Heh. I never did the tutorials >_>
But I did manage to beat him, and Baron Phobos too. I think what made Bang Boolum hard was that a lot of the Pokémon in his puzzle had somewhat similar designs, so when he'd black out the sprites they all looked the same.
Baron Phobos, on the other hand, had very uniquely shaped Pokémon like Unown and Gastly---which you could go right for if he blacked the screen out. Also, his trick of pulling pieces out of the grid and replacing them is a free split-second to get your bearings and see what's in front of you.
Thanks for the help, this thread can be closed now.