Grandjackal's Pokemon Soul Silver Playthrough!

[grandjackal]

THE TIME! HAS! COME!!

Oh Johto, how I missed you so. Welcome one and all to my Soul Silver playthrough! We will venture deep into the awesomeness of the Johto region, enjoy the sights, destroy some scrubs, and of course go to Kanto to show the big leagues what's up.

I will be starting with Chikorita, simply because I literally have never used it before. The fact that Falkner stopped being a joke in gen 4 version of Silver hurts it even worse than it already did, and then immedietly faces Bugsy who is a lot worse since now her Scyther has a very threatening move. However, I do have an answer in the form of an egg mon: Slugma. Slugma in theory should be able to take care of ALL of these problems easily, since I know it at some point gets Rock Throw, which is good against flying, and especially good against Scyther due to x4 weakness and Fire resisting Bug. You also are rather strapped for Fire options in this game anyways, since outside of Cyndaquil your options are Magmar and go fuck yourself. Not particularly fond of Magmar anyways, so Slugma it is. Outside of that though just testing out some random mons and satisfying some needs I will need in game such as a Surfer. My team will look like this in full.

Chikorita/Slugma/Nidoran/Stantler/Chinchou/Natu

Now to begin my adventure. Man, I remember when you first showed Elm a Pokemon Egg. He flipped out, like it's so weird these things have babies. Now, he just kinda seems annoyed that Mr. Pokemon keeps sending him eggs while flipping out himself. Mr. Pokemon sounds like an unusual fellow, and that's because he is. Anyways, Chikorita get!

Level 5 Chikorita/Relaxed

19 HP, 10 Atk, 13 Def, 10 Sp Atk, 12 Sp Def, 9 Speed

I don't mind this nature, though I do wish I got an offense boosting one since I know Chikorita's supposed to be bulky anyways. But I still got some pretty good bases, and that Def is delicious.

Fellow researcher is nice enough to give me some potions, and after Lyra wastes time since she contributes nothing to the game, I continue on a happy trail to start my new adventure in my beloved Johto.

Route 29

No fights here, but it's a nice calm walk. Do run into some mons, namely a Pidgey who doesn't gimme any trouble since Chikorita s so buff it takes only 1 damage a shot from it. If I had a +Atk nature, I'd 2 shot it too. Eh, oh well. Run into a Sentret as well. Sort of the same results really.

Cherrygrove Town

Nothing really much happens here. Just heal up and go to meet Mr. Pokemon. Well not true, I DO Get the Running Shoes to help speed up my adventure. Love the Running Shoes in this game as it's a toggle rather than a button to hold.

Route 30

Much akin to route 29, except bigger exp pinatas are hidden in the grass, such as Kakuna. Omnomnomnom.

Chikorita level 6: +2 HP, 0 Speed, 1 everything else. Learned Razor Leaf. WOW, already? Ok sweet, I now have a 55 BP STAB with a higher crit chance.

Potion near the start, a swift pickup as I continue to the house of a raving lunatic. Some guy stops me because he thought I should look at his house (A sunroof, omg! I'm so impressed by your one story one roof house because it has a sunroof! Petty fop), and gives me an Apricorn Box. This must be the more hick local of this world of pokemon, though nothing beats the hayseed local of Hoenn for it's hickness.

Oh hey, Pidgey! Omnomnom. Ow, you did 3 damage that time! Not that it's threatening at all.

Chikorita level 7: +2 HP, Def and Sp Def, +1 everything else.

Antidote get. Onward north, but again I run into interruption, a quaint Weedle which I run from because I don't wanna get poisoned. Mr. Pokemon gives me a MysteryEgg (It's not a mystery, goddammit!) and offers a rest. So much for running from Weedle. Anyway, Professor Oak! What's up man, haven't seen you in ages! Hegives me a Pokedex and tells me to go do the work HE'S supposed to be doing. At least the professor in Black and White actually does her own field research. I excuse Oak though, because he's a lot like the Merlin of the pokemon universe.

Ahh, but as I head back to Elm's,he calls me up and says something bad has happened! Oh crap he must have crossed the streams again! I better get back quick.

On the way back I happen upon more Weedles which I flee from because Poison is icky. Back in Cherrygrove before that suspicious fellow peeping into Elm's place. Apparently he doesn't like me.

Rival: Red-Haired Man

Hmmm, a Cyndaquil? Just coming from Elm's place? Clearly he has raided what is the ruins of my town after Elm blew it to kingdom come in a nuclear reaction explosion. It starts Leering at me while I just shrug and get to Tackling. It doesn't come close to outdamaging me because Soul Silver is silly in letting me get levels in before the rival fight (though at least this rival is interesting). Four tackles and it goes down while I'm merely reduced to 15 HP. More than enough health to go on to Elm's-sorry, turns out it was a 5HKO. I got hit with another Leer and then Tackled. Make that 11 HP. I like the excuse of dropping his trainer card (why does he even have one considering his backround?). I actually think him just boasting his name is better since he is always a dick anyways.

Oh, guess I can avoid all the mons back to Elm's. Ok good, the place is still here, so Elm didn't doom the entire world. However, it's then I'm suspected of the theft even though I was nowhere near town by the time they started investigating.

Anyways, this is one of those games that does the mistake of letting the player name the rival. I won't be immature about it (like I usually am) and name him simply Silver. I deliver the egg, of which Elm shrugs. He's more surprised Oak gave me a Dex, like I'm just the untrustable toad errand boy of the town. I say my goodbyes and set back off to the real adventure.

Level 4 Sentret comes at me. Perfect time to use Razor Leaf, whihc is an easy 2HKO, only taking a Scratch back.

Chikorita level 8: +2 HP, +1 everything else.

I heal up in Cherrygrove and head back out to Route 30 towards Violet City. This time there be trainers about. Youngster with a Rattata, which hits with Quick Attack for about no damage while Razor Leaf blows it away. Another Youngster, this time a Pidgey at level 2. About as smple as any wild one, and another Rattata. Quick Attack, and Razor Leaf doesn't quite one shot this one. Must have been a Def- the last one.

Chikorita level 9: +2 HP and Def, +1 everything else. Learned Poison Powder. How delightful, I'm learning cool stuff real quick.

A Bug Catcher comes next, much to my annoyance. Caterpie out first, and it's pretty simple to see how the fight goes. Another Caterpie...Phew, and here I was thinking he would have a Weedle. This one wastes it's time with String Shot, so it goes down without any damage. Potion near Dark Tunnel, which I don't plan on going into. Yet another Bug Catcher with 4 mons, notably a Caterpie first. Man, these levels are low. These mons are barely hatchlings. More weedles to feed my heavy armor Chikorita.

Chikorita level 10: +2 HP and Sp Def, +1 everything else. Defenses already at 20. I do not care about damage.

Weedle comes out next and though it hits with Poison Sting, it only does 2 damage but OF COURSE IT POISONS. First hit, never fails. I miss the Tackle too. Doesn't help that with all the String Shot I'm slowed down enough for it to actually matter. Caterpie out next who just String Shots....Wow, I miss my last tackle and die to poison. Fan-fucking-tastic. I avoid all Weedles up till this point and die to the first one I meet. Well, good thing I saved nearby. I decide to jump the ledge first and get the nearby Pokeball. The fight with this Bug Catcher goes more smoothly this time as I don't get poisoned immediately (though the second hits) and I don't miss two Tackles in the same fight. The level stays the same as above. Still have to use an Antidote though.

Violet City

Time to get Slugma. I tell him the magic phrases of WEAK TREASURE and DEPRESSED PLAYING. Apparently Treasure is a lifestyle. SLUGMA EGG GET!

Brb.

...

...

SLUGMA GET!

Slugma level 1/Rash/Flame Body

Yawn, Smog

Well...I was expecting Ember. Definitely like his nature though.

Breaking for now. Ahh, breath of fresh air this game is.

[Esme]

Hell yeah, magma slug!

Good luck on your playthrough. :>

[bobflac]

I was wondering when you would start this. Nice to see that Slugma is made relevant in game. Good luck and have fun!

[Venusaur]

Natu barely has any moves, so I hope you like using TMs!

[Espinosa]

Natu barely has any moves, so I hope you like using TMs!

It also lacks access to the one TM it wants the most (Psychic) until Kanto, but I guess Silver Wind and Shadow Ball TMs do make it less intolerable (though bug/ghost makes for bad coverage). You'll probably be using Fly the most, though.

Edited March 4, 2012 by Espinosa

[grandjackal]

Natu barely has any moves, so I hope you like using TMs!

It also lacks access to the one TM it wants the most (Psychic) until Kanto, but I guess Silver Wind and Shadow Ball TMs do make it less intolerable (though bug/ghost makes for bad coverage). You'll probably be using Fly the most, though.

My team in general is pretty diverse in coverage though. I don't think it'll be that bad, but I'm suspecting Natu has other problems outside of a lack of offensive prowess. 'm just using him because I honestly like the lil' guy. I've been knwn to use mons that I like even if they suck. Look at Aron.

[bobflac]

Natu is between levels 18 and 24 when you find them.

Night Shade (and Peck, but you might need a Heart Scale) is his only non-TM attack until level 39 for Ominous Wind. And that assumes you do not evolve him. Then it is 47.

Psychic is learned at level 47 (59).

Yeah, he REALLY wants some TMs.

Edit: But you obviously realize this. Have fun with him then.

Edited March 4, 2012 by bobflac

[grandjackal]

IT IS TIME FOR SLUGMA TO GROW TO KICK ASS!!

Bellsprout Tower

Man, this is a sweet first dungeon. Sweet music, love the idea behind it (a constantly bending tower? That's dangerous and there's a bunch of monks sitting in it. These guys have humongous balls), and it's...It's just cool, ok?

I decide to go against the first guy with my Slugma and I mean to Yawn his Bellsprout, but Flame Body burns him on the Vine Whip. Even better! Wasted turn, but sweet. Vine Whip does like 1 damage now, so I'mma just keep hitting with Smog until it goes down. Smog sucks donkey wang, but it beats nothing. First enemy it faces at level 1 and it wins. I love you Soul Silver for your low level trainers.

Slugma level 2: +2 HP and Sp Atk, +0 Speed, +1 everything else.

Slugma level 3: +2 HP, +1 everything else.

Next one comes in and LOL another burn. SON, you don't mess with the Slug! After two more turns of Smog missing but Burn being awesome, I give Slugma a Potion since he's at 2 health, and that's risky. Crit hits and saves me the issue of having to take another hit.

Slugma level 4: +2 HP, +3 Sp Atk, +0 Speed, +1 everything else.

One more Bellsprout in my way. I decide to not Yawn since Flame Body can work wonders apparently. Second hit burns it, and I keep Smogging, now noticeably doing actual damage. Another one bites the dust.

Slugma level 5: +2 HP and Sp Atk, +1 everything else.

Head back down a ladder to find a Paralyze Heal and another Monk. First Bellsporut gets hit with a Crit to take it down to half health, and the second vine whip burns it. One more Smog and it goes down easy.

Slugma level 6: +2 HP, +0 At and Speed, +1 everything else.

Next Bellsprout comes out, and I can kill it in 3 hits actually, though it's third hit Burns and Smog missed. Crit only does 2 damage to Slugma and the Bellsprout goes down easy. Next Bellsporut comes in, and though I'm out of PP for Smog I yawn first and switch in Chikorita simply so I don't take more damage than necessary. Well, I go back to the pokecenter to heal since apparently Slugma can handle himself...immediately.

...Oh wow, wild Gastly! I forgot you can find wild mons in this place. I switch to Chikorita since I can't run from it with Slugma, taking a crit and a possible paralysis, though it was just 4 damage. Up the ladder and I get an X Accuracy (this will help if I get Rock Throw in time. For anyone else, this helps out your Geodude). Another bald kung fu man interrupts me to assault me with plants. More Scrubsprouts as usual. I commence the smoggong with with a crit I do about 3/4. Next Smog misses. I decide to Yawn just to save PP and let the burn kill it.

Slugma level 7: +2 Sp Atk, +0 Sp Def and Speed, +1 everything else. STILL no moves? Come on Slugma, don't crap out like this on me...

Another Bellsprout, at this point only doing one damage to me. Smog does about a quarter now, though I still hate it's acc, the fact that I burn enemies for attacking me makes up for it. This Bellsprout is getting annoyingly lucky though. 3 missed Smogs. No burn either. Next out, and it gets burned the second hit. 2 missed Smogs however, and that annoys me greatly. Next one though and it goes down. It is then I climb to the top and find a bunch of monks ready to kick ass. Their mons have gotten a raise in level and the frst one threatens to kill the next hit since it does actual damage to me. Potion used, though I still have like 5 left. Smog misses, I take another hit and finally it gets burned. Crit makes up for stuff and it goes back down to about a quarter health. Just need one more hit and I get it.

Slugma level 8: +2 HP and Sp Atk, +1 everything else. Ember get! YES! *Fistpump* perfect timing!

I pick up another Potion and continue on, running into another Gastly. I try to run and I get paralyzed because I'm too slow. Switch out to Chikorita to run. Should not have tested my luck like that, wasted a Paralyze Heal. Another Bellsprout comes for me, and it does meh damage while I one shot it with Ember. Next up is another Monk, another Bellsprout but at a level even higher than the last. It uses Growth and then gets blown up by an Ember.

Slugma level 9: +2 HP, +0 Speed, +1 everything else.

Hoothoot out next. Finally another mon. It Tackles for a decent chunk, but Ember two shots and it misses a Hypnosis. Level 8 and gave less exp than a Bellsprout. There I find Silver beating up an old man...and now it's my turn!

Mini Boss: Lead Bellsprout Monk

First one uses Growth. Repeat results.

Slugma level 10: +2 HP, 3 Sp Atk, 0 Sp Def, 1 everything else.

Hoothoot out next, a huge level 10. Peck hurts like a bitch, causing me to use a Potion. Hypnosis hits which makes me sad, and it starts Pecking away. sleep 4 rounds before I wake up, having to use another potion (seriously, this dude's luck is absurd). I wake up finally and let off an Ember only to get Hypnotized again. I end up taking a crit and down to 1 HP, forcing to me to use another potion since the next shot could kill me. Ember one shots it of course.

He gives me TM Flash. Prick. So, now I get Escape Rope. I walk out, cause I'mma get treasure at a certain place first.

Ruins of Alph

Speaking of which, I use it now to open the first chamber's hidey hole. For that I get Heal Powder, Energy Powder, a Pecha Berry, and am Oran Berry. Next is to fix up the puzzle for the sake of completion. Run into a couple Unknown while I'm down there.

Slugma level 11: +2 HP and Sp Atk, +0 Speed, +1 everything else. Rock Throw get!

Violet City Gym

Spearow comes out, and on Fury Attack burns it. Rock Throw does about...Half. Stupid level 9 Spearow. Next punk has a Pidgey and it rudly Sand Attacks me, but I still hit to blow it with Ember since it didn't quite one shot. Next Pidgey tackles me and bursts into flames. It uses Sand Attack, but NOTHING SHALL SAVE IT. Down it goes.

Now for what may be the most troublesome punk on this run.

Boss: Falkner

Gawd, the gym leader music in this game. Pidget out first and it hits a Tackle, while I hit it with a crit and rocks.

Slugma level 12: +2 HP, +1 everything else.

Pidgeotto comes out next and is level 13. Gust is unleashed to reduce me to single HP while I hit it with Yawn. I use a Potion, and Gust hits to reduce me to 11 HP. Rock Throw hits for...Wow, a quarter. I throw an Ember at it and I use a Potion as it gets to low health. I use another Yawn while I use another Potion. I get another hit of Gust and I hit it with an Ember. I didn't realize he doesn't use Potions...I was being cautious, but I destroy it. I HAVE SOLO'D FALKNER'S GYM WITH SLUGMA! GET SOME!!

He gives me a TM for Roost. Damn, that's crazy to get early. I visit the professor's assistant at the mart (because the dick south of violet town hates me) and he gives me an egg of a much more useless mon than Slugma.

I'mma take a break, but to report on Slugma, Flame Body saves it's ass. Without it, it's offense is incredibly unreliable until it hits the level to learn Ember. Once it does though, it's all good from there. He is going to rock against Bugsy.

Levels

Chikorita level 10

29 HP, 15 Atk, 20 Def, 15 Sp Atk, 19 Def, 13 Speed

Tackle, Growl, Razor Leaf, Poison Powder

Slugma level 12

32 HP, 15 Atk, 17 Def, 26 Sp Atk, 13 Sp Def, 10 Speed

As you can see, Slugma's Sp Atk is no joke.

[bobflac]

Wow, I would not have expected Slugma to be that good. And he gets Recover in his twenties. They seriously buffed him up.

[MacLovin]

Have fun with CHuck, Jasmine, Pryce and Clair

Slugma........is actually useful?!?!

Wtf?!

[Titamon]

Slugma will probably slow down eventually due to having a late evo and 20 base speed

[grandjackal]

I've decided not to catch Nidoran, as it comes too early. I already have 2 mouths to feed here, and I don't wanna rack up any more mons.

Now, we continue past Violet City to the south.

Route 32

The dickhead who blocks your way up until now gives you a Miracle Seed apologetically. Apology accepted. I give it to Chikorita, naturally.

Youngster comes out with a Rattata and it gets blown up by Razor Leaf. Zubat follows, much to my dismay. Gotta use Tackle now until I get Supersonic'd. Decide to switch out to Slugma who takes a Leech Life for 1 damage. Supersonic's Slugma too (55 acc my ass), but I hit it with a rock. That solves all problems.

Chikorita level 11: +2 HP, +3 Def, +1 everything else.

In the grass just to the left of that guy happens to be a Repel. That'll be nice in the upcoming cave. Up against a wall there happens to be a Picnicker, who has a Nidoran. Wish Chikorita had a better physical attack than Tackle right now. It starts growling, making it even more mindnumbing. I just decide to see what Razor Leaf would do and I fucking miss. Another Growl before Razor Leaf hits for dimpy damage. I keep spamming it since the difference between t and Tackle doesn'treally exist, and I'd rather have the higher crit right now. I'm fortunate she kept trying to debilitate me. Only scratched once. It was level 8 and only 100 exp? That's terrible.

The road forks, and to the left are campers while to the right are fisherman. My path is clear. A Poliwag from the first fisherman, and much to my annoyance it outspeeds me and Hypnotizes me. Oh well, it only has Bubble to not damage me with. 3 Bubbles, and then Razor Leaf demolishes it.

Chikorita level 12: +2 HP and Sp Def, +1 everything else. Replaced Growl with Synthesis. A recovery move, for real game?

The next Poliwag comes in, and of course it's faster and Hypnotizes me. Clearly, Poliwag is fast. I wake up the next turn though. Next in the river of asskicking busts out a Magikarp. I just whittle it down with Tackles after I Synthesis to recover lost health. Another Magikarp eh? Screw this, eat Razor Leaf. Imagine this two more times. One more Fisherman on the river of asskick, and he has but a quaint Goldeen to greet us with. It has Peck, but my Chikorita is a master sushi chef-who can not apparently one shot a Goldeen with Razor Leaf.

Chikorita level 13: +2 HP and Def, +1 everything else.

I tag in Slugma...Just in time to meet a Youngster with Wooper. Switching back to Chikorita to hit it with a Razor Leaf since Slugma can't do jack to this thing. Predictably, it goes down easy. I go up the left path, finding a nearby-ok, I cannot run from a level 4 Ekens. Comes to show you folks, Slugma does not come without it's own unique problems. It Wraps me so can't run even if I wanted to. Lit it up with Ember. As I was saying though, the path comes with Bullet Seed! I keep Razor Leaf anyways because it's more reliable despite Bullet Seed's more possible damage. Another Ekans eh? Ember burns it to a crisp.

Slugma level 13: +2 HP and Sp Atk, +0 Speed, +1 everything else.

Ok, so Chikorita leads while I'm in the area. Find a Great Ball on the overlook, and run into a Camper. I tag in Slugma for it, and see it has a Nidoran. Though it Double Kicks me and crits, it burns itself while I light it up with Ember. It Focuses, knowing it's death is imminent. I heal up at the Pokecenter and run into a Bird Keeper. He throws a scrubby Pidgey at me, and wow it's faster still. Ok so there's a problem, Slugma's slow as shit. I get Sand Attacked, but my next two Rock Throws hit anyways and I just get hit with a Tackle. Spearow comes out next, and it gets beaned.

Union Cave

The Zubats here are annoying to Slugma. To the north I know is treasure, so I go that way first. A Fire Eater stops me first, and busts out a Vulpix. It uses Ember formeh damage while I hit t with a rock. Tail wWhip, another rock. So yeah, another advantage Slugma has is that it can win against other fire types easy. Rattata comes out of the wild and I light it up since I know I can't run with Slugma.

Slugma level 14: +1 to everything.

Down the stairs is a hidden X Speed in the rock, the TM for Rock Tomb, and an X Defend. Back on the normal path, there's an X Attack, followed soon by a jovial Hiker. Guy has an Onix and is faster than Chikorita. Not that it matters, cause it falls to Razor Leaf.

Chikorita level 14: +2 HP and Sp Def, +1 everything else.

Another Hiker dares th challenge me with scrubby Geodudes, and Razor Leaf tears it up.

Chikorita level 15: +2 HP, Atk and Def, +1 everything else. Finally, an Atk boost.

Hidden Great Ball in the wall to the right in the gap between the rocks. Potion to the left of the Fire Eater. Guy's rather relatable, Zubat keeps Supersonicing his team. Koffing comes out first and gets lit up with an Ember. Another Koffing, another Ember. Great Ball just lying around nearby. Rather creepy fellow up next, and it's a Pokemaniac with a Slowpoke! What's up master derpy? Yeah, I remember pokemaniacs looking like insanity in 2nd gen. Razor Leaf almost kills it but all it does is Yawn. Sleep is avoided. One last item before exiting, a Awakening.

Route 33

Raining outside. Oh well, not like it matters as there's a Hiker out here. Razor Leaf deals with the Geodude and the Machop gets crit'd.

Chikorita level 16: +2 HP and Sp Def, +0 Speed, +1 everything else.

Chikorita evolved into Bayleef!

Azalea Town

Hmm, seems there's trouble in this quiet little hamlet. I decide to save here and take a break.

Levels

Bayleef level 16/Relaxed

46 HP, 26 Atk, 36 Def, 26 Sp At, 32 Sp Def, 23 Speed

Tackle, Synthesis, Razor Leaf, Poison Powder

Slugma level 14/Rash

35 HP, 17 Atk, 19 Def, 29 Sp Atk, 15 Sp Def, 11 Speed

Yawn, Smog, Ember, Rock Throw

Speed is not my forte as you can see. But everything else is.

[grandjackal]

So I ask around Azalea to see what's up, and then old man Kurt hulks out and heads for Slowpoke Well. Well, guess I know where I'm going next.

Slowpoke Well

Man, Team Rocket's theme was made 100 times sweeter in this version. So first guy I square off with throws a Rattata at my Slugma. It QAs me, but come on Rockets, why are you still using garbage mons. Ember doesn't quite kill, but it DID get burned for that QA. I Smog, but I miss and the burn kills anyways. Another Rattata who Tail Whips me. A Tackle hurts a bit, but it goes down simple enough. On the way to the captain, I find a Super Potion and another rocket by the stairs. Zubat this time. Suck brick kid! *Throws rock*. Oh, and it Leeched and got burned. It attempts a Supersonic and misses, it going down to Smog.

Slugma level 15: +2 HP and Sp Atk, +0 Atk and Speed, +1 Def and Sp Def.

Ekans next. It has Bite and it flinches me while hurting like a bitch, but I burn it by existing. Another Bite does only 7 damage this time. I use a Potion just in case as I'm reducedto rather iffy HP. It poison stings and fails to poison. To my surprise, the burn doesn't do enough to kill, and it poisons me the next shot. I use Heal Powder to rid myself of the poison. Next Rocket has a Rattatat, which tackles for some damagewhile Ember lights it up. Zubat next, and it annoyingly gets a Supersonic off. However, Rock Throw musters through and crits. Yet another Zubat who uses Astonish and burns itself. Sucker. I throw a rock and miss while it takes some burn damage. Astonish now does like no damage. I finally hit it with a rock and it goes down. One last punk.

Rocket Captain: Proton

He starts the battle in a pose that I can only describe as showing his ass off. Rock Throw on his Zubat literally goes down to 1 HP, and it lands a Supersonic. It starts using Leech Life, but it burns the minute it tries, not that it matters since Ember hits next. Koffing out next. It misses a Smog and gets hit with an Ember. Repeat agan. It gets the last Smog off and Poisons, but it lses it's last 1 HP.

Slugma level 16: +2 HP, +3 Sp Atk, +1 everything else.

Harden? Hmm. Well, it beats Smog.

So I kick Rocket to the curb, and Kurt kindly escorts me out and gives me a Fast Ball. Rather nice guy he is. Anyways, I heal up and head to the gym.

Azalea Gym

First trainer has a Caterpie, and wow it outspeeds Slugma. Whatever, no damage really happens seeing as I just light it on fire and it uses derp da derp string shot. Weedle next, and it attempts a Poison Sting. Attempt fails. The midway is blocked by yet another Bug Catcher, tossing a Weedle at me. It's not faster than me, so it gets lit on fire for being level 7 and not a Kakuna. Next mon however IS a Kakuna. It also gets lit on fire. Next is BEEDRILL WHOAMG. Fury Attack doesn't hti for much, and the first hit Burns it so it does reduced damage overall, then eats an ember. It Fury Attacks again while I just Harden since it'll die anyways. It of course hits another 4 strikes off Fury Attack, but it goes down to ashes.

Slugma level 17: +2 HP and Def, +0 Speed, +1 everything else

Next are twins, which means a double team. Bayleef tackles Spinarack, Ledyba tacles Bayleef while Slugma throws a rock at it and instantly downs it. Poison Sting hits Bayleef for no damage, but poisons. I use Synthesis to shake off the damage while I light Spinarak up. I use the Pecha Berry from the ruins to heal off the poison. One last Bug Catcher, and all he has is a Paras. It's slow despite it's high level, and it's 4x weak to Ember, so it bursts into flames.

Now to face the king...Err, queen. of uh..scrubs...is Bugsy a guy or a girl? Rather androgynous. I use a Super Potion first. I'll need it.

Boss: Bugsy

Now Bugsy got a LOT more vicious this time, as not only does he uhh...she lead with Scyther, it has U-Turn, so if you have no way to deal wth 3 U-Turns well of this vicious animal, that Scyther will straight roll you. It has QA too, and that hurts like hell. I decide to start with Yawn, since letting this guy go berserk is a bad idea. It Leers first, so I get that Yawn off scott free. It uses another Leer so it just lets me get away with Yawning it. It doses and I hit it with a rock. It uses a Berry, snce even though it's x4 weak to it, it doesn't one shot because Scyther is fucking nuts. Still sund asleep as I bean it with another rock and it goes down. Yup, a Slugma just took down Bugsy's Scyther by itself and took no damage.

Slugma level 18: +2 HP and Sp Atk, +0 Sp Def, +1 everything else.

Metapod up next...BAHAHAHAHAHA. It's somehow faster, and it's Tackle does hilariously bad damage, Ember one shots. Kakuna last, and it hopelessly goes for a Poison Sting. FIIIIIIIIIIIRE!!

So, which of you folks didn't see a gym solo coming form this Slugma? Badge get, and also U-Turn get! U-Turn is a pretty awesome move in the hands of the right mon. Trouble is, none of those mons are mons I'll be using.

I heal up and make my way to the forest. But first.

Rival Battle: Silver

He sends out a Gastly first, and it stupidly uses Curse so Slugma instantly blows it up for free. The residual Curse damage hurts though. Zubat's out next, and as much as I don't want to switch I do so. Tackle hits the Zubat and it misses a Supersonic. Another Tackle before Supersonic finally hits. Bite hits fr about 5 damage and flinches. Tackle hits again as I take another Bite. Hit myself this time and then bitten. Another Bite (Stupid speed tie) and I hit myself again. I flinch and wow, Bayleef falls to a Zubat. Zubat bites Slugma on the way in, and though it gets burnt it still falls to Ember.

Slugma level 19: +2 HP and Sp Atk, +0 Sp Def and Speed, +! Atk and Def.

Quilava out next. It uses Smokescreen, which is pestering but Rock Throw connects anyways...For a quarter damage. I decide to Yawn because I'm going to get annoyed by this really easily. It's gonna be a long battle so I decide to Harden up. It leers that turn, but whatever. Falls asleep the next and I commence hardening. I get two off before commencing hte offensive. It wakes up the next turn of course, and Rock Throw hits. I Yawn again as it Leers to bring me back down even. It Leers once more as I throw a Rock and hit again. 3 Smoke screens and I'm somehow connecting them all. Down to a sliver of health I use an Ember (Still hit!) and Quilava goes down. Slugma, you are a fucking boss.

I heal up and put Bayleef in the lead and-hey, the egg hatched! I get a Togepi...anyways, onward!

Ilex Forest

I use a Repel while going out to fetch this doofus's Farfetch'd. I catch the first one, and nearby is a Revive. I remember that I actually need a mon to Cut for me, so once Repel wears off I make sure to keep my eye out for a Paras, only to be used as a temp. I catch the two mons and am rewarded with HM Cut! Not that you can really call it a reward. I return to Azalea and get Charcoal from the fellow who forgot to reward me too. Giving that to Slugma to make his fire even more boss. While I'm out here, I remember I'm rather strapped for Cutters out here, so I catch an Ekans to see if it learns it. It does not.

...

Fuck it, I'm teaching Bayleaf Cut. Beats Tackle damage in the least. I want Body Slam later though, so if anyone could point me in the direction of the MoveDeleter, that would be fantastic. X Attac hidden tucked away in a small path in the trees. Wild Kakuna, nice. I decide to take it down for some additional exp. I ignore the path to the Headbutt guy, since not only do I not need it for any mons I want, I don't have any moves I want to replace. Might come back here for Stantler, since it's an awesome STAB move. Hi Kimono Girl. Bye Kimono Girl. Another X Attack near the Kimono Girl, another Kakuna takedown. Pretty simple place really.

Route 34

Ahh, trainers. First up a Youngster with 4 mons. After playing a lot of Emerald and Platinum it's nice to see trainers have an actual number of mons outside of 1 and 2. Rattata comes first, and it gets Razor Leaf'd. Spearow out next, and it gets Cut'd. Critical hit scores.

Bayleaf level 17: +2 HP, Def and Sp Def, +1 everything else.

Another Spearow, more Cutting. Grilling up that chicken later. It growls, but I don't care. Sandshrew out last, and it's pretty obvious what happens here-wow, I did not one shot. It defense curls instead of Poison Stinging, so I just kill it anyways. Next up, a Pokefan who has a Snubbull. Much to my annoyance, it has Intimidate. Even worse, Razor Leaf misses and it Licks me. Razor Leaf actually hits this time and wow, does not even do half. It bites me. Another Razor Leaf and it's down to red while it Licks me again. Cut finishes it. Mareep out next, and this should be a simpler fight. Razor Leaf hits, dealing a crit and destroying it.

Bayleaf level 18: +3 HP, +1 Sp Atk, +2 everything else. Replaced Poison Powder with Reflect. If I need passive damage, Slugma burning things is easier. Besides, for a certain cow coming up, I'mma need that Reflect. Another Youngster ges in my way, and he throws a Mankey at me. Razor Leaf connects, simply one shotting with a crit. Good, I didn't wanna eat a Low Kick with Bayleaf's fat ass. Diglett out next. DIGLETT! You adorable bastard. It hits me with a Sand Attack, but that does not stop the Razor Leaf from wrecking it. Lyra then comes in to interrupt me having fun to teach me about the day care, which no one uses seriously in game. One last Camper between me and the golden land. Just a Psyduck though, so it's all cool. Razor Lea hits, smply destroying the migrained duck.

Goldenrod City

I heal up, save and take a break here.

Levels

Bayleaf level 18 Relaxed

51 HP, 29 Atk, 40 Def, 28 Sp Atk, 36 Sp Def, 26 Speed

Cut, Synthesis, Razor Leaf, Reflect

Slugma level 19 Rash

45 HP, 21 Atk, 25 Def, 39 Sp Atk, 18 Sp Def, 13 Speed

Yawn, Harden, Ember, Rock Throw

I love that earlygame shits on Chikorita so hard that even Silver causes you problems, and then you can get a super early Slugma to completely trash every single one of those problems.

[-Cynthia-]

Bugsy is a guy. It's ok, I think Ash made the same mistake in the anime.

[Grace]

Move Deleter is in Blackthorn City. Have fun dealing with Cut until then.

[riariadne]

Fuck it, I'm teaching Bayleaf Cut. Beats Tackle damage in the least. I want Body Slam later though, so if anyone could point me in the direction of the MoveDeleter, that would be fantastic.

Tragically, the Move Deleter is all the way in Blackthorn. You're gonna be stuck with Cut for a while.

oh yooouuu manix

Edited March 5, 2012 by Dirk Strider

[grandjackal]

So, I decide to go into the underground tunnels and beat up on punks. First guy is a nerd and he busts out...Grimer. Fantastic. Some Cuts as it hardens and does a simple Mudslap. Goes down easy.

Bayleaf level 19: +1 Atk and Speed, +@ everything else.

I throw in Slugma since I don't wanna get hit with anything poisonous. It Poison Gasses me, which is annoying. After him is a Pokemaniac with bizzarely enough a Lickitung. I use Razor Leaf while it misses with something and gets killed by two Razor Leaf hits. I put Slugma in the lead against the SuperNerd since I remembered one of them having a bunch of Magnemites, and I was right. Ember outspeeds and the first goes down. Another Magnemite, another Ember.

Slugma level 20: +2 HP and Sp Atk, +1 everything else.

Really it's just a repeat for 2 more Magnemites. Or rather the last one, since a Voltorb is the actual last one. Bayleaf comes in and hits once to instant kill. Last dude has 2 Slowpokes, and guess what happens to it?

Bayleaf level 20: +2 HP, +3 Def, +1 everything else.

Radio Card get, which apparently Whtney thinks you make pokeballs out of apricots. Welp, time to go beat her ass.

Goldenrod Gym

It's at this point I notice Slugma is startng to have a slow leveling issue. See, Bayleaf and Slugma are at teh same level, but the issue is that it takes 300 more exp to get Slugma to 21. He's been amazing so far, but this is gonna be annoying to get him to Magcargo. I decide to lead with him, since he'll need what I can get for Whitney's damn cow.

First up is a Beauty who has a level 9 Sentret who has QA, which does more damage to it than me since it gets burnt and then lit on fire. The levels on these Sentrets build up real quick, so those QAs start to hurt, but the next goes down to one Ember all the same. Next Sentret manages to live an Ember, but I outspeed while it does stupid things and it goes down. Another Beauty attacks with a bunch of Meowths. They're faster than me naturally, and the scratches hurt. It growls, s the first only gets off one Scratch. Another Meowth that growls (What about Slugma is physically threatening to you?), and it barely survives. It shocks me by Slashing me, and DAMN that hurt. Snubbull comes out with a Bite and that hurts. I use my Super Potion since otherwise I'd be toast in the next Bite. He burns himself however, and it Licks me, causing Paralysis. Ember blows it to ashes.

Slugma level 21: +2 HP, +1 everything else.

Another Lass, this time leading with Bayleaf. Jigglypuff it seems. Razor Leaf misses immediately -_-;; and it gets up a Defense Curl. However, the next hit crits and makes up entirely for it. Yet another Jiggly, which also gets lit up by Razor Leaf. One final Jigglypuff and the same thing basically happens.

Boss: Whitney

Bayleaf sets up Reflect while Metronome makes me fear for my life. Luckily it's merely a Water Gun. Razor Leaf misses and it mimics it. Ok, Razor Leaf again, and it does abut half. Another Metronome does Psywave, whch does meh damage. Another fucking miss, and it nearly kills me with a Sheer Cold which luckily misses. Razor Leaf hits again, but alas it doesn't kill because I was apparently wrong. Leech Seed messes up. Super Potion on Clefairy, which is better than on the damn cow at least. Razor Leaf hits and it goes downanyways.

Bayleaf level 21: ++3 HP, +2 Def and Sp Def, +1 everything else.

And now...The Problem. Miltank. I set up Reflect as it Attracts me, and then switch out to Slugma. I don't like that he's paralyzed (should have probably left to heal that up), but Stomp crikills it anyways. Back in goes Bayleaf who is now going to get Stompspammed while Razor Leaf deals no damage. Attract happens again and I attempt a Synthesis, but it fails. Stomp hits, and again it fails. Out goes Ekans to eat a Stomp and then Togepi so I can use my Oran Berry. It then starts using Rollout. I set up Reflect while I still have a chance and then Synthesis. Miltank misses it's 4th, an I'm back to full. It Attracts again, and I just pray one of my Razor Leaves crits. Stomp hits for about 7 damage behind Reflect. Stomp again and flinches. Razor Leaf hits and doesn't do enough. I attempt another Synthesis and I flinch, and I die.

See? Problem.

Retrying, though this time I'mma lead with Slugma on her, AND I'm going to go back and heal up first. Clefairy again, this time not bothering with Reflect since it'll just Metronome god knows what. Frst leaf hits and it uses Mud Sport. Haha. Razor Leaf hits again, barely killing so the Super Potion is wasted on Clefairy. More cutting leaves and it doesn't go down this time, Metronome using Shockwave to do pitiful damage (2 to be exat).

Bayleaf level 21: +3 HP, +1 Sp Atk and Speed, +2 everything else.

I decide to Yawn it atually, and it gets burnt, wasting it's Lum Berry. I switch in Togepi to absorb the Stomp so that Bayleaf can go in safely. I set up Reflect just in case, and start spamming Razor Leaf. BUT it wakes up immediately the next turn, but still I hit a Razor Leaf. It keeps Stomping, and I keep Leafing. It uses Attract to annoy me. I switch out to Ekans to die since I'm not standing for Attract. It uses Rollout since ekans managed to survive, and I bring out Bayleaf again. Rollout hits for some damage, and I start busting out Razor Leaves, missing the next rollout. Stomp crits (oh thank you game, this fight isn't luck oriented enough) and once it's down to Red health I bust out Slugma to Yawn or hopefully burn it. Unfortunately neither works. I lose.

Ok, let's do this again. Razor Leaf. Clefairy. This time it Doubleslaps, not that it does that much damage. t dies in 2 shots this time.

Bayleaf level 21: Same as above.

I keep Bayleaf in and I attempt a Reflect. I Flinch. I attempt it again. I flinch. I attempt again. I finally get up Reflect. I attempt a Synthesis and get it off. I attempt another Synthesis and get it. I throw out Ekans to be bait, attempting a Leer which it survives the Stomp but succumbs to Attract. I throw in Slugma, which it attracts, but Yawn goes off. It stomps and does a hefty amount of damage, burns itself and eats it's Lum Berry, while Slugma fails the next hit as it succumbs to love. I throw in Togepi and start charming OH NEVERMIND IT WAKES UP THE NEXT FUCKING TURN. I throw in Bayleaf and start setting up Reflect. Next Rollout hits and I use Synthesis because the next hit would kill. I throw i Slugma to absorb the last hit, but I miscounted and get Attracted. Stomp kills, but I get the burn. Bayleaf goes in again. I attempt a Synthesis but I get Flinched. I attempt another but succumb to Attract. Another Super Potion used, and I attempt more Synthesis, finally mustering through it all. I start attempting Reflects (a crit lands, are you shitting me game?). I attempt another Reflect and I flinch. Another attempt, and I flinch. My last Synthesis this time, this time not flinching and I get it off thankfully. Another Reflect attempt and I flinch. Of course she has more Super Potions, and I succumb to Attract. Another Reflect attempt, and FINALLY I get the Reflect off. I use my Oran Berry, simply hoping I can outsurvive it while it Stomps for 4 damage. I revive Slugma just in case because it's cutting it way too close. It starts rolling out with a crit (not that it matters), and at the last shot I hit the Razor Leaf that kills it. That fight is ridiculous without stuff like a Machop or Thunder Wave or something to debilitate that Miltank. It at least doesn't have Milk Drink like it did in gen 2. That was absolutely cruel, but the fight is STILL luck based. That burn simply put it in my favor, since she just uses Attract then Flinchhaxes you to death. She then starts crying and calls me a meanie. I'm the meanie? ME!? You're the bitch who's entire plan is flinch hax, you fuckhead! I hope you get hit by a bus. Oh, thanks for the Attract, how useless.

I'm given the Squirtbottle by the woman in the plant shop. After that I head north.

Route 35

Nicecalm walk to the National Park littered with some Campers and Picnickers. Speaking f Picnickers, Vulpix. Out goes Slugma since I didn't thin of a Vulpix and I don't wanna get burned. It starts Tail Whipping and I throw a rock at it. QA only does 9 damage after two tail whips, so that was laughable. Couples night tonight as a Camper decides to show me up to show off to his girlfriend. He's got a Sandshrew, I have a Bayleaf. My little buddy, you could not have picked a worse fight. HA! You even have a Marill! Son, get blown up.

Bayleaf level 22: +2 HP, Sp Atk and Sp Def, +1 everything else. I no longer have need of Reflect, so I replace it with Magic Leaf for the sake of mixing physical and special. Slugma now forging the path as I take on the girlfriend. Pikachu greats me with a Thundershock while I light it on fire. Next Camper has a Diglett who gets lit up like usual. Another Diglett who hits with an Astonish and burns itself while Ember blows it up. Zubat last as a surprise, and I bean it with a rock.

Fig

Slugma level 22: +3 Sp Atk, +1 everything else.

Juggler hm? He's got a Voltorb as I remembered and bust out Bayleaf. Magic Leaf takes care of this whole fight. Well all but the last, as the last Voltorb gets off two Sonic Booms. Fire Eater next and he's got Magmars with Ember. Rock Throw misses so I take more damage than I want. Does not quite ill as it Leers me and I miss ANOTHER Rock Throw. Leer again. I MISS ANOTHER GODDAMN ROCK THROW RAAAGH!! Finally, he dies! Another Magmar, this time a more fierce level. Faint Attack...Grk. Down goes Slugma. Bayleaf goes out next. I try a Synthesis since I'm barely alive, and I do another one just for the sake of putting meat back on my bones. Time to start spamming Magic Leaf. Since he's spaming Smokescreen and Cut sucks, I start spaming Magic Leaf when I'm not Synthesizing. I luckily land a crit and kill it. Well, guess I'm going back to heal up.

Bayleaf level 23: +3 HP, +2 Def, Sp Def and Speed, +1 everything else.

I go to the right since I know there's a treasure down south and find a Bug Catcher with a cute lil' Venonat. It Poisonpowders me...Dammit. Ember blows it up in retort. No medicines either. Whatever, I'll worry about it when I get this treasure. I run into a Nidoran...no, you're getting a Stantler and soon a Natu. This is a bit much. First treasure is a Paralyze Heal. Wrong medicine, but still nice to have. Oh shit, a Yanma! What are the odds? I decide to throw a rock at it for exp. 252 exp is not a bad catch. Slugma is slower than a Drowzee. Wow. Wow, another Yanma! More rocks, son! Must be swarming. really do want to catch one...But nahh. Next is a Birdcatcher, who has a Pidget. Slugma only has like 5 HP left, and I switch to Bayleaf. I start using Magic Leaf to pierce through any sand attack BS, accidentally hitting Synthesis and take an acidental Gust. 2 Magic Leaves down it. Pidgeotto comes out next and I repeat the plan sans switching Slugma in. It still spams Sand Attack while I just spamMagic Leaf. Down it goes again to two Magic Leaves. For all this, I get TM Payback! How nice this appears almost right before Morty. Now for everyone else, you would have bought Antidotes and stuff before heading out, but for me I head for the center like a cheapskate and head for the next area.

National Park

Ahhh, the music is beautiful.

To the right is a girl with a Persian and gives you a Quick Claw. I'll be saving this for later. But enough of admiring the scenery and music, there is ass to kick! First up, a Snubbull off a pokefan, which spontaneously combusts to an Ember almost. I take a Lick, but 4 damage is not threatening. A Schoolkid has an Oddish! FIRE EXPLOSION. Setting the whole park on fire.

Slugma level 23: +2 HP and Sp Atk, +0 Speed, +1 everything else.BFAHAHAHAHA Recover? Seriously? Hell yeah, get rid of Harden!

Voltorb comes next, and it uses haha Rollout and gets Magic Leaf'd. Nextup is a Lass, again with an incredibly flammable Oddish. Man, having Fire this early kicks ass. Anyone who doesn't pick Cyndaquil should totally get Slugma. Next mon she has is a Cubone, which I Magic Leaf. A Pokefan pops out from the deep grass, assaulting us with a motherfucking Raichu. It even has Thunderbolt, which I was not prepared for as it nearly one shots me with it. But, I crit with Ember and down it. Well if that wasn't a wild west quickdraw, I dunno what is. Now before I leave, there's a secret path up north to outside the rungs that block you from the circumfrence of grass, which leads you to a TM for Dig and a Soothe Bell! All for you fans of Eeveelutions like Umbreon and Espeon.

I see a Psychic upcoming, so I switch to Bayleaf cause Slugma's in now shape to tango. Razor Leaf the first Abra, eat a Kinesis to reduce my acc of which Razor Leaf hits anyways.

Bayleaf level 24: +1 Sp Def and Speed, +2 everything else.

One last Razor Leaf goes down. Schookid comes out next with a Tangela who uses Growth and I set him on fire with Ember. I then squirt the Sudowoodo, who I willbe using next playthrough out of sheer curiosity. Magic Leaf goes out, nearly killing it as it misses a Rock Throw. One more does it again. On the path north, to the left there is a Hyper Potion behind hte trees out of view.

Route 37

Does this really count as a route? Twins attack meusing a Marill and a Mareep. Magic Leaf one shots Marill, and Slugma nearly one shots Mareep but gets a burn. I tfails at Tackling Bayleaf. Burn doesn't quite kill, so Magic Leaf finishes. Twin fight again with a Clefable and Wigglytuff. I start focusing Clefable first with Magic Leaf while I attempt to Recover with Slugma, taking a Grass Knot and burning Clefable with Flame Body (Flame Body works on GrassKnot?). Magic Leaf takes down the burnt Clefable which otherwise it wouldn't, and I use Recover again to bolster myself back to full.

Slugma level 24: +2 HP and Sp Atk, +1 everything else.

Wigglytuff sings Bayleaf to sleep. Another Wigglytuff comes out. Pound hits Bayleaf while Ember hits the enter in Wigglytuff while Baylea asleep. They keep pounding Bayleaf for some reason. Asleep agan as they keep pounding on Bayleaf, finally a pound hitting Slugma before he burns one to ashes.

Bayleaf level 25: +3 HP and Def, +2 Sp Def and Speed, +1 Atk and Sp Atk.

Asleep still and Pound hits again. Emberhits and does nearly half. Finally Bayleaf wakes up and finishes with Magic Leaf. Clefable does nothing and finally the battle is over. Stupid sleep. One last Psychic before I enter town (I gotta catch a mon anyways). Drowzee hm? It uses Hypnosis of course...It then uses Dream Eater, awwww crap. It crits of course, and Ember does nearly half. It goes for another Hypnosis and of course it hits. Another Dream Eater and Slugma's down for the count.

Now to catch Stantler...Oh wow, there it is! Has intimidate too. It Stomps and it hurts like a bitch. I throw a Quick Ball and it doesn't work. Bayleaf goes down after I waste 2 Great Balls. Aaaaand I go down.

*Reloads* Can't believe I fell to a wild mon. Man, it had Intimidate too. I'm just outside the gates this time, searching around for another Stantler. Next Stantler and I Magic Leaf this time, then Synthesis-oh right, it has Hypnosis. I throw the Fast Ball at it, and it fails miserably because Stantler is a huge bitch to catch. Ok, ran out of pokeballs that time.

*Reloads*

This may take a while, folks.

FINALLY I catch one with a Pokeball with just full health, having wasted all the other balls I had. I heal up and take a break. Stantler will be shown in the levels.

Levels

Bayleaf level 25 Relaxed

68 HP, 38 Atk, 55 Def, 38 Sp Atk, 48 Sp Def, 35 Speed

Cut, Synthesis, Razor Leaf, Magic Leaf

Slugma level 24 Rash

54 HP, 26 Atk, 30 Def, 49 Sp At, 23 Sp Def, 17 Speed

Yawn, Recover, Ember, Rock Throw

Stantler level 15 Hasty/Intimidate

49 HP, 36 At, 23 Def, 32 Sp Atk, 27 Sp Def, 37 Speed

Leer, Astonish, Hypnosis, Stomp

WOW that treck north of Goldenrod is pretty rough just for the whole slew of trainers it has, like it's a gauntlet. Supply up for that one, guys.

So, as for Stantler there, it's sweet it got Intimidate since it makes the -Def nature matter less, and the +Speed should help immensely for training early on. Has Astonish and a whole gym of mons who can't do a lot to him.

Till next time folks. *Kicks back and enjoys the peaceful Ekruteak music*

P.S. Whitney can burn in hell.

Edited March 6, 2012 by grandjackal

[Don Draper]

.

Edited July 5, 2020 by Don Draper

[grandjackal]

Where's your Nidoran?

Considering I'm about to get 2 mons almost rapid fire, getting Nidoran on top of it would have been too many mouths to feed too soon. Sorry man.

[grandjackal]

Now before I do anything, I gotta go visit a shithole.

Burned Tower

I meet a character named Eusine, who pretends to be important but is completely useless. My bone to pick is with the red haired guy in the coat.

Rival Battle: Silver

First mon out is Gastly, whch starts things off with a Curse while I use Astonish to finish it of. Magnemite comes out next, which I switch Slugma out to take a Thunder Wave (minor nuisance to Slugma). Supersonic hits next (HUGE problem) and I hit myself. Now it starts Sonic Booming, but Ember comes out and blows it up. Zubat out next, going back to Stantler. I Hypnotize it immediately and proceed to Stomp it. Two shots and no hit. Quilava out last, which uses Flame Wheel and nearly kills, BUT I HAVE HYPNOSIS. It sleeps soundly while I stomp on it. Silver hilariously says he's not going easy on me. Big talk for someone who's main mon is getting literally stomped on. It wakes up at the last moment however, and I pay for my greed as Stantler falls. Slugma goes out and takes a mere Smokescreen. So I cough a bit, eat a rock you goon.

I go down the later to find the three legendary dogs. Eusine gets a boner and walks off. Mission disturbingly complete. I happen to run nto a Koffing into what has to be the most stinky basement in the world. Also lit it up.

Slugma level 25: +3 HP, +2 Def, +0 Speed, +1 everything else.

I go to heal up for the sake of my busted up Stantler and come back, cause there's still booty to be found and asses to kick. First ass in the kicking line is a Fire Eater with a Koffing. Stomp flinches first shot and second, so that kill was free.

Stantler level 16: +3 HP, +1 Sp Atk and Sp Def, +2 everything else. Replaced Leer with Sand Attack.

Another Koffing comes out. It misses Smog and uses Assurance the next turn to deal 9 damage (rather solid actually). One more Stomp does it in. Next out is Growlithe, and I know it has Intimidate so I switch out to Ekans to be death fodder. Ekans survives though and gets off a Leer. It uses...Odor Sleuth even though I'm near death so I get another Leer. NOW it does me in, and in comes Stantler again. Stomp just one shots it. Antidote get! Handy to have, especially considering my crap luck. Another Fire Breather (Kinda rude for you guys to show up in BURNED TOWER isn't it?) and he busts out amean-ass Charmeleon. Stantler's a boss though as it's stil faster and looks lke it 2HKOs. Takes a mere Smokescreen for the first one. Next Stomp does indeed do the work.

Stantler level 17: +3 HP and Atk, +2 Sp Atk, +1 everything else.

Now to get out of here because I don't have Rock Smash for the last treasure here.

I visit the dance house cause hey man, geisha. However I arrive only to find a Rocket goon drunkenly doing the hula. What the hell man, I just came here to have a good time and you're just pissing everyone off. Drunky here decides to only bring one mon as his safety net, and it's only level 12. A genius he is not. Stomp hits and causes a Flinch, so it's free. Guy out of the kindness of his heart gives me Surf. Thanks man! If only I had a Water type! : D That's Surf before even the 4th gym man. Gen 2, why you so crazy?

Ekruteak Gym

I love the redesign of this place as it looks a billion times more awesome, though the idea behind the original gym design was still cool imo. First one up is a Medium with a Gastly. Astonish hits for nearly full health and flinches, so it goes down without a fight.

Stantler level 18: +1 Def, +2 everything else.

So many Gastlies. Nearly one shotting Gastlies now though, but dammit. It uses Spite and kills 4 PP. Uhhh, ouch. Astonish causes the next one to flinch. Next only uses Curse and dies.

Stantler level 19: +3 HP and Speed, +2 Atk and Sp Atk, +1 Def and Sp Def

Well crap, I'm basically out of Astonish PP. Next Medium has a Haunter, but it Flinches and goes down. Another Haunter and it just Mean Looks. Next Medium has a Haunter again, and it actually does Confuse Ray. Sucker Punch hits me and I get through Confuse only hits once, but the next Sucker Punch crits and kills. Now Slugma comes in and Ember blows it up.

*Goes back to heal* Stupid crit.

Gastly comes from the darkness and gets Astonished, and all it does is use Mean Look. One more Astonish finishes the job.

Stantler level 20: +3 PH, +2 everything else.

Haunter steps up to the plate and gets Astonished, scoring a flinch and thus a free kill. One last Gastly out, and it uses Curse to kill itself. Only one stands in my way...

Boss: Morty

Morty used to be one of those bosses that was an absolute dick because his Gengar had Dream Eater and was a total nuisance. Astonish hits the Gastly and it just Curses to kill itself. Haunter comes in, and I switch to Ekans to take whatever it has, which is a Hypnosis. Dream Eater simply devestates Ekans. Astonish hits Haunter and uses Hypnosis to sleep me out. I switch to Togepi and use an Awakening and I switch out to Stantler to avoid the Dream Eater and causes a Hyper Potion to be wasted. I switch back to Togepi so I can avoid theHypnosis (I dodged a bullet the last one). Astonish defeats it.

Stantler level 21: +1 Def and Sp Def, +2 everything else.

I remove Sand Attack for Take Down. Gengar Mean Looks, and I hypnotize it. It Sucker Punches me as it wakes up immediately the next turn. It attempts Hypnosis, and I waste it's Berry. It uses Sucker Punch and brings me down to single digits. It keeps missing Hypnosis while I use up my Oran Berries, cause I'mma stall this mofo until it uses Curse on me. I decide to use up an Ether in an attempt to just get this over with. It wastes I believe the last of it's Sucker Punches, so now I can spam Astonish while having to fight through Hypnosis since it has no move to actually hit me with. Actually no, I'mma keep spamming till it uses Curse. Oh, it doesn't have Curse. It doesn't use a Super Potion (which I was totally expecting) and it succumbs to 2 Astonishes. One last Haunter. It uses Curse, and I hit it with Astonish and I fall to Curse. Oh, THERE'S that potion. It uses Night Shade while I just 2 shot with Ember. Shadow Ball get!

Route 38

Hey a Sailor out here. He has a Wooper, so I Stomp it. It misses it's Mud Shot, so it goes down. Max Potion found just lying around. Find a Bird Keeper derping about as well with some Doduo. Stomp kills one,

Stantler level 22: +3 HP, +2 everything else

QA hits before I deal another, another QA and Stomp takes down the last. A Lass stops me next to bust out a Flaafy. I use Take Down to ensure it goes down, takng some damage-it survived by 1 HP and it Thunder Waves me -_-;; Moomoo Milk restores it to full. That was trollish and annoyng, but Stomp takes it out. Psyduck out next and it Disables me -_-;;; gaaurr, fuck you then. I throw out Bayleaf and it just takes a Water Gun. Razor Leaf easily takes it out.

*Goes back and heals* Stupid trollish Flaafy Lass trainer bitch.

School Kid comes out with a Mr Mime, and I commence Stomping as it Meditates. Hmph.

Stantler level 23: +3 Sp Atk, +1 Def and Sp Def, +2 everything else. Ooh, Confuse Ray......That or Hypnosis..........*Replaces Hypnosis* I might regret this.

The Schoolkid blocked my way, and a Beauty comes out with a Hoppip. Stomp one shots easily. Take Down takes it down for sure. I run into the guy who runs the new Safari Zone.

Route 39

By the Windmill on the farm is the TM for Drain Punch. However, no time for that, a Psychic comes out with a Slowpoke, and I must Stomp it. It Growls me, but I Stomp. The next Slowpoke just keeps Cursing itself to death. The next Sailor has a Poliwhirl, and I proceed to STOMP DA FRAWG. It hypnotizes me, and that sucks. I wake up after a Bubble and Water Gun to Stomp it again.

Stantler level 24: +1 Sp Atk, +2 Def and Sp Def, +3 everything else.

Raticate comes next and I take that thing down before it can cause me any headaches cause I know that whore has stuff like Hyper Fang. Krabby last and I STAWMP it. It doesn't die and does a Bubblebeam which does meh damage all things considering, and then I STAWMP it. Pikachu comes out of a Pokefan and it gets STAWMPED but I get paralyzed. Another Pokefan with another Double Team and I miss the STAWMP. After three attempts I hit that STOMP.

Olivine City

Hi Silver...Bye Silver.

I heal up and get the Good Rod with the intention of going straight to Route 41 to get a Chinchou. I catch a Staryu. Better as it is, you are not my real aim. Caught it, teach it surf, buy more balls and go to Route 41. Now fishing for Chinchou...................This is gonna take a while. Brb.

...

Chinchou Level 20/Volt Absorb (SWEET, it's t's a water type immune to electric!)/Hasty

61 HP, 25 Atk, 23 Def, 29 Sp Atk, 31 Sp Def, 38 Speed

Flail, Water Gun, Confuse Ray, Spark

Offensively not the best stats, but it's kinda balanced I suppose. It DOES get freaking Surf and is a water type immune to electric along wth electric STAB. The nature I got..Ehh, I'm indifferent. I get rid of Flail since Flail sucks.

Now to go back and get Natu! I am now getting overcrowded here though...Whatever, it's time I shot myself in the foot! I have a solid core anyways so it's all good. However, before I can go back to the ruins a Swimmer actually sees me form full screen. Tentacool uses Acid and lands a crit (of course) and Stomp STAWMPS. Next one comes out with Constrict and dies to STAWMP.

Stantler level 25: +0 Def, _3 HP and Speed, +2 everything else.

Back to the Ruins

I Surf over to get a Hyper Potion. One of the things requires LIGHT so I teach Staryu Flash and get the prizes inside, namely aMoon Stone, a Sitrus Berry, Heal Powder and an Energy Root. Time to head back to Union Cave. I go downstairs to Surf over the small pool, and see there's a Hiker over here. I lead with Chinchou and find Geodudes with Hikers, which Surf demolishes. A Machop comes next and it gets Surfed for about half while Machp just inspects with a magnifying glass. Surf spam: The scrubbiest tactic ever. Hey, let's give water types an absurd earlygame 90 power STAB. Another Hiker out in this here cave, and it gets ridden like a surf board. Graveler out next and it gets SURFED.

Chinchou level 21: +3 HP, +2 Speed, +1 everything else.

I climb up the stairs, there is a Zubat that's level 22 up here. It is paralyzed by Spark but not quite a one shot. Water Gun kills. Ahhh yes, there's the grass to hold the legendary bird of coolness and it is level 22! I use WaterGun to tamely reduce-WOW Natu has some Sp Def, or Chinchou's Sp Atk sucks. Let's see, has Me First, Lucky Chant...Suppose I'll find out later. Natu get! Will have to go back to the pokecenter to see Natu's stats. But hey, I'mma have to go through some Ruins to get out quick, and there happens to be a Psychic here. He has a high leveled Girafarig, and that scares me. I Surf it to see how much damage it does, and it damn near kills Chinchou while doing about a third to Girafarig. Time to switch out to Stantler. Take Down hits it like a truck and finishes it.

Oh wow, I need HO OH to open this freaking door. Time to figure out a puzzle then. I heal up at Olivine and save. Will be breaking here.

Natu will be shown in the levels.

Bayleaf level 25 Relaxed

68 HP, 38 Atk, 55 Def, 38 Sp At, 48 Sp Def, 35 Speed

Cut, Synthesis, Razor Leaf, Magical Leaf

Slugma level 25 Rash

57 HP, 27 Atk, 32 Def, 50 Sp Atk, 24 Sp Def, 17 Speed

Yawn, Recover, Ember, Rock Throw

Stantler level 25 Hasty

76 HP, 58 At, 36 Def, 51 Sp Atk, 42 Sp Def, 59 Speed

Take Down, Astonish, Confuse Ray, Stomp

Chincho level 21 Hasty

64 HP, 26 Atk, 24 Def, 30 Sp Atk, 32 Sp Def, 40 Speed

Surf, Water Gun, Confuse Ray, Spark

Natu level 22 Bold/Synchronize

50 HP, 28 Atk, 27 Def, 36 Sp Atk, 30 Sp Def, 36 Speed

Teleport/Lucky Chant/Miracle Eye/Me First

I'm not fond of that nature, simply because half of it's typing is physical, andit'sDefensesucksanyways (its still his worst stat). I don't have Chatter here so it sucks....Hold up, wait a minute. I just saw it. It has...No actual attacks. Good thing it can learn Shadow Ball, and thank goodness it's a Sp Atk now. I get rid of Miracle Eye because it's useless as shit. Ok, so it at least has the win on psychic vs psychic. But still, for real game? Even right now I can say that Shadow Ball is wasted. Why? STANTLER can learn it! Look at the discrepancy between Sp Atk, thennote that Stantler doesn't really care about Ghosts on top of it. It's also faster and bulkier. Goddammit you just joined and haven't been in a fight and yet ALREADY you suck!

This won't end well.

[Arch]

When I played Soul Silver, I chose Xatu for a member of my team. It was definitely the weakest link; could never really take a hit or deal enough damage to justify its frailness. Xatu was only really useful against Bruno, and only half his team at that. Post-Elite Four I immediately swapped it out while reshuffling my team.

Nice to see Slugma doing well, though. I might just give him a go next time I do a Soul Silver run.

[grandjackal]

Onward!

Olivine Lighthouse

Going up the stairs, there's an old Gentleman who is clearly winded from the walk upstairs. He has a Noctowl, which I know is plenty bulky so I Confuse it. Confuse does a healthy 12 damage to me. Spark hits for a crit and doesn't quite kill, and t hits me with a Peck. Finished with Water Gun-nevermind, he had a Super Potion. Spark again,hitting for about half health and paralyzing, and paralysis comes through. NOW it's dead. Sailor comes at me next, throwing a Poliwag at me. I rub my feet against the thick carpet and touch it to mystify it with science, and down it goes.

Chinchou level 22: +2 HP, Sp Atk and Sp Def, +1 everything else

Poliwhirl next, and I proceed to do the exact same thing but only getting half health. Hypnosis misses so I down it for free. Bird Keeper between ladders, and he has a bunch of scrub Pidgeys. Rather insulting at this point. Spark blows them all up as expected. Up the stairs is yet another Gentleman who I expect at some point one of these dudes has Growlithe, and I find him right here and now. Surfs up dude.

Chinchou level 23: +3 HP and Speed, +1 everything else. I don't bother with Take Down.

Next Growlithe comes in, and I decide to take my chances with Natu, since he kinda needs to level up here. Shadow Ball hits for about half while it just Odor Sleuths and goes down. I decide to teach Natu some more moves since Ghost has tht problem of being neutral to normal, which this game has a lot of. I teach it U Turn if only to get it out of a dicey situation, and then that's it because it can't really learn anything else. I would kill for Ariel Ace right now. I run into a Lass who I hope has a grass type, but it turns out to be a Marill. Close enough. Shadow Ball hits for about wow, it was a crit and only did 2/3. Shadow Ball hits again before Rollout can become dangerous. Next to her is a TM for Swagger, which is a shitty move. Drop down to the outside rim and pick up a Rare Candy before going back inside. Sailor is in my way to an item, and he has gots a Krabby! Shadow Ball charges and beams him, actually one shotting. Another Krabby comes out and I beam it with another Shadow Ball, this tmenot quite killing. Vice Grip hurts and brings me nearly to half (stupid -Def nature), and one more Shadow Ball does the trick.

Natu level 23: +2 Sp Atk and Speed, +1 everything else. Replaced Lucky Chant with Confuse Ray.

I give Natu a Rare Candy so I can focus on Chinchou in the ocean, where it's insanely superior.

Natu level 24: +2 HP and Atk, +1 everything else.

Sailor was hiding an Ether as it turns out. Bird Keeper decides to block a ladder with a Spearow which eats a Spark. Fearow comes out mad as hell and Ariel Aces me. Though I resist, it still hurts pretty bad. I paralyze it with a Spark, so it goes down without any more trouble. One last Spearow eats the KZZZZT.

Some more Sailors out and about, the next one with a Poliwhirl. I zap it with a Spark, doing about 2/3 and paralyzing. It Doubleslaps for 3 reps, down to 20 HP. One more Spark and it goes down. One last Sailor, and he's got a Machop. I decide to Surf it, instantly eliminating it.

Chinchou level 24: +2 HP and Speed, +1 everything else

Another Machop. I decide to switch in Natu, since even though he's defensively weak, he giggles at the things he x4 resists. Shadow Ball hits for a bit more than half HP while it Focuses on it's demise. Poliwhirl comes in and I switch back to Chinchou to Spark. Double Slap hits for not enough reps as I take it out. Super Repel nearby before I go up and talk to Jasmine. Seems the Ampharos of the lighthouse is sick and needs medicine from Cianwood. Well, looks like a job for Batman, but since he's not here then clearly I'm the second best thing. Super Potion before I go down the elevator, heal up atthe center and head for Route 40.

Route 40

Surf time! The ocean is annoying, but it's not even close to Hoenn's where it throws absurdly high level mons at you at times. Oh hey, Tentacruel! use a Spark because this thing is an exp pinata. I paralyze it and it misses a Supersonic. Down it goes, and it gives out a 527 exp. So if you find a Tentacruel, kill it. Swimmer stops me and has a Staryu to get zapped. Doesn't quite kill, but it uses Camoflauge so I water Gun it to take it down. On a small island to the right, I find a TM for Pluck! It's a physical attack, but I teach it to Natu anyways as a physical STAB, not to mention it will help on the upcoming gym. I get rid of Me First for it. Another swimmer comes in, having a Shellder. Spark hits, nt quite killing because Shellder has a ton of Def. It Supersonics which annoys me. Not that threatening because Shellder is a derp outside of such silliness. Water Gun hits it and downs it. Wartortle is next and it Sparks, only taking a Bite while I tried to muster through confusion. Water Gun is last and it goes down.

Chinchou level 25: +3 HP, +0 Def, +2 Sp Def and Speed, +1 Atk and Sp Atk.

Shellder next, and I decide to switch in Bayleaf to make it simpler and Magic Leaf it. Another Swimmer in an entire sea, this one with a Staryu. Spark takes it down this time. Shellder next and I switch ot Bayleaf to Magic Leaf it.

Bayleaf level 26: +3 HP, +1 Atk and Speed, +2 everything else. Natural Gift is forgotten about since it looks awful and gimmicky.

Route 41

Lots of trainers hanging around the Whirl Islands. Swimmer busting out with a Shellder, Spark not killing but his Icicle Spear not doing a lot. 5 reps, but still. It Protects to waste my PP which annoys me. Tentacool out next, which I'm more confident that Spark works to kill. Tentacruel last. Spark hits to deal nearly death. I paralyze it, and all it does is Constrict. Down it goes. I'm close to a level, so I just decide to take down a wild Tentacool.

Chinchou level 26: +3 HP, +2 Speed, +1 everything else.

I put Natu in hte lead, if only to give Chinchou a break, and that he's needing to catch up+is going to be my main guy for Chuck. Swimmer comes out with a Goldeen, which I hit with a Shadow Ball. Doesn't quite kill and it Horn Attacks me for 13 damage. I hit with Pluck to finish to save Shadow Ball PP. Another Goldeen, so I use another Shadow Ball. It missed something, so I Shadow Ball again since that one did only a little more than half. Seaking comes out next and I hit it with Confuse Ray. It uses Water Pulse, and that hurts and confuses. I switch out to Bayleaf since it's too dangerous at this point. It Water Pulses me coming in (Confuse never works for me, why do I bother?) and I use Razor Leaf but it doesn't kill. It finally hits itself so I Magic Leaf to finish it. Next Swimmer comes out with AAAAAHHHH GYARADOS!!! I switch out to Staryu to die because I was not expecting freaking gen 4 SS Gyarados. I use Flash if only to help my odds of survival. I Flash again, It confuses itself as it misses. Flash again. Flash again. It hits itself for quite a decent chunk as I keep Flashing it. Wow, it's so far done like 2/5damage ot itself. I keep Flashing just to let myself die before switching to Chinchou. Spark hits,

Icarus level 25: +2 HP, Sp Atk and Speed, +1 everything else.

Another freaking Gyarados, goddamn. I send in Bayleaf simply because it has Magic Leaf and is tough. This thing is taking me to the garbage disposal though, but the last Magic Leaf pulls through.

Natu evolved into Xatu!

Level 25 Xatu Bold

68 HP, 44 Atk, 45 Def, 53 Sp Atk, 46 Sp Def, 53 Speed

Thaaaaat's more like it kinda. Pretty balanced out stats at least.

Yet another Staryu, and I decide to test out Pluck damage. Doesn't quite kill, but it uses Camoflauge so I use another Pluck to take it out. Starmie out next, and it's faster and hits with a Water Gun, but not a lot of damage. Shadow Ball nearly kills. It uses Rapid Spin next and Pluck to finish it off. Yet another Swimmer, having a Qwilfish. I hit it with a Shadow Ball, whih crits but somehow doesn't kill. It Rolls Out and nearly finishes me, but I finish it with a Shadow Ball (Don't wanna get poisoned).

Xatu level 26: +2 HP, Sp Atk and Speed, +1 everything else.

Spark fins it's way to another Swimmer's Horsea. Make that two. Next Swimmer has a whole school of fish, starting with a Tentacool. Another Tentacol is down. Yet another Tentacool. I use an Ether to heal up my Spark use since I ran out, only a Toxic Spike to not punish me.

Chinchou level 27: +1 Def and Speed, +2 everything else.

Remoraid comes out and goes down to a Spark. Staryu last and it's pretty predictable from here. I switch Bayleaf to the lead.

Chinchou evolves into Lanturn! I don't bother with the Stockpile setup moves. Doesn't really need it.

Lanturn level 27 Hasty

106 HP, 43 Atk, 39 Def, 49 Sp Atk, 51 Sp Def, 51 Speed

DAT BULK.

Tentacruel comes out from the wild and nearly kills Bayleaf with a Bubblebeam, but I get a Synthesis. I do another as it sets up Toxic Spikes. It hits with Acid and it crits me back down to 9 HP, wonderful. I switch out to Lanturn to deal with this annoyance, and get poisoned in the process. It is faster still so it gets off a very powerful Bubblebeam, and I hit with a Spark. Doesn't kill but paralyzes. Lanturn goes down and out goes Xatu since he avoids the spikes. Pluck finishes the fight off. Man that was annoying. Next Swimmer has a Psyduck, and I Synthesis. It Disables me, but that's all I needed. Magic Leaf hits and kills.

Bayleaf level 27: +1 Sp Atk, +0 Speed, +2 everything else.

Goldeen out next, where I use another Magic Leaf to finish it off. Another fucking Tentacruel. Razor Leaf s used through Toxic Spikes to deal nearly half health, Constrict not quite doing anything. Constrict again does about nothing and Razor Leaf finishes. I finally reach town.

Cianwood Island

First order of business is to head up north to find a sight of Suicune. Eusine comes up to fight me because...He's extraordinarily random about htis sort of thing. He leads with a Drowzee that uses Confusion, and I was dumb enough to lead with Slugma. I switch out to Stantler to Take down, taking down the rest. Electrode up next and it Screeches while I attempt a Take Down and nail it, doing about half and paralyzing myself. Another Screech while Take Down doesn't quite take it out. It decides "What the hell, Thunder" and blows Stantler up. You Screech this whole time and then hit me with Thunder? Damn troll. Slugma out next oh ok, you just happen to hit Thunder twice in a row. Lanturn comes out because Electrode is a bitch and Rollsout to miss, finishing it off with anything. Haunter is last, and I bust out Xatu to Shadow Ball it, just barely evading the Hypnosis. Do not kill, however. It succeeds the next, and it Mean Looks while I wake up and hit it with another Ball. Well that was irritating.

I heal up, nab the Secretpotion from the medicine shop and head for the gym.

Cianwood Gym

Fighting gym. Psychic/Flyng. Should be easy. First guy has a Hitmonchan, which is pretty bad timing for me. Pluck hits for half health while it Fre Punches and does nearly half. Pluck finishes, thankfully got away unburned. Next guy has 3 mons, one being a Mankey. Pluck one shots, luckily enough.

Xatu level 27: +1 Def, +2 everything else. I ignore Tailwind.

Primeape comes out next. It's faster too and Screeches to start off, Pluck hitting for a crit and takes it down. One last Mankey goes down to Pluck. Next has a Hitmonlee, and I'm luckily faster and Pluck nearly kills while it Meditates. Pluck finishes. Last guy has a Machop, to which I Pluck to nearly one shot while it Focuses. One more Pluck does it in.

Xatu level 28: +2 to everything.

Machoke comes out predictably, and I Pluck to hit it for a bit more than half while it Leers and goes down to a last Pluck. I use a Super Potion and give Xatu a Sitrus Berry, do the puzzle and face off against the boss man.

Boss: Chuck

He starts off with a Primeape, to which I Pluck while it Rock Slides and flinches me. Pluck hits through the Double Team. Rock Slide hits again and kills. Bayleaf comes out and starts using Magic Leaf while it spams Rock Slide.Hyper Potion used and I Magic Leaf again. It starts focusing up and I keep spamming that auto-hit move. It focuses up again and again before going down to it's own stupidity.

Bayleaf level 28: +1 Sp Atk +2 everything else.

Poliwrath comes out last andit Surfs as though it could do damage. Magic Leaf hits for a quarter health. I Synthesis while it focuses-oh shit. I get hit with that Focus Punch and nearly one shotted. I smell another one coming in so I Magic Leaf spam. I crit and kill it.

so, while Xatu is theoretically supposed to roll this gym, it actually sucks majorly because of Rock Slide and the fact it'snot fast nor bulky enough. He also gives me Focus Punch, which I will not be using. Lady out front gives me Fly, I heal and decide to breakLevels

Bayleaf level 28 Relaxed

75 HP, 43 Atk, 61 Def, 42 sp Atk, 54 Sp Def, 38 Speed

Cut, Synthesis, Razor Leaf, Magic Leaf

Slugma level 25 Rash

57 HP, 27 Atk, 32 Def, 50 Sp Atk, 24 Sp Def, 17 Speed

Yawn, Recover, Ember, Rock Throw

Stantler level 25 Hasty

76 HP, 58 Atk, 36 Def, 51 sp Atk, 42 Sp Def, 59 Speed

Take Down, Astonish, Confuse Ray, Stomp

Lanturn level 27 Hasty

106 HP, 43 Atk, 39 Def, 49 Sp Atk, 51 Sp Def, 51 Speed

Surf, Water Gun, Confuse Ray, Spark

Xatu level 28 Bold

74 HP, 49 Atk, 49 Def, 59 Sp Atk, 51 Sp Def, 59 Speed

U Turn, confuse Ray, Shadow Ball, Pluck

Pluck helps out Xatu quite a bit, Lanturn is a boss, and Slugma+Stantly don't get a lot of good time around the Olivine/Cianwood area. So yeah, first bad time I've seen for Slugma since Bellsprout Tower.

[grandjackal]

We continue!

I teach Fly and Roost to Xatu, forgetting Confuse Ray and Pluck, and fly back to Olivine. I deliver the medicine and go to fight Jasmine at her gym.

Oh right, totally forgot! The Safari Zone! Let's go there first.

Route 47

Welcome to the new route, which takes us to the new Safari Zone, which is my favorite of them due to it's simplicity and the fact you can have unlimited time. Also, gives you a lot of mons that otherwise would not be available at this time, such as Misdreavus and Murkrow. Time to train up. Oh, a Hiker first, and he luckily does not have a rock type out first as he uses a Dunsparce. Dunsparce is bulky, as it takes 3 Embers. I only take a Glare in the process, which is only partially annoying due to low speed anyways.

Slugma level 26: +2 HP and Sp Atk, +1 everything else. Yawn at this point is becoming useless, so I replace it with Ancient Power.

Yet another Dunsparce. It just keeps Defense Curling while I light it on fire-of curse, Rollout. Forgot about that gimmick. Oh well, down it goes. Another Dunsparce comes out, and I don't wanna take a lot of Rollout damage so I throw in Stantler. Take Down nearly kills it, but it's bulky as hell. Stomp deals the last blow. Camper getting in the way, lobbing a Skiploom out. This makes Slugma happy. It Stun Spores annoyingly while I throw an Ember. It then switches out to Marill to troll me. I switch out to Stantly, who takes a Bubblebeam which doesn't do a lot. Stomp finishes after the Ember had hit. Slugma goes back out to deal the last blow to Skiploom. Bullet Seed barely does any damage. I use a Heal Powder to get rid of the paralysis again and pick up the Revive. I go in the cave, go up the ladder and run into a Double Cooltrainer Combo. Electabuzz and Magmar it seems. Take Down hits Magmar for nearly death as Thunderbolt hits Slugma to one shot because STAB Thunderbolt is not friendly to take. Flamethrower kills Stantler in return. In goes Lanturn and Bayleaf. Magmar uses Protect while Thunderbolt gets absorbed. Surf deals about 1/3 to Electabuzz. Thunder Wave hits Bayleaf, and Flamethrower too. A crit downs Bayleaf while Surf finishes the job.

Lanturn level 28: +4 HP, +1 Defn and Sp Atk, +2 everything else.

On the way is a uhh..Lagging Tail. I use a Revive on Slugma and face off against a Young Couple who has an Onyx and Cloyster. Spark hits Cloyster for about half health, Sandstorm going off while Supersonic hits Slugma, who hits itself. Cloyster uses Protect to annoy meand Roc Throw hits Lanturn, Slugma managing a Recover without hitting itself. Spark finishes off Cloyster and Rock Throw hits the wrong pokemon again while Ember hits Onix weakly. Water Gun defeats it.

Route 48

Nothing here.

Safari Zone

I heal up and head back to Olivine. NOW we go back to fight Jasmine.

Boss: Jamsine

Magnemite and it of course has Thunderbolt to...One shot Slugma. Ok, clearly it's NOT good here.

Out goes Lanturn, because it doesn't care about electricity. Surf hits for a lot, and Magnemite is helpless. Magnemite comes out again, and the results repeat themselves outside of Sonic hitting me. Steelix comes out next, and out of fear it has something like Earthquake I switch to Bayleaf. It at least gets rid of the Confusion. Magic Leaf hits, doing about a quarter while it Screeches. I hit for apparently not that much more, and Iron Tail completely devestates me. Out goes Lanturn once again. Surf hits, finishing it off. Simple gym to say the least.

Lanturn level 29: +1 Atk, +3 HP and Speed, +2 everything else.

Mineral Badge and Iron Tail get!

Time to go back to Ekruteak and head east.

Route 42

Shadow Claw is just...lying around. Unfortunately no one can use this cool move, so I continue on. I accidentally run into some dude and he gives me HM 4, which is rather nice of him. I cut a bush to find Suicune nearby.

Hmmm...Now that I think about it, I don't really have a 6th pokemon and it's starting to get late into things. Something around this area appeals to me. Girafarig (though I already have Stantler, I am REALLY wanting to replace it. It's just kinda eh, and Girafarig can do the same stuff it can and more). There's always Heracross who's always a boss. Could nab something out of Ice Cave...

...What do you guys think? Any mons I could catch in this area to look into?

[bobflac]

Yeah, I am going to say maybe Jynx. If you can not stand her, then Heracross or Girafarig would get my vote. Heracross probably give you more coverage.

[grandjackal]

Good idea. In fact, I'll get both and replace Stantler. I go back to teach Stantler how to Headbutt before flying back to the area I was at to catch a Heracross. I now feel like crap for not catching one earlier, since you totally could, especially after wasting my time with Stantler who was just kinda middle of the road.

I had Slugma in hte lead, and he can't outrun a level 18 Spearow. Sheesh.

Slugma level 27: +2 HP, +3 Sp Atk, +1 everything else.

...

...

This takes way too much time and I'm seriously under the thought that I have caught too many pokemon too soon, AND that I even made a mistake with Stantler. Much as I would like to continue testing Slugma, I have to admit that him not gettng any real good moves before lategame until Flamethrower hurts. I think I'm gonna restart, but at least for the Johto regions I can give a good look into their use, along with predictions of Kanto.

Chikorita

Really bulky pure grass is always nice, and it gets Razor Leaf early. However, that can only take you so far, as not a lot of Johto gyms are nice to Chikorita. In fact, the first two gyms are straight up stone cold to it. It's bulky to the point it can stall Miltank off Whitney, but you got better methods. Morty's ghosts are part poison, so they crap all over Chikorita's ability to do anything, it's minorly good against Chuck, is meh against Jasmine, sucks against Brice and then Claire is Claire. As for Kanto, I predict that's when it'll hit it's stride as it can be sort of like the uber-Bulbasaur there. But as for it's start and time in Johto? Just makes me shrug and go eh.

Slugma

Problem is you have to hatch an egg to get it to do anything good, but if you hatch it the moment you get it, it CAN help rip through the first two gyms, which may skew my view considering I was starting with Chikorita. Mons like Cynda and Toto don't really take the first two gyms seriously, so I kinda needed Slugma (though I also could have just gotten Mareep, though Slugma probably is better against Bugsy due to resistance, Yawn and Rock Throw). It's sort of a combo of what's good of Geodude and Mareep early on, but after that it's use kinda falls flat on it's face. It can status out Miltank like Mareep can, but past that it's a lot of water types and two gyms that absolutely blow it up. It has to recover in Brice's town against Team Rocket and can probably be good against Brice, but past that is Claire and fire-unfriendly Kanto. I doubt it had that shining a future anyways. I still like the lil' fella though, but I'll admit it's got numerous problems.

Stantler

Incredibly meh. Just being a plain normal type is pretty vanilla, though it DOES get some great STABs. It's stats are balanced and it can even get good coverage along with a status move. However, as stated, it's just so...vanilla. It's npt bad, it just never stands out. I really can't say much else, I just never found much to praise about it. It has Astonish for Morty, that's about it. Even then I'm sure you can find better answers.

Chinchou

Not bad at all, thanks to the fact it has two very versatile SABs and an immunity to electric. Comes around the time you get Surf, comes with Spark, decently fast and once evolved (which happens pretty quick), it's bulky to boot. Comes around a time it can do weird stuff to Chuck's Poliwrath, and can basically steamroll Jasmine by itself. I imagine it can pull a few tricks on Bryce's gym as well since I imagine most water types are also part water, or in the case of Swinub/Piloswine, part ground. It's probably incredibly bleh against Claire like just about everything else, and as for Kanto I can't really say. I imagine it sweeps Blaine, Brock and Misty, but two of those guys are killed mostly by the Surf TM on it's own. However, for Johto I will say that Chinchou's a pretty cool dude.

Natu

UGH. No offensive movepool, and can throw out a bunch of mons better than it. It basically needs TMs to do what most do normally, and it has to do it without STABs outside of Fly which goes off it's meh Atk. You would think it would be good against Chuck, but Chuck has Rock Slide. After that it's Jasmine who laughs at it, Bryce who laughs at it, and Claire who just don't care. I mean, it goes without saying. This thing is ass. Seriously, I would have at least appreciated my Night Shade back, but no it has to have Me First instead. Piece of garbage.

So, as I restart I think about the team I will have. I'll want it to be decently spaced out, as I feel I took too many too early. I'm trying to think of a team right now actually. Hmmm...

Totodile or Cyndaquil, I know I want a Heracross, a Girafarig...Any suggestions? If I take a Cyndaquil I'll get a Krabby, and if I use a Totodile I'll get a Magmar. That leaves 2 mons that I want to leave for lategame. Thoughts?