.

Below is my plan to finish the eighth part and get the Legend Badge:

Part 8 Plan:

Icirrus City, Dragonspiral Tower:

Use an Elixir, and head to Dragonspiral tower. Use a Max Repel, and head upstairs to face the first Team Plasma Grunt. Use a Return against the first Team Plasma Grunt’ Watchog. Then face the second, third, and fourth Team Plasma Grunts, and use Reversal on each of their Pokémon. Face the fifth Team Plasma Grunt. Use Return on the fifth Team Plasma Grunt’s Watchog, and then Reversal and Return on the Fifth Team Plasma Grunt’s Scraggy and Krokrok respectively. Get the Max Elixir, and face the sixth Team Plasma Grunt. Use a Reversal each on the sixth Team Plasma Grunt’s Watchog and Krokorok. Fight the seventh Team Plasma Grunt and use Return on the seventh Team Plasma Grunt’s Krokorok. Face the eighth Team Plasma Grunt and use Crunch and Reversal on the eighth Team Plasma Grunt’s Trubbish and Liepard respectively. Fight the ninth Team Plasma Grunt and use Crunch on the ninth Team Plasma Grunt’s Watchog. Head upstairs, take part in the cutscene and fly to Nimbasa City.

Nimbasa City, Route 4, Desert Resort, Relic Castle:

Head to Route 4, and go to the Desert Resort. Use a Max Repel and the Max Elixir, and head to the Relic Castle. Face the first Team Plasma Grunt. Use Crunch on the first Team Plasma Grunt’s Watchog, then use a Reversal each on the first Team Plasma Grunt’s two Krokoroks. Fight the second Team Plasma Grunt, and use Reversal and Return on the second Team Plasma Grunt’s Scraggy and Watchog. Then face the third Team Plasma Grunt, and use Return on the third Team Plasma Grunt’s Garbodor. Battle the fourth Team Plasma Grunt, and use Reversal on the fourth Team Plasma Grunt’s Krokorok. Fight the fifth Team Plasma Grunt, and use Reversal on the fifth Team Plasma Grunt’s Liepard. Then use a Crunch each on the fifth Team Plasma Grunt’s two Trubbishs. Battle the sixth Team Plasma Grunt, and use Return and Reversal on the sixth Team Plasma Grunt’s Watchog and Scraggy. Fight the seventh Team Plasma Grunt, and use Crunch and Reversal on the seventh Team Plasma Grunt’s Trubbish and Liepard respectively. Partake in the Ghetsis cutscene, and fly to Nacrene City.

Nacrene City, Icirrus City, Route 8, Tubeline Bridge, Route 9:

Heal at the Pokémon Center, then go to the Museum and answer yes to the question to get the Light Stone. Fly to Icirrus City and head to Route 8. Fight Bianca, and use Work Up twice. Then use a Return against her Stoutland. Then use Return against her Simipour and a Crunch against her Musharna. Then use Crunch against her Serperior. Cross the Tubeline Bridge and head to Route 9. Head to Opelucid City.

Opelucid City:

Heal at Pokémon Center, go to Drayden’s house, and enter the gym. Fight Ace Trainer Webster and use Return on his Fraxure. Then fight Ace Trainer Olwen and use Return on Ace Trainer Olwen’s Deino. Battle Ace Trainer Jose, and use a Return each on his two Fraxures. Fight Ace Trainer Clara and use a Return on her Fraxure. Fight Veteran Hugo, and use Work Up. Then use Return against his Druddigon. Battle Ace Trainer Tom, and use Return on each of his Pokemon. Use a Super Potion to heal Stoutland, and face Ace Trainer Dara. Use a Return each on Ace Trainer Dara’s Deino and Druddigon. Then battle Veteran Kim and use a Return each on her two Fraxures. Begin Drayden Battle, and use Work Up. Then use Crunch against his Fraxure, and a Return each on his Druddigon and Haxorus. Get the Legend Badge and TM82.

This is another straightforward part that should not present any complications. My Pokémon currently consist of a level 51 Stoutland, a level 17 Pidove, a level 15 Purrloin, and a level 10 Tepig. I will begin the next part tomorrow and have a report within several days.

 

[JourneymanN00b]

I start the eighth part, and Perry finishes it without too many problems.

Part 3-8:

I use an Elixir, get an Old Gateau, and head to Dragonspiral tower. I use a Max Repel, teach Tepig Strength over Odor Sleuth, and get a Stardust. I then head to the third floor to face the first Team Plasma Grunt. I use a Return against the first Team Plasma Grunt’ Watchog. I then face the second, third, and fourth Team Plasma Grunts, and use Reversal on each of their Pokémon. I then face the fifth Team Plasma Grunt. I use Return on the fifth Team Plasma Grunt’s Watchog, and then Reversal and Return on the Fifth Team Plasma Grunt’s Scraggy and Krokrok respectively. I get a Dragon Fang, a Revive, the Max Elixir, and face the sixth Team Plasma Grunt. I use a Reversal each on the sixth Team Plasma Grunt’s Watchog and Krokorok. I then fight the seventh Team Plasma Grunt and use Return on the seventh Team Plasma Grunt’s Krokorok. Next, I face the eighth Team Plasma Grunt and use Crunch and Reversal on the eighth Team Plasma Grunt’s Trubbish and Liepard respectively. Finally, I fight the ninth Team Plasma Grunt and use Crunch on the ninth Team Plasma Grunt’s Watchog. I head upstairs, take part in the cutscene and fly to Nimbasa City.

I head to Route 4, and go to the Desert Resort. I use a Max Repel and head to the Relic Castle. I fail to avoid Psychic Perry, and use Crunch against his Sigilyph. I then face the first Team Plasma Grunt. I use Crunch on the first Team Plasma Grunt’s Watchog, then use a Reversal each on the first Team Plasma Grunt’s two Krokoroks. I get a Max Potion, and fight the second Team Plasma Grunt, where I use Reversal and Return on the second Team Plasma Grunt’s Scraggy and Watchog. I then face the third Team Plasma Grunt, and use Return on the third Team Plasma Grunt’s Garbodor. I get TM30, and battle the fourth Team Plasma Grunt. I use Reversal on the fourth Team Plasma Grunt’s Krokorok. I find a Max Revive, and fight the fifth Team Plasma Grunt, where I use Reversal on the fifth Team Plasma Grunt’s Liepard. Then use a Crunch each on the fifth Team Plasma Grunt’s two Trubbishs. I encounter and run from a Cofagrigus and get a PP Up. I battle the sixth Team Plasma Grunt, and use Return and Reversal on the sixth Team Plasma Grunt’s Watchog and Scraggy. Finally, I fight the seventh Team Plasma Grunt, and use Crunch and Reversal on the seventh Team Plasma Grunt’s Trubbish and Liepard respectively. I partake in the Ghetsis cutscene, and fly to Nacrene City.

Once at Nacrene City, I heal at the Pokémon Center, then go to the Museum and answer yes to the question to get the Light Stone. I fly to Icirrus City and head to Route 8. I get TM36, and encounter and run from a Palpitoad and a Stunfisk. I fight Bianca, and use Work Up twice. Next, I use a Return against her Stoutland. Then, I use Crunch twice against her Serperior. Finally, I use Return against her Simipour and a Crunch against her Musharna. I get a Full Restore, cross the Tubeline Bridge, and head to Route 9. I get TM56, and fail to dodge Hooligans Jim and Cas. I use Return to deal with their Scraggys, and have Pidove forego learning Roost. I then proceed to Opelucid City.

Once I arrive at Opelucid City, I heal at the Pokémon Center, go to Drayden’s house, and enter the gym. I get a Fresh Water, and fight Ace Trainer Webster. I use Return on his Fraxure. Then I fight Ace Trainer Olwen and use Return on Ace Trainer Olwen’s Deino. Next, I battle Ace Trainer Jose, and use a Return each on his two Fraxures. I fight Ace Trainer Clara and use a Return on her Fraxure. Next, I fight Veteran Hugo, and use Work Up. Then use Return against his Druddigon. I battle Ace Trainer Tom, and use Return on each of his Pokemon. I use a Hyper Potion to heal Stoutland, and face Ace Trainer Dara. I use a Return each on Ace Trainer Dara’s Deino and Druddigon. Then I battle Veteran Kim and use a Return each on her two Fraxures. I finally begin the Drayden Battle, and use Work Up. I then use Crunch against his Fraxure, and a Return each on his Druddigon and Haxorus. I get the Legend Badge and TM82 and happily end the part.

So below is my plan to finish the ninth part and the game:

Part 9 Plan:

Opelucid City, Route 10:

Get the Master Ball, heal at the Pokémon Center, and head to Route 10. Use a Max Repel, and face Cheren. Use Work Up, then use Return against all of his Pokémon. Forgo learning Giga Impact when Stoutland reaches level 59. Get the 2 Max Revives, and head to Victory Road.

Victory Road:

Use Max Repels to pass through Victory Road. Face Ace Trainer Shanta. Use a Return each on her Whimsicott and Zebstrika. Enter Pokémon League.

Pokémon League:

Buy 5 Full Restores, and Fight Marshal. Use a Guard Spec, and then two Work Ups. Then use Return each on his Throh, Conkeldurr, and Mienshao. Use Crunch and Return against his Sawk to win the battle. Battle Grimsley. Use Guard Spec and Work Up. Then use Return each on Grimsley’s Scrafty and Krookodile. Use Reversal and Return against Grimsley’s Bisharp and Liepard respectively. Face Caitlin, and use Work Up. Then use a Return each against all of her Pokémon. Battle Shauntal, and use Work Up. Then use a Crunch each against all of Shauntal’s Pokémon. Take the statue downstairs and go to the champion’s room. After the cutscene, go to N’s Castle.

N’s Castle:

Go to N’s throne room, and face Reshiram after two cutscenes. Use the Master Ball to catch it. Battle N. With Reshiram, use DragonBreath twice on his Zekrom. If Reshiram faints, then bring in Stoutland and utilize Return. If Reshiram is still active, then use DragonBreath. In any case, Stoutland should be switched in and use Work Up twice. Then Crunch should be used against his Carracosta. Use Return against his Zoroark. If Stoutland is at least 70 HP, use Work Up. In either case, use Reversal against N’s Klinklang. Finally, use Return against his Vanilluxe and Crunch against his Archeops. Battle Ghetsis. Use Fusion Flare twice against his Cofagrigus, then switch to Stoutland. If Cofagrigus is not KO’d, then use Crunch to finish it off. In any case, use Work Up and then Return against his Boufflant. Then use a Return each against his Hydreigon and Seismitoad. Then use Return twice against his Bisharp. Finally use Return against his Eelektross to win the final battle. Watch the credits.

So this Lithium Rogue is at the home stretch and is an excellent position to finish the game. My Pokémon currently consist of a level 58 Stoutland, a level 19 Pidove, a level 15 Purrloin, and a level 10 Tepig. I will begin the final part tomorrow and have a report within several days.

 

[JourneymanN00b]

I start the final part, and Perry manages to finish the game and successfully complete the Lithium Rogue Challenge after a couple of tense moments encountered in the process.

Part 3-9:

I get the Master Ball, heal at the Pokémon Center, and head to Route 10. I use a Max Repel, and face Cheren. I use Work Up, then use Return against all of this Pokémon. I forego Stoutland learning Giga Impact in the process. I get the 2 Max Revives, and fail to dodge Veteran Chester. I use Return against his Beartic, Return against his Seismitoad, and Crunch and Return against his Escavalier. I then head to Victory Road.

I use Max Repels to pass through Victory Road. In the process, I face Ace Trainer Shanta, where I use a Return each on her Whimsicott and Zebstrika. I then get a full heal, Enter Pokémon League.

At the Pokemon League, I heal my Pokémon, buy 5 Full Restores, and fight Marshal. I use a Guard Spec, and then two Work Ups. Then I use Return each on his Throh, Conkeldurr, and Mienshao. Finally, I use Crunch and Return against his Sawk to win the battle. I then battle Grimsley, and use Guard Spec and Work Up. I then use a Return on Grimsley’s Scrafty, which does NOT take it out. The Scrafty takes my Stoutland to 2 HP, and I use Reversal to finish off the Scrafty. I use Reversal against Grimsley’s Krookodile and Bisharp. Finally, I use a Hyper Potion and use Return against Grimsley’s Liepard. Next, I face Caitlin, and use Work Up. I then use a Return each against all of her Pokémon. I proceed to battle Shauntal, and use Work Up. I get burned with a Will-o-Wisp from Shauntal’s Cofagrigus, and use a Full Restore to heal Stoutland up. After using a Return by mistake, I then use a Crunch each against all of Shauntal’s Pokémon, getting burned again from a Flame Body from Shauntal’s Gothielle. The Crunch was not enough to KO the Shauntal’s Jellicent, and the burn and the Jellicent Surf take it down to 2 HP. I use another Full Restore and use 2 Super Potions, since Jellicent’s Cursed Body disabled the use of my Stoutland’s Crunch for that time. When my Stoutland is able to use Crunch again, I use it to KO the Jellicent. I take the statue downstairs and go to the champion’s room. After the cutscene, I go to N’s Castle.

I get a Rare Candy, use the 2 Rare Candies on Stoutland, and go to N’s throne room, and face Reshiram after two cutscenes. I use the Master Ball to catch it and Battle N. With Reshiram, I use DragonBreath twice on his Zekrom to take it out. I then use DragonBreath twice against N’s Carracosta, which gets it to very low HP. I switch in Stoutland and use Work Up twice, while N fully heals his Carracosta with a Full Restore. I then use Crunch twice to finish off his Carracosta, and proceed to use Return against his Zoroark. I then use Work Up and Return twice against N’s Klinklang. Finally, I use Return against his Vanilluxe and Crunch against his Archeops. I then battle Ghetsis. I start by using Fusion Flare four times against his Cofagrigus to KO it, with two getting Protected. I then switch to Stoutland, use Work Up, and then Return against his Boufflant. I then use a Return each against his Hydreigon and Seismitoad. Next, I use Return twice against his Bisharp. I finally use Return against his Eelektross to win the final battle. I then watch the credits and pat myself on the back.

I am sure that this is well known, but there was no “Congratulations” screen to take a picture with like there was in Sapphire and Diamond. I instead flew to Accumula Town, went to the Pokémon Center, accessed the PC, and checked the records for the First Game Clear as proof. It took a grand total of 11 hours and 30 minutes, for the Lithium Rogue Challenge to be completed in Generation V, which was a bit shorter than the clear time for Generation IV, but much longer than the clear time for Generation III. The number of attempts was also down the middle, as it took three tries to get a successful run going. Generation III took 6 tries, while Generation IV only took one. I am not sure if I want to continue Lithium Rogue’s challenge on Generation VI. If I do, I will probably pick X as my game of choice.

The below link shows the said picture mentioned in the above paragraph:

https://imgur.com/a/3uiOt1Q

 

[Madison M]

After all this time, I finally became the champion in Black 2 with a team of Samurott, Lucario, Cobalion, Terrakion, Swoobat, and Weavile. I kept failing and gave up, but recently I actually tried and won. Marshal was pretty hard since my team is really bad against fighting types and Swoobat just isn't really strong. But I was attached to my team and didn't want to change them. So I eventually beat them.

I also finally tried the PWT today, and completed every regional leader tournament in rotation battles. For most of them I used Samurott, Lucario, Cobalion, and Terrakion. But for Sinnoh, I replaced Terrakion with Swoobat because I kept having to battle Maylene. It was mostly just waiting for a good bracket to get generated so gym leaders were easy. I kept facing types I couldn't really handle like fighting and water. Even Pryce was extremely hard even though 3 of my Pokémon had an advantage. But, I am very stubborn and ended up beating all those tournaments. Now I think I might want to collect some strong Pokémon from each type and do the type expert tournaments. I tried steel with Lucario, Cobalion, Ferrothorn, and Klink (just a random Pokémon I had in my PC), but lost pretty quickly to Margaret.

I've never been much of a battler and play the games for the adventure, but I'm really surprised how much fun the PWT is and I should try more post-game battle facilities.

 

[Drummerdude]

I headed north of Undella Town and explored the rather long Route 13 with nothing of note and completely ignored a Cobalion just chilling on the way to Lacunosa Town. With nothing of note apart from a Plasma battle I ran through Route 12, Village Bridge, and Route 11 before arriving in Opelucid City. I ran around and talked with everyone when I remembered I could go to Route 9 to get a little more training in. Once everyone was at level 48 I decided I was ready to lose and challenged Drayden.

I didn't really have a plan going in. After my last challenge mode fight against Drayden I expected this to be a doozy. I led with Cinccino thinking he would start with Fraxure but it's actually Druddigon. Not that it mattered since two turns of Tail Slap took down the dragon. I left Cinccino in against Altaria and sure enough two turns of Tail Slap defeated it. Dewgong came in against Flygon and won with a few Aurora Beams. With only Haxorus left I let Scrafty take a shot and froze it with Ice Punch. One more Ice Punch and Haxorus fell.

Honestly Cinccino feels like a cheat code and I love it.

Groff, Lv48

COVID-2020, Lv48

Vitamin-Z, Lv48

Marshall, Lv49

Luigi, Lv48

GONGONGONG, Lv48