So, who's a closet Pokemon fan?

[Lint of Death]

For those of you who enjoy the Flash Tub, a Meowth-themed animation was just released on Something Awful:
http://www.somethingawful.com/d/flash-tub/meowth-cartoon.php

[JayVe]

Also, I caught one of the Snorlax in FireRed, and was thinking about making him into a resting tank.
Anyone have an opinion on him? I use a shuckle as a resting HP bucket. He has Double Team, which means people can rarely hit him. His defense is up past 500 also, so he rarely takes a lot of damage.

[rinichanraar]

Same. I often over level my team, so I keep one slot free for an HM slave.

Some of the HMs are decent enough to be usable, like Surf. Then you have HMs like Cut...no thanks.

When I'm traveling/training and I don't really know where I'm going, I have three goddamned spots saved for HM dudes. Staravia has Fly/Defog and the rest are divided between a Bidoof/Bibarel and Psyduck. I'm so glad Flash isn't used in Diamond/Pearl.

[JayVe]

When I'm traveling/training and I don't really know where I'm going, I have three goddamned spots saved for HM dudes. Staravia has Fly/Defog and the rest are divided between a Bidoof/Bibarel and Psyduck. I'm so glad Flash isn't used in Diamond/Pearl.

For HM utility pokemon, I use a Bidoof who can master 4 HMs, and a Staravia with Fly/Defog. That USUALLY covers everything.

I find myself building special teams for different events though. For instance, I've been searching for a deapseatooth and a deapseascale. So I have on my team a Pokemon with False Swipe., He's fairly high level, and I use him to help me capture pokemon.

If I am raising eggs, I have a team with a Magcargo. His flame body helps eggs hatch faster.

[LongStepMantis]

When I'm traveling/training and I don't really know where I'm going, I have three goddamned spots saved for HM dudes. Staravia has Fly/Defog and the rest are divided between a Bidoof/Bibarel and Psyduck. I'm so glad Flash isn't used in Diamond/Pearl.

Flash is as useless as HMs get, you're right.

Like J Arcane said earlier, I still don't get why you have to go through so much trouble to replace HM moves. You have the HM, so you can always teach it to someone else if need be...why force me to keep it on a poke until I find the HM remover?

My first time playing a pokemon game, I didn't realize you couldn't remove them. I ended up with them scattered over my main team, only to realize later in horror that they were stuck that way. My main Psychic, Gardevoir, had Flash the majority of the game...good times. :(

On another side note, I really wish it would let me find a Dragon Scale. I want my Kingdra, dammit. I'm also trying to find a Metal Coat so I can evolve my Scyther into Scizor. 5% rarity on the helds doesn't seem too bad at first...unless you're really unlucky like me. And I'm playing FireRed, not Pearl, so no one will just give me one.

[KSmitty]

Did I just kill the thread?

Nah, it must have been my Alakazam's incredible 5000 IQ. Too intense for everyone to handle. ;)
It took a while and was a pain in the ass, but I finally bred a fighting Abra which I will train/trade into an ass kicking Alakazzam. I decided to be lazy about the EV training and just go the vitamin route, which is much easier, but much much more expensive.

[LongStepMantis]

It took a while and was a pain in the ass, but I finally bred a fighting Abra which I will train/trade into an ass kicking Alakazzam. I decided to be lazy about the EV training and just go the vitamin route, which is much easier, but much much more expensive.

True, but if you have the cash...why not do it? Grinding EV's is mind-numbing at worst and annoying at best.

"Did I kill 79 Whismurs or 80?"

I also used to think that the vitamins were equippable items that boosted that stat. My team would be full of people holding bottles of Carbos, etc. Then I wondered why their stats never changed. :p

[Ancalagon]

LongStepMantis: In FireRed, can you get a Pokemon that has Thief and Frisk? Bannete (sp) has it, dont know if thats available in FireRed. Frisk tells you what item an enemy is holding, and thief lets you steal it without catching the Poke. Invaluable if you are lucky egg hunting in Diamond.

I've got quite far in Emerald, beat 6 gyms. Now I think I'll start Firered and get far in that.

[JayVe]

LongStepMantis: In FireRed, can you get a Pokemon that has Thief and Frisk? Bannete (sp) has it, dont know if thats available in FireRed. Frisk tells you what item an enemy is holding, and thief lets you steal it without catching the Poke. Invaluable if you are lucky egg hunting in Diamond.

What is this?

I'm searching the oceans trying to catch anyone who may have a deepseatooth or deepseascale. Now you tell me there are guys who can not only find the item, but take it too?!

I'm down to my last 20 pokemon or so that I need to catch. I've got all the event pokemon from standing in likes during special events. Hell, I even have duplicates of a bunch including celebi. But some of these pokemon are damn near impossible. Find a rare item, in the ocean, on a rare pokemon, then give it to another pokemon, and trade it? Are you kidding me?

[Ancalagon]

What is this?

I'm searching the oceans trying to catch anyone who may have a deepseatooth or deepseascale. Now you tell me there are guys who can not only find the item, but take it too?!

I'm down to my last 20 pokemon or so that I need to catch. I've got all the event pokemon from standing in likes during special events. Hell, I even have duplicates of a bunch including celebi. But some of these pokemon are damn near impossible. Find a rare item, in the ocean, on a rare pokemon, then give it to another pokemon, and trade it? Are you kidding me?

Yeah.....

What game are you playing? A GBA game? As I said I'm not sure what version Frisk and Thief appeared in. I read the strategy in an FAQ for Diamond. Its probably on Gamefaqs or something, the most highly rated one I think. together with a pokemon of a certain level and repels (which repel all pokemon below your lead pokes level), you can make odds much more in your favour.

I think finding my first lucky egg, the old fashioned way, took 4 hours. With this way, it took something like 30-45 minutes, and in that time I found 2 light balls.

[JayVe]

Yeah.....

What game are you playing? A GBA game? As I said I'm not sure what version Frisk and Thief appeared in. I read the strategy in an FAQ for Diamond. Its probably on Gamefaqs or something, the most highly rated one I think. together with a pokemon of a certain level and repels (which repel all pokemon below your lead pokes level), you can make odds much more in your favour.

I think finding my first lucky egg, the old fashioned way, took 4 hours. With this way, it took something like 30-45 minutes, and in that time I found 2 light balls.

What is a lucky egg?

I'm playing Diamond. Have to go find this FAQ of which you speak.

[Ancalagon]

What is a lucky egg?

I'm playing Diamond. Have to go find this FAQ of which you speak.

Lucky eggs are found on Chansey's, and give +50% to any Pokemon holding one. Very handy for quickly raising pokemon. Combine it with the bonus you get from trading and your pokes can level twice as fast.

Here (http://www.gamefaqs.com/portable/ds/file/925601/48628) you are.

[LongStepMantis]

LongStepMantis: In FireRed, can you get a Pokemon that has Thief and Frisk? Bannete (sp) has it, dont know if thats available in FireRed. Frisk tells you what item an enemy is holding, and thief lets you steal it without catching the Poke. Invaluable if you are lucky egg hunting in Diamond.

I've got quite far in Emerald, beat 6 gyms. Now I think I'll start Firered and get far in that.

Same order I went in. I beat Emerald, got hooked, and decided to go through FireRed to beef up my roster.

I haven't run into any pokes using Frisk or Thief in FireRed (not that they aren't possibly there, just that I haven't used anyone who learns either naturally yet) but I usually just use Trick with my Kadabra. I had a poke with Thief in Emerald. Once you know who has held items (great source for all games pokemon (http://serebii.net/index2.shtml)) you don't end up wasting so many PP. Which is essential in my case because Trick only has 10. I have a Bannete in one of the two games, but i can't recall which one it was now.

Now I need a Metal Coat for my Scyther->Scizor
and a Dragon Scale for Seadra->Kingdra...not having any luck with either.

But I did finally get my damn national pokedex and evolve my Golbat->Crobat at level 68...better late than never I guess. He's been trying since 40. :D
Now I just need to get all the version-exclusive pokes in FR so I can start loading them up on TMs and hauling them into Emerald.

These games are like crack.

Also, in FR I think the only place you can find Chanceys (for Lucky Eggs) is in the Safari Zone...which unfortunately means that not only are Chanceys rare, but so are the chances of one having an egg. And since you can't actually use your pokes in the SZ, the only way to get one is to capture every Chancy you find and hope one of them has an egg. I tried for about an hour and caught 5. No eggs. :(

Is there an easier way to find them?

[Ancalagon]

Apparently Frisk is a 4th Gen ability but Thief is a 2nd Gen move. So you can get Thief but not Frisk in Emerald and FireRed.

[LongStepMantis]

Apparently Frisk is a 4th Gen ability but Thief is a 2nd Gen move. So you can get Thief but not Frisk in Emerald and FireRed.

It's funny. I never really bothered with handheld systems for the longest time.
My GBA sat around collecting dust since I bought it. Now I'm addicted to playing these games on it.

I'm almost 30 and married, and I'm seriously contemplating buying a DS just so I can play the Diamond/Pearl pokemon games. If that's wrong, I don't want to be right. :p

[Ancalagon]

Buy a DS and D/P. Diamond is great, its much better than Emerald. I mean, I know its more of the same.... But any hardcore Pokemon fan will love the new stuff. The interface is much better too.

Plus you can trade wirelessly and also import your pokes from Emerald/Fire Red, provided you have got the National Dex in Diamond first.

[JayVe]

Buy a DS and D/P. Diamond is great, its much better than Emerald. I mean, I know its more of the same.... But any hardcore Pokemon fan will love the new stuff. The interface is much better too.

Plus you can trade wirelessly and also import your pokes from Emerald/Fire Red, provided you have got the National Dex in Diamond first.

I'm gonna agree. Either buy a DS and jump in with both feet, or wait till the DSi is released so you can take advantage of the exclusive software.

On a side note, my Pokémon boxes are full. I'm trying to have one of each Pokémon. Has anyone used Pokémon Ranch on the Wii? I was considering using it to unload a number of my duplicate Pokémon onto the Wii memory.

Thoughts?

[JayVe]

Now I need a Metal Coat for my Scyther->Scizor
and a Dragon Scale for Seadra->Kingdra...not having any luck with either.

I have an extra metal coat. Gladly trade it for something/someone I need if that's cool.

[Ancalagon]

I'm gonna agree. Either buy a DS and jump in with both feet, or wait till the DSi is released so you can take advantage of the exclusive software.

DSi's dont have the GBA slot so you wont be able to use your GBA games with it. I'd just get a Lite if I was you.

[JayVe]

DSi's dont have the GBA slot so you wont be able to use your GBA games with it. I'd just get a Lite if I was you.

:O! Good point! I haven't gone back to my GBA games in ages, and completely forgot.

Do it today. Go get yourself a Lite and catch 'em all! ;)

[KSmitty]

I'm gonna agree. Either buy a DS and jump in with both feet, or wait till the DSi is released so you can take advantage of the exclusive software.

On a side note, my Pokémon boxes are full. I'm trying to have one of each Pokémon. Has anyone used Pokémon Ranch on the Wii? I was considering using it to unload a number of my duplicate Pokémon onto the Wii memory.

Thoughts?
Well accoding to Serebii.net (http://serebii.net/ranch/) it looks like you can use Pokemon Ranch for storage. However it sounds like Revolution in that your pokemon are tied to one game cart. Eh, I don't know. I would love just a basic pokemon locker like they had for GC/GBA.

[LongStepMantis]

I may have to pick up a DS soon, but it will have to wait. Post Xmas isn't a great time as far as disposable income goes...at all.

As far as trading...the only trades I've done were done with a Link cable from a foot away. I don't have a wireless adapter. :(

I appreciate the offer though.

[Bone]

My wife has played Pokemon games since her first original GameBoy we got her. I think I have always pretended it was too kiddy for me and I never played it.

Now I just started playing Pokemon Diamond on the DS and after 22 hours or so, I'm hooked. I'm working towards the 3rd Gym Leader right now. This game is awesome- it reminds me of a classic Zelda game (with the hidden caves and areas that require items to access) with a much bigger focus on the RPG stats of your characters! Why didn't anybody tell me this before??

I haven't looked at a FAQ yet, so all this advanced training stuff you guys are throwing around is VERY alien to me. I just arrived at the place where they hold Pokemon (beauty?) Contests and am wondering if this is optional or not (or if the loot is worth it, basically). I'm considering leaving town and exploring some more.

My main party consists of a Pachirisu, Staravia, Monferno, Luxio, Gyarados, and an Onix. Actually I put the Onix away when I was offered an Egg. My Onix wasn't as useless as some of you have said, but he definitely wasn't great in all situations. His Rock Tomb was killing a lot of creatures on the first hit, though. I do have a Geodude that I captured awhile back and haven't leveled up yet.

I suppose I really need to get a guide, or at least keep some references handy as to the Rock/Scissor/Paper nature of some of these powers. Some are common sense, others not so much.

Any must-have creatures out there? My wife was kind enough to hint that I should not throw away my Magikarp, and instead evolve it by placing it first in my party and then switching to useful creatures until it obtained a real attack and got to level 20. The Gyarados has been well worth it!

Signed,
a new Poke freak

[JayVe]

My wife was kind enough to hint that I should not throw away my Magikarp, and instead evolve it by placing it first in my party and then switching to useful creatures until it obtained a real attack and got to level 20. The Gyarados has been well worth it!

Welcome! Your wife is very wise. :D

I haven't done much of the beauty contests. I may need to start though as some Pokemon I am trying to obtain requires 'high beauty' to evolve.

I've got almost 300 hours together in Diamond / Pearl, and I still discover new things.

[Lint of Death]

To those who were saying Onyx is trash:
I played through quite a lot of the main Diamond campaign with him in my party because his Rock Throw could smash in a simply crazy number of faces.

[LongStepMantis]

To those who were saying Onyx is trash:
I played through quite a lot of the main Diamond campaign with him in my party because his Rock Throw could smash in a simply crazy number of faces.

From what I've seen, the majority of pokes can be perfectly effective in-game.
A lot of the tiering is done solely for competitive play. Things like EV training can be useful but really aren't necessary if you're not going for competition. Some pokes are obviously good, like Legendaries, but even the worst pokes seem to have some use.

For example Meowth is a piece of crap. But he knows Pickup and can learn a decent amount of HMs. Makes a great slave.

I want to make a team of the crappiest pokes I can find now. It could be pretty amusing. Anyone wanna suggest some terrible pokes? :D

[zarathstra]

I want to make a team of the crappiest pokes I can find now. It could be pretty amusing. Anyone wanna suggest some terrible pokes? :D

Magikarp...

[LongStepMantis]

Magikarp...

Not pulling any punches on that one eh?

A Magikarp with an Everstone so he can never evolve to Gyardaos...that makes me cringe to even think about. :p

[Ancalagon]

In my Emerald game, my Hariyama and Manectric both own their respective types. Thats generally how I play single player - I use Pokemon that have a type advantage over their enemy exclusively (ie I dont use normal type pokemon), those Pokemon almost always use moves for which they have a same type attack bonus, and I use as much high damage moves as possible. End result - other Pokes get KO'd quickly. I'm sure in competitive battling things would be different, but thats how I play single player. I like to knock enemy pokes out as quickly as possible.

[LongStepMantis]

In my Emerald game, my Hariyama and Manectric both own their respective types. Thats generally how I play single player - I use Pokemon that have a type advantage over their enemy exclusively (ie I dont use normal type pokemon), those Pokemon almost always use moves for which they have a same type attack bonus, and I use as much high damage moves as possible. End result - other Pokes get KO'd quickly. I'm sure in competitive battling things would be different, but thats how I play single player. I like to knock enemy pokes out as quickly as possible.

That's pretty much the same approach I use. I won't be battling anyone besides the one friend I have that also has the game, and even then it would just be for the hell of it. I tend to usually favor attacks over support moves for the same reason. The easiest way to deal with the CPU is to kill their pokes in 1 or 2 hits, changing out if you need to exploit the incomers weaknesses.

If I do use support abilities, specifically those that alter stats, I always take ones that boost me over ones that lower the enemy's. If you lower them and they die quickly anyways, you start back at square one for the next guy. Boosting yourself, especially when it's a poke that can tough it out for most of their pokemon, and you keep the bonuses throughout.

It's one of the reasons I want a Scizor. My Scyther's attack is already really high for his level range, and he knows Sword Dance which greatly raises his attack. I'm gonna EV train his attack and speed as high as possible and make him a 1-hit KO machine. :D

I tend to try and have a couple decent pokes of every type I can bring in when i need them, but for my all-purpose team I try to cover all the most common types. For example my Crobat is Poison/Flying and uses attacks that are Dark, Poison, Flying, and Normal. He can't be poisoned or hit with ground attacks and the weaknesses he does have are covered by other team members. I also usually make sure that I have someone who is effective against a type that another member is weak against, etc.

[JayVe]

It's one of the reasons I want a Scizor. My Scyther's attack is already really high for his level range, and he knows Sword Dance which greatly raises his attack. I'm gonna EV train his attack as high as possible and make him a 1-hit KO machine. :DI'm raising a Porygon Z for this exact purpose.

[Ancalagon]

I want a Scizor! Its most of the reason why I'm playing FireRed, I want to catch one so I can upload it to Diamond and own with it. Well, a Scyther at least.

[J Arcane]

You know you can catch a Scyther in Diamond, right? He's an uncommon on Route 229.

He's one of the Diamond exclusives that Pearl doesn't have.

[Ancalagon]

Yes, you are right.

but I just remembered my real reason for doing it the hard way (FireRed) - Pokemon transferred from GBA games count as traded and thus get the +50% to all experience gained. I could catch one in Diamond but then it would level at the normal slow rate.

[Bone]

This is all great info, I'm trying to absorb it all. Still in the dark about EV training, though you guys make it sound important for multiplayer battles only?

Is there a definitive guide for EV training?

[zarathstra]

This is all great info, I'm trying to absorb it all. Still in the dark about EV training, though you guys make it sound important for multiplayer battles only?

Is there a definitive guide for EV training?

What the hell is EV training anyway? I hear the term bandied about, but I have no idea what it actually involves.

[LongStepMantis]

What the hell is EV training anyway? I hear the term bandied about, but I have no idea what it actually involves.

Here's a link to all the info you should need about EV Training. (http://serebii.net/pokedex-rs/ev.shtml)

Basically, certain pokemon you encounter in the wild are worth EV points. These points are tied to a specific stat. Whismur, for example, are worth 1 HP EV. Stronger pokemon breeds can give more than 1 a piece. For every 4 EV points you gain in a stat, your pokemon will gain an extra "real" point in that stat when they level up.

Using the Whismur example from earlier, let's say you have a poke that normally gains 2 HP a level. Between level ups, you use that poke to defeat 20 Whismurs.
This gives you 20 HP EV's, which breaks down into 5 extra HP stat points. So when he levels up the next time, he gains 7 HP instead of 2. If you ever noticed a pokemon gain a level and get an unusually large amount of a stat, it was probably because whatever you were fighting was feeding him EVs. There are more details that the guide should make clear.

EV Training is basically just deciding what stats you really want a poke to excel at, and going out and defeating wild pokes that give you EVs for that stat. They're also why pokes you use a lot to begin with always seem to end up getting fatter level up stat gains. They've been collecting EVs as you were using them, perhaps completely unbeknownst to you. Just keep in mind that each stat can only hold a certain amount of EV points, and you also can only hold a certain amount of them overall as well.

EV training won't make or break anyone in non-competitive play or in-game, but it can provide a nice little boost for pokemon you really want to excel with.

I should also mention that the Macho Brace item, which appears useless or negative at first glance, is designed around this. Pokemon gain double EV points while wearing it. If your pokemon catch the rare and elusive Pokerus disease, that also doubles it...meaning a Pokemon who has Pokerus and is also wearing a Macho Brace gets x4 EVs because they do stack. I recommend that if you ever do get a pokemon with Pokerus, to shelf it in your box permanently so it can reinfect other pokemon. It doesn't get cured if they stay there, otherwise they lose it after a certain amount of time. Pokerus is incredibly rare though, as I've never been able to catch it.

I hope I made sense. :D

[Bone]

Thank you! That made a lot of sense and the guide you linked is what I will be studying for a long while...

[Ancalagon]

LongStepMantis: If your Pokemon gains 7HP that level, its only 7HP that level right? Next level it will be back to 2, unless you EV train HP some more. Right?

[CES]

Pokerus is incredibly rare though, as I've never been able to catch it.

I hope I made sense. :D

I have several pokemon infected with Pokerus and if you like, I can trade one over to you.

As for the odds of Pokerus appearing in your game, isn't it something like 1 in 25,000?

[rinichanraar]

Flash is as useless as HMs get, you're right.

Like J Arcane said earlier, I still don't get why you have to go through so much trouble to replace HM moves. You have the HM, so you can always teach it to someone else if need be...why force me to keep it on a poke until I find the HM remover?

I always thought it would be cool if you could just replace HMs with other HMs instantly, then allow one Pokemon (other than Mew or that other one I can't remember) to learn all of them. Like maybe a Ditto or something. Then, whenever you encounter an obstacle, you could just replace one of your current Pokemon's HMs with a different one, and just continue doing that throughout the game.

Or just teach them to a Pokemon and not have them used as attacks. That would probably be ideal.

I'm think someone else has mentioned these ideas in the thread before, but they just makes so much sense to me.

It took a while and was a pain in the ass, but I finally bred a fighting Abra which I will train/trade into an ass kicking Alakazzam. I decided to be lazy about the EV training and just go the vitamin route, which is much easier, but much much more expensive.

Yeah, I don't play competitively, so I generally don't EV train, but I'd do it for my Alakazam's Special Attack and/or Speed if I ran out of vitamins because I love him.

[LongStepMantis]

LongStepMantis: If your Pokemon gains 7HP that level, its only 7HP that level right? Next level it will be back to 2, unless you EV train HP some more. Right?

Correct.

So eventually a stat's EV value will reach its limit of 255 and you can no longer get extra gains in that stat, and that pokemon will forever after gain its standard amount of that stat. Once a pokemon hits the total 510 cap, you can no longer gain extra stat points in any stat, regardless of it's individual value. So you don't have to grind your heart out to get EVs as quickly as possible, just make sure you have all that you want before the pokemon hits level 100. ;)


Yeah, I don't play competitively, so I generally don't EV train, but I'd do it for my Alakazam's Special Attack and/or Speed if I ran out of vitamins because I love him.

My Alakazam (finally got the trade evo from Kadabra, huzzah!) has been getting his Sp. Attack buffed since I started on him as a wee Abra, so he has to be maxed on it for EVs now. All I know is that he routinely 1H-KO's enemies while it's saying "It's not very effective..."
Against anyone who isn't highly resistant to psychic and have high Sp. Defense, they're just instantly dead. He's a beast wielding a twisted spoon of justice.

[LongStepMantis]

Also, this guide (http://www.psypokes.com/lab/evguide.php) seems to be much more fleshed out than my previous link, including new resources found in the DS titles.

I would use this one for general reference and information, and use the earlier link to Serebii's guide for the handy tables showing which pokemon give what/how many EV's (click on the box that represents the stat in question for the tables).

[Ancalagon]

Got another stupid question. In Emerald, how do I rematch trainers? I thought I would use the Pokenav and call them, but they just tell me how their pokemon are doing.

[headhunter228]

Yeah, I don't play competitively, so I generally don't EV train, but I'd do it for my Alakazam's Special Attack and/or Speed if I ran out of vitamins because I love him.

I could be completely wrong about this, but I do believe that the number of vitamins you can give to your Pokemon is tied to it's EV points.

To answer Ancalagon's question, check your Pokenav, and if there's a Poke Ball symbol by the person's name, they want a remach. However, you have to run around for a long while before you get a good number of people who want a rematch.

[Ancalagon]

I could be completely wrong about this, but I do believe that the number of vitamins you can give to your Pokemon is tied to it's EV points.

To answer Ancalagon's question, check your Pokenav, and if there's a Poke Ball symbol by the person's name, they want a remach. However, you have to run around for a long while before you get a good number of people who want a rematch.

Thanks! So... do I have to be close to them to rematch them? Or just phone them?

As far as I remember, each thing of vitamins gives your Poke 10 EV points in the corresponding stat. You also get anti vitamins (bitter berries or something) to take away EV points.

[headhunter228]

I generally found that the more you hang out in a certain area, the more often those people wanted a rematch.

[zarathstra]

Thanks for the info on EV training. That sounds like a seriously grueling grind. If I were really competitive in the game, I might consider it, but I just like it as an occasional bit of fun.

[headhunter228]

Thanks for the info on EV training. That sounds like a seriously grueling grind. If I were really competitive in the game, I might consider it, but I just like it as an occasional bit of fun.

The only reason I would ever consider EV training is if I simply can't run a 100 win streak at the Battle Tower, even with the beastial team I'm toying with. All I have to do is figure out how to get a Larvitar. I'm thinking, Dragonite, Tyranitar, Heatran.

[JayVe]

The only reason I would ever consider EV training is if I simply can't run a 100 win streak at the Battle Tower, even with the beastial team I'm toying with. All I have to do is figure out how to get a Larvitar. I'm thinking, Dragonite, Tyranitar, Heatran.

I can give you a baby Larvitar. I know I've got a Tyranitar, so I can make an egg for ya.

[Ancalagon]

Same, I have a pupitar and a Ditto, so I can breed a larvitar for you.

[Bone]

Breed? Make an egg? There is so much I don't know.

[zarathstra]

Breed? Make an egg? There is so much I don't know.

Yeah, if you leave a male and female Pokemon at the Poke-Daycare, they'll have Poke-Sex and lay an egg.

I'm totally not kidding. (Except about the sex part, they kinda gloss over that, but it stands to reason...)

[J Arcane]

Breed? Make an egg? There is so much I don't know.
If you take two pokemon of the opposite sex that are in the same egg group, family, or species, and stick them in the day care, there's a chance every 256 steps you take that an egg will appear.

http://bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/wiki/Breeding

I'm using it to get a lvl1 Gastly so I can raise him up with Hypnosis, though I'm honestly not sure where to fit him in the team. At present I've got the bases covered pretty well.

Current team is Prinplup (w/water and steel moves), Luxio (electric/dark), Staravia(flying), Graveller(rock/ground), Machop(fighting), Kadabra(psychic). Between them I don't seem to run into too many types that I can't counter.

[headhunter228]

Yeah, if you leave a male and female Pokemon at the Poke-Daycare, they'll have Poke-Sex and lay an egg.

I'm totally not kidding. (Except about the sex part, they kinda gloss over that, but it stands to reason...)

It's a LOT more complicated that that, but that's pretty much the gist of it. Legendaries can't breed, and Pokemon are separated into groups. They can only breed with other Pokemon that belong to the same group. It doesn't have to be the same species, and some Pokemon belong to more than one group. You can breed stats, moves, etc. There are multiple guides for this sort of thing, and I would recommend you look at those. They'll do a far better job explaining it than me. BTW, the people by the Daycare say they have never seen a Pokemon lay an egg, so they're not 100% sure where they come from. But when a male and a female really love each other......

[Ancalagon]

You should also read: http://bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/wiki/HSOWA

Also, Ditto are handy pokemon because they can breed with anything, and you always get an egg that is of the top of the other Poke (ie, never Ditto).

See, your Poke egg is always the same type as the mother, unless the mother is ditto, in which case you get the same type as the father. This is handy for when you want to breed something but you only have the male of the species.

Theres a whole bunch more to it though - natures, egg moves, etc.

[headhunter228]

You should also read: http://bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/wiki/HSOWA

Also, Ditto are handy pokemon because they can breed with anything, and you always get an egg that is of the top of the other Poke (ie, never Ditto).

See, your Poke egg is always the same type as the mother, unless the mother is ditto, in which case you get the same type as the father. This is handy for when you want to breed something but you only have the male of the species.

Theres a whole bunch more to it though - natures, egg moves, etc.

I CAN'T FIND ONE. My little brother has the game's Pokemon guide, which details what's available and where to find it. I know where to find one, and I know I have to use the Poke Radar, but I have not seen one yet.

By the way, what's your friend code? I can get to a wireless hotspot and hook up to Wi-Fi if I need to. Just name your price for that Larvitar, and I'll see what I can do.

[Ancalagon]

No price for the larvitar. Unless you have an elekid?

I dont have my friend code on me, am at work right now. When I get home I'll send you a pm

Are you using Diamond? I found my Larvitar in Diamond, cant remember where. It took me a while using the pokeradar, but I found it. But dont worry, not a problem to breed one for you.

[headhunter228]

Just so happens I have my friend code on me right now. I'll send you a pm. And, I am playing a Diamond version. I don't have an Elekid, sorry. Problem is, I don't have much in the way of junk Pokemon right now. Since I (thankfully) don't have to "catch" them all, I can just see them and they register in my Pokedex. But I'm sure I can find something. I appreciate it.

[J Arcane]

It is kinda funy that the "gotta catch 'em all" thing doesn't really seem to apply anymore with Diamond, but I never was obsessive enough to do so anyway. In fact I have a very bad habbit of avoiding grass patches and focusing on trainer battles for the cash and bonus XP.

[Ancalagon]

It is kinda funy that the "gotta catch 'em all" thing doesn't really seem to apply anymore with Diamond, but I never was obsessive enough to do so anyway. In fact I have a very bad habbit of avoiding grass patches and focusing on trainer battles for the cash and bonus XP.

Me too. Random battles tend to annoy me when I get further in the game. I only do them to catch new pokes later in the game, or if I have to in order to get to a new area.

[headhunter228]

The main reason I never tried for it is because I never had anyone to trade with. However, my little brother recently got a Diamond version for his DS. It's better than nothing, but I have a Diamond version, too. I told him to get Pearl, but he didn't see any used at GameStop. That, and the fact that he's extremely impatient. Even so, catching them all takes a complete PokeFreak, because you have to transfer in some from the old consoles, trade between versions, etc. I will probably never "catch" them all, though I might see them all.

[Ancalagon]

I dont want to catch or even see them all, I just want to build the ultimate Poke Team. And promptly use it against the CPU only. Battles against other real humans dont interest me for some reason.

[Lint of Death]

No price for the larvitar. Unless you have an elekid?

I dont have my friend code on me, am at work right now. When I get home I'll send you a pm

Are you using Diamond? I found my Larvitar in Diamond, cant remember where. It took me a while using the pokeradar, but I found it. But dont worry, not a problem to breed one for you.

You find larvitar in a patch of grass just north of some town early on, where there's level 6 machops or something like that.

[Ancalagon]

You find larvitar in a patch of grass just north of some town early on, where there's level 6 machops or something like that.

Only with pokeradar though. takes a while

[rinichanraar]

I dont want to catch or even see them all, I just want to build the ultimate Poke Team. And promptly use it against the CPU only. Battles against other real humans dont interest me for some reason.

It sounds kind of funny when you put it that way, but this is kind of how I feel, actually. I think it's because not everyone's Pokemon are the same level as mine, so it would be kind of an awkward fight if they were too different. I think I'd probably enjoy fighting someone whose Pokemon are nearly the same levels as the ones I'd have so it'd be a really exciting match (though I know it could still be exciting even if our levels varied).

[JayVe]

It sounds kind of funny when you put it that way, but this is kind of how I feel, actually. I think it's because not everyone's Pokemon are the same level as mine, so it would be kind of an awkward fight if they were too different. I think I'd probably enjoy fighting someone whose Pokemon are nearly the same levels as the ones I'd have so it'd be a really exciting match (though I know it could still be exciting even if our levels varied).

The Wii Pokemon battle game can automatically level your pokemon. If you only have a team of lvl 50's, and you wanted to battle me with my level 100s, the game automatically adjust the levels so we can battle a little more fairly with each other.

[Ancalagon]

It sounds kind of funny when you put it that way, but this is kind of how I feel, actually. I think it's because not everyone's Pokemon are the same level as mine, so it would be kind of an awkward fight if they were too different. I think I'd probably enjoy fighting someone whose Pokemon are nearly the same levels as the ones I'd have so it'd be a really exciting match (though I know it could still be exciting even if our levels varied).

I think there are things within Diamond itself that can auto level pokemon down to 50. I know that the battle tower or whatever has a mode that does.

I dont know.... even with autolevelling, the idea of training a team to fight another human doesnt excite me. I dont know why. It just doesnt.

[JayVe]

I dont know.... even with autolevelling, the idea of training a team to fight another human doesnt excite me. I dont know why. It just doesnt.

You can just come on out and say you are terrified of my Pokemon team. I'm cool with that.

[Ancalagon]

No, its just that beating everyone with a team of Bidoofs gets old after a while. I mean, I want some challenge, you know?

Jayve:

Suddenly I glanced at your sig and an image popped unbidden into my head.

Its a closeup of an anthropomorphic console, complete with arms and a face. Its humming a happy tune for itself, scanning the ground, whereupon it exclaims "Oh goody!" and picks up a piece of dust.

(Its dust collecting! Geddit?)

[JayVe]

No, its just that beating everyone with a team of Bidoofs gets old after a while. I mean, I want some challenge, you know?

Oh SNAP! :eek:

[Ancalagon]

Oh SNAP! :eek:

Ninja edit, check my old post again.

Also, I've ordered my new router, will arrive on Saturday, which will finally solve my Pokemon connectivity problems. Muhaha, trading galore!

[JayVe]

Jayve:

Suddenly I glanced at your sig and an image popped unbidden into my head.

Its a closeup of an anthropomorphic console, complete with arms and a face. Its humming a happy tune for itself, scanning the ground, whereupon it exclaims "Oh goody!" and picks up a piece of dust.

(Its dust collecting! Geddit?)

That's a really funny image! :D

[LongStepMantis]

The only reason I would ever consider EV training is if I simply can't run a 100 win streak at the Battle Tower, even with the beastial team I'm toying with. All I have to do is figure out how to get a Larvitar. I'm thinking, Dragonite, Tyranitar, Heatran.

For all the EV crap I posted, I only do it passively. For example, If I'm in a cave area full of Zubats and Golbats, I'll put someone who could use more speed at the front of the party, so it gets Speed EVs. Things like that.
I never go out with the intention of doing EV training, I just use the info about what pokes give what EVs so I can make sure the right pokemon are getting them in the normal flow of play.

[J Arcane]

Is there anyone on right now who'd like to do some trade evolves for me?

I may or may not have internet for a little while after today, and I'd like to get them done before I get any further. I've a Kadabra, a MAchoke, and a Graveller who all need swapping for evolves.

[LongStepMantis]

I'd help ya out if I had the world's longest link cable.

I ain't got none o that wireless hitechery! /yokel

[Variable Gear]

J, Send me a PM and I'll see what I can do.

[headhunter228]

I think there are things within Diamond itself that can auto level pokemon down to 50. I know that the battle tower or whatever has a mode that does.

I dont know.... even with autolevelling, the idea of training a team to fight another human doesnt excite me. I dont know why. It just doesnt.

I have yet to conquer the Battle Tower. I will not consider my Diamond version beaten until I have run 100-win streaks in Single and Double battles. I know if you enter a Pokemon above Lvl. 50, it will get busted back down to that level. Fighting other people never interested me, either.

[Ancalagon]

I have yet to conquer the Battle Tower. I will not consider my Diamond version beaten until I have run 100-win streaks in Single and Double battles. I know if you enter a Pokemon above Lvl. 50, it will get busted back down to that level. Fighting other people never interested me, either.

It might be beneficial to enter higher level pokemon purely for the moves they get. Some Pokemon also only evolve at high levels, like Tyranitar for instance.

This weekend I played a lot of Fire Red. I've beaten the 2nd gym, got to Cerulean city, got a bicycle and the vs seeker. My Pokes are mainly about level 20. Can I just say Pikachu is the weakest Pokemon ever to have graced the game? How did anything that crap become the mascot for the franchise? It gets KO'd by Rattatta FFS!

[headhunter228]

Can I just say Pikachu is the weakest Pokemon ever to have graced the game? How did anything that crap become the mascot for the franchise? It gets KO'd by Rattatta FFS!

Because it's so cute. God, I hate cute.

[Ancalagon]

Because it's so cute. God, I hate cute.

Me too. I dont use any of the Fairy pokemon, like Clefairy and Chansey, purely because I dont want cute pokemon, I want battle hardened monsters.

I only raised a Pikachu because electric pokemon are very handy against water and flying types. Hopefully I can find a thunderstone and at least evolve it to a Raichu. maybe it will suck a bit less then.

[headhunter228]

Me too. I dont use any of the Fairy pokemon, like Clefairy and Chansey, purely because I dont want cute pokemon, I want battle hardened monsters.

I only raised a Pikachu because electric pokemon are very handy against water and flying types. Hopefully I can find a thunderstone and at least evolve it to a Raichu. maybe it will suck a bit less then.

That's exactly what I wound up doing. It sucks a little less that way. It gets bumped up from "almost useless" to "tolerable" once it evolves. Just make sure to teach it all of the moves you want it to have beforehand.

[rinichanraar]

Because it's so cute. God, I hate cute.

That's why I had a Pachirisu for so long in Diamond.

Okay, that was a lie. It was because it had the Pick-up Nature, and I love free stuff (despite having a ton of Pokedollars/yen anyway), and the items kept getting better the higher his level got.

[LongStepMantis]

That's exactly what I wound up doing. It sucks a little less that way. It gets bumped up from "almost useless" to "tolerable" once it evolves. Just make sure to teach it all of the moves you want it to have beforehand.

I decided to use a pikachu last time through because, well, he's their flagship pokemon and I'd never used one.

I was severely unimpressed. Once he hit Raichu he became more useful, but you have to use TMs if you want him to be decent. Pikachu's learned moves are all lightning or support with the exception of I think one normal attack. I gave him Fight, Normal, and Lightning moves, with Double Team for support. He's lvl 65 and his stats are pretty decent, but none of them are good...just decent.

[LongStepMantis]

That's why I had a Pachirisu for so long in Diamond.

Okay, that was a lie. It was because it had the Pick-up Nature, and I love free stuff (despite having a ton of Pokedollars/yen anyway), and the items kept getting better the higher his level got.

The same reason I used a POS Meowth. But he loses Pick-Up when he evolves at level...16? I think? Maybe 20? So you have to keep denying his evo, because you can't put an everstone on him if you want to use Pick-Up...so annoying. I really should find a better Poke with Pick-Up, but so far he's the only one I have I've noticed with that ability.

[headhunter228]

The same reason I used a POS Meowth. But he loses Pick-Up when he evolves at level...16? I think? Maybe 20? So you have to keep denying his evo, because you can't put an everstone on him if you want to use Pick-Up...so annoying. I really should find a better Poke with Pick-Up, but so far he's the only one I have I've noticed with that ability.

I ran a search on Pokemon with Pick Up, and I didn't find many that were any good. If you have Diamond/Pearl, you can evolve your Aipom into Ambipom, or you could get a Linoone. Neither is great, but nothing else is any good. Just make sure they actually have the ability, because both can have more than one. Ambipom can have Technician, and Linoone can have Gluttony.

[Ancalagon]

I ran a search on Pokemon with Pick Up, and I didn't find many that were any good. If you have Diamond/Pearl, you can evolve your Aipom into Ambipom, or you could get a Linoone. Neither is great, but nothing else is any good. Just make sure they actually have the ability, because both can have more than one. Ambipom can have Technician, and Linoone can have Gluttony.

Munchlax is probably the best Pokemon to use for this, if you can get one.

Or just get 5 Pachirisus and go item farming (1 regular pokemon for actually winning battles and 5 Pachis for item farming).

[KSmitty]

Pachirisu, Zigzagoon and Linoone are all great for pick up. I normally use Zigzagoon, I have yet to level one past 30 though so I don't know what type of items they get as they level higher.

[Ancalagon]

Pachirisu, Zigzagoon and Linoone are all great for pick up. I normally use Zigzagoon, I have yet to level one past 30 though so I don't know what type of items they get as they level higher.

According to Bulbapedia, some pretty good stuff, including evolution stones, rare candies, and TMs (although a very limited selection thereof).

[headhunter228]

According to Bulbapedia, some pretty good stuff, including evolution stones, rare candies, and TMs (although a very limited selection thereof).

The Pokemon has to have a high level, though. I could be wrong, but I think that Rare Candies don't start showing up until lvl 50.

[KSmitty]

The Pokemon has to have a high level, though. I could be wrong, but I think that Rare Candies don't start showing up until lvl 50.
No, mine pick up potions, nuggets and rare candies. I really need to get to the higher levels though, as they are the only way to get replicates of some of item+ evolutions.

[J Arcane]

Well, I'm up to my 7th badge now in Diamond. All my team are around lvl 40 and max evolved. I just beat the Team Galactic HQ, and freed the three lake Pokemon, and now I guess I'm supposed to go find Cyrus on Mt. Coronet, but I somehow managed to miss finding HM08 for Rock Climb, thanks to Route 217 being so godawfully confusing. I was really looking forward to hopefully never having to go there again.

[Ancalagon]

Well, I'm up to my 7th badge now in Diamond. All my team are around lvl 40 and max evolved. I just beat the Team Galactic HQ, and freed the three lake Pokemon, and now I guess I'm supposed to go find Cyrus on Mt. Coronet, but I somehow managed to miss finding HM08 for Rock Climb, thanks to Route 217 being so godawfully confusing. I was really looking forward to hopefully never having to go there again.

slight spoilers below.....



Get a good ground pokemon for the 8th gym. I used Garchomp, worked wonders.

In fact, I can breed a Gabite (evolves to Garchomp) for you if you want? Or a Phanpy (evolves to Donphan, cool elephant Pokemon) or a Rhydon.

[headhunter228]

slight spoilers below.....



Get a good ground pokemon for the 8th gym. I used Garchomp, worked wonders.

In fact, I can breed a Gabite (evolves to Garchomp) for you if you want? Or a Phanpy (evolves to Donphan, cool elephant Pokemon) or a Rhydon.

Let me save you some trouble. You can find a Gible in Wayward Cave, under Cycling Road. However, you won't find one if you use the obvious entrance. There's a hidden entrance and a second floor to the cave under the bridge. Just go all the way back below the road, go under the bridge, and search for the entrance under the bridge. You can't see it (the bridge is in the way), but it's there.

[Ancalagon]

Let me save you some trouble. You can find a Gible in Wayward Cave, under Cycling Road. However, you won't find one if you use the obvious entrance. There's a hidden entrance and a second floor to the cave under the bridge. Just go all the way back below the road, go under the bridge, and search for the entrance under the bridge. You can't see it (the bridge is in the way), but it's there.

Yeah, thats where I got mine. But it takes ages for it to level up without the trade bonus, its difficult to catch, and difficult to find. Much easier to just get a traded gible.

[KSmitty]

Yeah, thats where I got mine. But it takes ages for it to level up without the trade bonus, its difficult to catch, and difficult to find. Much easier to just get a traded gible.
I have always been puzzled by dragons. They take the longest to level, but they don't really offer much benefit outside of cool factor. The only dragon type that I have leveled without the bonus is good old Gyarados. Garchomp was the first dragon that I used consistently in my party.

[Ancalagon]

I have always been puzzled by dragons. They take the longest to level, but they don't really offer much benefit outside of cool factor. The only dragon type that I have leveled without the bonus is good old Gyarados. Garchomp was the first dragon that I used consistently in my party.

I got bored with Garchomp. Its pretty powerful, but its Dragon type moves are only super effective against Dragon and Steel types I think. Being ground type is useful, but I think there are cooler ground types. Not necessarily more powerful, but more useful. Swampert is a notable example - Water and Ground is a much more useful combination for me.

As for Gyarados... I used to be a huge fan, now I dont care. Its got good stats but thats about it. There are better water types and better flying types, and it doesnt even get any flying moves. It doesnt get the good resistances that an actual dragon type does, instead it gets a huge weakness to electricity.

I want to try out a Salamence, but thats the only Dragon type I want to try. Dragonair is too cute for me.

[headhunter228]

I got bored with Garchomp. Its pretty powerful, but its Dragon type moves are only super effective against Dragon and Steel types I think. Being ground type is useful, but I think there are cooler ground types. Not necessarily more powerful, but more useful. Swampert is a notable example - Water and Ground is a much more useful combination for me.

As for Gyarados... I used to be a huge fan, now I dont care. Its got good stats but thats about it. There are better water types and better flying types, and it doesnt even get any flying moves. It doesnt get the good resistances that an actual dragon type does, instead it gets a huge weakness to electricity.

I want to try out a Salamence, but thats the only Dragon type I want to try. Dragonair is too cute for me.

I like Dragon types, mainly because they're resistant to so many types of attacks. They can also learn a wide variety of moves. Salamence is a BEAST. I know that from first-hand experience. His Attack is so high, you don't need a "super effective" attack to get one-hit kills, for the most part. I've never tried a Dragonite, but they seem pretty powerful. As for Gyarados, he has high attack, but since he's a Water-type, that really doesn't matter, since his best attacks require Special Attack, and Gyarados doesn't have much in the way of that. Don't really like him.

[KSmitty]

I got bored with Garchomp. Its pretty powerful, but its Dragon type moves are only super effective against Dragon and Steel types I think. Being ground type is useful, but I think there are cooler ground types. Not necessarily more powerful, but more useful. Swampert is a notable example - Water and Ground is a much more useful combination for me.

As for Gyarados... I used to be a huge fan, now I dont care. Its got good stats but thats about it. There are better water types and better flying types, and it doesnt even get any flying moves. It doesnt get the good resistances that an actual dragon type does, instead it gets a huge weakness to electricity.

I want to try out a Salamence, but thats the only Dragon type I want to try. Dragonair is too cute for me.

Swampert is a monster. Immune to electric has ground attacks AND he can learn Ice Beam to hit any grass types. One of the best all around pokemon in the game. I liked that Garchomp had some utility outside of just being a dragon type. Great? No, but useful (in game). I just have fond memories of Gyarados from the old GBC days, I pretty much use him for water type HMs now though. Salamance is good, but that added flying type puts him down hard to electric type and with his speed he is always going to be at a disadvantage there, however he hits hard and has a good amount of HP.

[TheEpicOfTyler]

This thread has become monstrous. I don't' feel like I can jump in so easily.

I have lots of Pokemon though if anyone wants to trade!

I have many female Feebas' (for Milotic!), Burmy's, and a Ditto (probably not willing to trade, but I can probably get another easily enough) that's had more sex than anything in existence.

I also have a couple hundered lvl. 1 Vulpix, Chinchou, Nincada and Draitini's from when I was breeding for the right natures.

Also, Gyarados is weak as fuck in Diamond/Pearl, such a waste. I don't even know why they offer Hyper Beam anymore, it is the weakest attack ever.

[JayVe]

Also, Gyarados is weak as fuck in Diamond/Pearl, such a waste. I don't even know why they offer Hyper Beam anymore, it is the weakest attack ever.

I've got Hyper Beam on a super-powered Lvl 83 Porygon Z. The thing is a monster sweeper, able to knock out just about anyone in a single hit. I think of him as nothing more than a cannon, able to dish out Special Attack moves of a variety of types. Add in the bonus Porygon Z gets for being Normal, just like Hyper Beam, and the thing is a monster.

[LongStepMantis]

I like Dragon types, mainly because they're resistant to so many types of attacks. They can also learn a wide variety of moves. Salamence is a BEAST. I know that from first-hand experience. His Attack is so high, you don't need a "super effective" attack to get one-hit kills, for the most part. I've never tried a Dragonite, but they seem pretty powerful. As for Gyarados, he has high attack, but since he's a Water-type, that really doesn't matter, since his best attacks require Special Attack, and Gyarados doesn't have much in the way of that. Don't really like him.

I didn't care to use Dragons until I got my Kingdra. He's not great at anything, but he's above average in everything. Every one of his stats goes up by 3-4 per level without any EV training. He's only level 45 and his lowest stat is still well above 100. He was a bitch and a half to get though. Stupid trade evo + item held, and it took me forever to get the Dragon Scale for it.

[LongStepMantis]

I've got Hyper Beam on a super-powered Lvl 83 Porygon Z. The thing is a monster sweeper, able to knock out just about anyone in a single hit. I think of him as nothing more than a cannon, able to dish out Special Attack moves of a variety of types. Add in the bonus Porygon Z gets for being Normal, just like Hyper Beam, and the thing is a monster.

Glad that one worked out for ya. I finally got my Scizor as well...man, it's just ugly. Dragon Dance for large Atk boost with Flying, Steel, and Bug attacks. I gave him bug to fill out the overall elements of my main team. He's only about level 55 now though, so I have some work ahead of me. But his Attack already blew past 200. :D

[Lint of Death]

Gliscor pwns. I carried a Kricketune through the game that, by some stroke of training luck, has an attack stat about the same as Scyther, which is great because I hate that pokémon's flying type.

[J Arcane]

slight spoilers below.....



Get a good ground pokemon for the 8th gym. I used Garchomp, worked wonders.

In fact, I can breed a Gabite (evolves to Garchomp) for you if you want? Or a Phanpy (evolves to Donphan, cool elephant Pokemon) or a Rhydon.
I already had a nice Golem with Earthquake and Magnitude. I whooped the fucking piss out of the 8th gym, it turned out to be the easiest one I've done.

Oh, and I got Dialga. That was fucking rad. It was a hard as fuck couple fights in that scene. I think catching that bad boy is one of the coolest moments in gaming. He's the only team member I didn't rename just because I didn't feel right giving a clever nickname to a deity of time.

He makes a very nice trump card critter for when I don't have anything on hand, because his stats are all so damn high it doesn't matter if it's super effective or not. Though it seems weird to me that a god of time should have such a low speed.

[headhunter228]

I got my Dragonite last night. That thing is even more of a beast than Salamence. Combine ridiculous attack with high Special Attack, and decent Speed, and you have something that can only be stopped by a good Ice-type. Hehehehehe......Now I'm working on getting a Tyranitar. That's going to take me awhile.

Glad that one worked out for ya. I finally got my Scizor as well...man, it's just ugly. Dragon Dance for large Atk boost with Flying, Steel, and Bug attacks. I gave him bug to fill out the overall elements of my main team. He's only about level 55 now though, so I have some work ahead of me. But his Attack already blew past 200. :D

I bred a Scyther and traded with my little brother to get Scizor. The only bad thing about it is it's Bold nature (raises Defense, lowers Attack). I'm all for high defense, but not at the cost of overall offence. I found another Metal Coat, though, so I'll breed one until it gets a decent nature, then turn it into a cast-iron pwnage machine. Bug-Steel is a good combo (I remember trying to fight Foretress for the first time. I was thinking, "How the hell do I hurt this thing?" until my Houndoom fried it), though it's extremely weak to Fire.

[KSmitty]

I got my Dragonite last night. That thing is even more of a beast than Salamence. Combine ridiculous attack with high Special Attack, and decent Speed, and you have something that can only be stopped by a good Ice-type. Hehehehehe......Now I'm working on getting a Tyranitar. That's going to take me awhile.
Is there a way to get a Tyranitaur WITHOUT that annoying sandstorm ability? He seems like a decent pokemon, I just hate that sandstorm crap that whips up every time he comes out, extends the battle/encounter and possibly hurts later pokemon when switched out. Is it one of those abilities that changes no matter what when they evolve to Tyranitar?

[headhunter228]

Is there a way to get a Tyranitaur WITHOUT that annoying sandstorm ability? He seems like a decent pokemon, I just hate that sandstorm crap that whips up every time he comes out, extends the battle/encounter and possibly hurts later pokemon when switched out. Is it one of those abilities that changes no matter what when they evolve to Tyranitar?

Yup. That's why I typically use Tyranitar as a last resort. Sand Stream does get annoying, but in my opinion, it's little more than an annoyance.

[JayVe]

Yup. That's why I typically use Tyranitar as a last resort. Sand Stream does get annoying, but in my opinion, it's little more than an annoyance.

If you really like using your Tyranitar, you can build a whole team around him of Pokemon immune to Sand Stream. It would be especially fearsome in 2-on-2 battles, whittling away at both of your enemies every turn.

[headhunter228]

If you really like using your Tyranitar, you can build a whole team around him of Pokemon immune to Sand Stream. It would be especially fearsome in 2-on-2 battles, whittling away at both of your enemies every turn.

Hmmm.....That's an idea for the Battle Tower. And I have just the team. Tyranitar, Heatran, Garchomp. That should work out well. I just have to teach Garchomp a Ground-type move that isn't Earthquake.

By the way, how does one get your Dragon-type to learn Draco Meteor? I'm sure Dragonite's friendship is maxed out. Do I take a Heart Scale to the Move Tutor, or what?

[rinichanraar]

I got my Dragonite last night. That thing is even more of a beast than Salamence. Combine ridiculous attack with high Special Attack, and decent Speed, and you have something that can only be stopped by a good Ice-type. Hehehehehe......Now I'm working on getting a Tyranitar. That's going to take me awhile.

I always heard that Dragonite and Salamence were extremely similar. If I remember correctly, they both have the second highest base stats among non-legendary Pokemon, and I think the only major difference in their stats is that one has a higher base HP and another has greater Speed (?).

I was working on getting my Dragonair to evolve into a Dragonite, but that's mostly just because I can't get a Bagon/Shelgon. If I had a choice, I'm not sure which one I'd pick.

[headhunter228]

I always heard that Dragonite and Salamence were extremely similar. If I remember correctly, they both have the second highest base stats among non-legendary Pokemon, and I think the only major difference in their stats is that one has a higher base HP and another has greater Speed (?).

I was working on getting my Dragonair to evolve into a Dragonite, but that's mostly just because I can't get a Bagon/Shelgon. If I had a choice, I'm not sure which one I'd pick.

I believe Dragonite has higher Special Attack than Salamence. Other than that, and their abilities, they're pretty much the same. I'm not sure which one I would choose, either. You can get a Salamence earlier (Lvl. 50 for Salamence, versus 55 for Dragonite), but Dragonite is slightly more powerful. If you want to teach your dragon moves like Flamethrower or Thunderbolt, go Dragonite. Otherwise, Salamence takes slightly less effort to get.

[Ancalagon]

I believe Dragonite has higher Special Attack than Salamence. Other than that, and their abilities, they're pretty much the same. I'm not sure which one I would choose, either. You can get a Salamence earlier (Lvl. 50 for Salamence, versus 55 for Dragonite), but Dragonite is slightly more powerful. If you want to teach your dragon moves like Flamethrower or Thunderbolt, go Dragonite. Otherwise, Salamence takes slightly less effort to get.

I was reading this thing online somewhere that was saying Garchomp is the ultimate sweeper, because its type combination (Dragon and Ground) can be resisted by so few, it has incredible stats, and access to a large variety of moves. They say that a Garchomp with a Dragon, Ground and Fire move can KO anything.

As I said to headhunter in a PM, I've been playing Emerald and FireRed probably for 20 hours now (probably more) and I went back to Diamond to do a trade. I cant believe how much better it looks! It looks amazing compared to Fire Red! Now Fire Red will probably hurt my eyes.

I'm getting closer to my goals in both games though. I want to get access to Pokemon like Bagon, Larvitar, Dratini, Heracross and Scyther. Since I've already got to the Safari Zone in Emerald, I've already caught a Heracross. The advantage of doing it this way is that any Pokemon I import get that lovely experience boost.

[KSmitty]

I was reading this thing online somewhere that was saying Garchomp is the ultimate sweeper, because its type combination (Dragon and Ground) can be resisted by so few, it has incredible stats, and access to a large variety of moves. They say that a Garchomp with a Dragon, Ground and Fire move can KO anything.

As I said to headhunter in a PM, I've been playing Emerald and FireRed probably for 20 hours now (probably more) and I went back to Diamond to do a trade. I cant believe how much better it looks! It looks amazing compared to Fire Red! Now Fire Red will probably hurt my eyes.

I'm getting closer to my goals in both games though. I want to get access to Pokemon like Bagon, Larvitar, Dratini, Heracross and Scyther. Since I've already got to the Safari Zone in Emerald, I've already caught a Heracross. The advantage of doing it this way is that any Pokemon I import get that lovely experience boost.

Its gonna be a while before you get access to a Larvitar. I have all of the dragons you are looking for. You may want the joy of catching them yourself, but I can send them your way if you want.

[Ancalagon]

Its gonna be a while before you get access to a Larvitar. I have all of the dragons you are looking for. You may want the joy of catching them yourself, but I can send them your way if you want.

No thank, I'm not too far away from most of them I think. Larvitar will take a while, but I'm not sure I want a Tyranitarin my team anyway because of its Sandstream ability. I actually have a Pupitar in Diamond to be honest, as I said I'm really after that 1.5x experience bonus.

EDIT: Is Bulbapedia down for anyone else? Bulbapedia (http://bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/wiki/Main_Page)

[rinichanraar]

I believe Dragonite has higher Special Attack than Salamence. Other than that, and their abilities, they're pretty much the same. I'm not sure which one I would choose, either. You can get a Salamence earlier (Lvl. 50 for Salamence, versus 55 for Dragonite), but Dragonite is slightly more powerful. If you want to teach your dragon moves like Flamethrower or Thunderbolt, go Dragonite. Otherwise, Salamence takes slightly less effort to get.
I was reading this thing online somewhere that was saying Garchomp is the ultimate sweeper, because its type combination (Dragon and Ground) can be resisted by so few, it has incredible stats, and access to a large variety of moves. They say that a Garchomp with a Dragon, Ground and Fire move can KO anything.

Wow, this is great information, you guys. If I could have a group of "favorite posts" to keep saved somewhere, these would be on it.

EDIT: Is Bulbapedia down for anyone else? Bulbapedia (http://bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/wiki/Main_Page)

Yeah, I tried to access it when I was making my comment the other day about Dragonite/Salamence, but the site was down. Weird.

[LongStepMantis]

All this talk about Dragon types makes me want to just say "Fuck it" and put Rayquaza in my team. Sure, he's a legendary...but look at his freakin stats (http://www.smogon.com/rs/pokemon/rayquaza)! 300's to 400's in every stat.

His ability makes him immune to all weather effects as well.

[Ancalagon]

Wow, this is great information, you guys. If I could have a group of "favorite posts" to keep saved somewhere, these would be on it.


Here's (http://pokemon.neoseeker.com/wiki/Garchomp) where I read it.

Garchomp (Japanese: ガブリアス Gaburiasu) is a Dragon/Ground-type introduced in the Diamond and Pearl versions, and a demi-uber. Thanks to a wide movepool, very imposing stats and very powerful Attack boosts, Garchomp has dominated the meta game as a physical sweeper since it was introduced. It is the only Pokémon in OU that officially has no counters, and it also the only offensive Pokémon to ever become the #1 most popular choice on Shoddy Battle. Because of its combination of very high stats all around, an unresisted offensive combination of Dragon/Ground/Fire and Swords Dance, many believe that it is an unbalanced Pokémon that belongs in the Uber tier. Since its introduction, it has outclassed the previous king of physical sweeping, Salamence, greatly surpassing it in terms of usage. In addition to having no counters, Garchomp's ability, Sand Veil, grants it a 20% evasion boost while a sandstorm is present.

Garchomp's typing adds to its very strong physical sweeping ability. Dragon and Ground is a STAB combination resisted only by Skarmory and Bronzong, for which Garchomp has Fire-type moves. On the defensive side, a x4 weakness to Ice is rather crippling, but Garchomp has many useful resistances to make up for this, including a valuable immunity to Electric, and therefore Thunder Wave.

Garchomp has the ability Sand Veil, which adds to its somewhat unbalanced ability to set up and sweep. In a sandstorm, Garchomp is granted a 20% evasion boost. As a result, Garchomp is very often used alongside Hippowdon and Tyranitar, for their ability, Sandstream, spawns an infinite sandstorm that will only go away if other weather is introduced. Many players like to take further advantage of Sand Veil by using Garchomps with the hold item Brightpowder, which adds another 8% evasion boost. Along with Substitute, Garchomp becomes difficult to hit, and a sweep can be inevitable.

[LongStepMantis]

For you Diamond/Pearl players I suggest checking out this site as well:

Smogon University (http://www.smogon.com/dp/)

A lot of the advice on each pokemon is based around competitive play, but it has a lot of useful information that's easy on the eyes. It also lists some of the most effective movesets for each pokemon.

[Ancalagon]

Woohoo! I got a Scyther from Headhunter, and I found myself a Dratini and an Electabuzz (not to mention a Poliwag which I've already evolved into a Poliwrath).

So.... I found an Electorizer in Diamond quickly, who wants to help me evolve my Electabuzz? There might be a newly bred Pokemon of your choice for the willing participant. I have most of the starters, as well as Larvitar, Gabite and Dratini as I mentioned. Working on Bagon!

EDIT: Does anyone know of a good way/place to grind in Emerald? The PokeNav lets me rematch trainers, but they raise the level of their Pokemon every match, and go way beyond what I can take on.

[LongStepMantis]

EDIT: Does anyone know of a good way/place to grind in Emerald? The PokeNav lets me rematch trainers, but they raise the level of their Pokemon every match, and go way beyond what I can take on.

How far along are you? Have you beaten the Elite 4 yet?
What's the general level range of the pokes you want to train?

[Ancalagon]

How far along are you? Have you beaten the Elite 4 yet?
What's the general level range of the pokes you want to train?

I've beaten the 6th gym. I want to raise a level 26 absol to help me beat the next gym (psychic) and I want to raise a level 18 swablu to act as my main flyer. Oh, and raise a level 28 heracross to act as my main fighting pokemon (replacing hariyama).

Any ideas? My most powerful pokemon is a level 37/38 swampert. and I have a level 34 electrike.

[LongStepMantis]

For the Absol, I would say train at the cemetary island...whose name I can't remember.
The one you surf to where all the pokemon have graves and you only encounter Shuppets. I trained my Houndoom there, as they are Ghosts, you can pretty much 1-hit KO until your PP gives out with Dark attacks.

The best exp. training for everyone before you can start the E4 is probably the reporter MC. Good money, easy to beat, and they seem to follw a pattern for when/where they appear. At one point I was pretty much walking in a circle on the world map and fighting them 2-3 times each pass.

I'll have to see if I can remember where I trained some of my pokes. A lot of it was done at Victory Road...but you obviously aren't there just yet.

[Ancalagon]

For the Absol, I would say train at the cemetary island...whose name I can't remember.
The one you surf to where all the pokemon have graves and you only encounter Shuppets. I trained my Houndoom there, as they are Ghosts, you can pretty much 1-hit KO until your PP gives out with Dark attacks.

The best exp. training for everyone before you can start the E4 is probably the reporter MC. Good money, easy to beat, and they seem to follw a pattern for when/where they appear. At one point I was pretty much walking in a circle on the world map and fighting them 2-3 times each pass.

I'll have to see if I can remember where I trained some of my pokes. A lot of it was done at Victory Road...but you obviously aren't there just yet.

Mt Pyre apparently.


Eh.... I'm off Emerald for now. Just 15 minutes of struggling to level up my Pokes, and I'm turned off the game. I dont mind grinding as long as it isnt fruitless grinding. Apparently I have to head to mt pyre anyway, for quest reasons. So, good for my Absol then.

In fact, I kinda realized pretty much the only reason I was playing Emerald was for a Bagon I wasnt even sure I was gonna use. So.... I'm back on Diamond, levelling up my ultimate team. I just need to level up my Electabuzz some more, evolve it into an Electivire (anyone wanna help me trade?), evolve my Scyther into a Scizor (again, anyone wanna help? just trade back and forth, nothing required on your part except time) and teach my electivire some cool moves. Looks like my ultimate team will be:

Swampert (knows earthquake and surf)
Venusaur
Charizard
Lucario
Electrivire
Scizor (anti ghost and psychic primarily)

[KSmitty]

No thank, I'm not too far away from most of them I think. Larvitar will take a while, but I'm not sure I want a Tyranitarin my team anyway because of its Sandstream ability. I actually have a Pupitar in Diamond to be honest, as I said I'm really after that 1.5x experience bonus.

Well thanks alot asshole now what the hell am I gonna do with all these damn eggs?! ;)

Serioulsy though for the xp bonus you might wanna grab a Bannette with Frisk and hunt down a Lucky Egg (http://www.geocities.com/thelegendarydogs/faqs/gsc/chansey/chansey.htm). I would volunteer to evo-trade with you, but for some reason my DS does NOT like my 2Wire box and I get random drops.

[Ancalagon]

Well thanks alot asshole now what the hell am I gonna do with all these damn eggs?! ;)

Serioulsy though for the xp bonus you might wanna grab a Bannette with Frisk and hunt down a Lucky Egg (http://www.geocities.com/thelegendarydogs/faqs/gsc/chansey/chansey.htm). I would volunteer to evo-trade with you, but for some reason my DS does NOT like my 2Wire box and I get random drops.

He he, I have 2 lucky eggs already.

I found someone to help me evo trade on pokemongts.com, so now I have my Electivire and Scizor. My team is complete! I've beaten the Elite 4 a few times with it now.

Now I'm thinking of putting together a different team....

I should probably go back and play Emerald and FireRed to get access to more Pokes. And.... I'm thinking of buying Pearl. Damnit, this game gets more and more addictive. When is Platinum coming out? Next thing you know I'll be buying a second DS so I can trade with myself.

[KSmitty]

From what I have read on the intertubes, Platinum is hitting this spring. I've seen dates varying between March and April. What I really need to keep track of is if anyone is offering pre-order bonuses. I have missed out on a lot of pokemon giveaways simply because I didn't know when they're happening. The only reason I got Deoxys is because it was mentioned on Penny Arcade. Serebii.net is great for game info, but they don't seem to keep up with US giveaways/bonuses. Is there any site that is good for this type of info?

[Ancalagon]

I dont know of any. Bulbapedia is the best pokemon wiki I've seen. You might want to browse the forums at pokemongts.com (http://www.pokemongts.com) though - if those pokemaniacs dont know about it, it probably doesnt exist.

I've gone back to Emerald now, still pondering what my other team might be. Just 2 more gym badges and then I can go claim a Bagon. I'm also wondering if I should go Chansey hunting in FireRed - does anyone if they always come with Lucky Eggs in FireRed? Bulbapedia specifically mentions that the chance of a Chansey having a lucky egg is 5% in Diamond/Pearl, but mentions nothng for FireRed. They are incredibly rare in FireRed/Leaf Green, maybe thats got something to do with it.

[J Arcane]

Well, I made it to the Elite Four, and missed it by a hair. Managed to push through all the way to the end, but basically lost the coin toss so to speak to the champ's water dragon thing. I made a couple half hearted attempts after that, but really, it was just asking too much. My team wasn't even lvl50 across the board, so asking them to try and go toe to toe with level 60+ very well trained beasties was more than they could take I'm afraid. I'm actually rather proud of myself for making it that far.

So now I'm poking around a bit, trying to figure out what places I've missed, playing the damn chase game to try and catch Mesprit. I finally got around to hatching my Gastly egg, only to find out it didn't have Hypnosis for some damn reason either. Fortunately he did have mean look, which should help me in catching Mesprit at least.

[Ancalagon]

Well, I made it to the Elite Four, and missed it by a hair. Managed to push through all the way to the end, but basically lost the coin toss so to speak to the champ's water dragon thing. I made a couple half hearted attempts after that, but really, it was just asking too much. My team wasn't even lvl50 across the board, so asking them to try and go toe to toe with level 60+ very well trained beasties was more than they could take I'm afraid. I'm actually rather proud of myself for making it that far.

So now I'm poking around a bit, trying to figure out what places I've missed, playing the damn chase game to try and catch Mesprit. I finally got around to hatching my Gastly egg, only to find out it didn't have Hypnosis for some damn reason either. Fortunately he did have mean look, which should help me in catching Mesprit at least.

Milotic? Yeah, she can be pretty hard. First time I did the Elite 4, I was stupidly unprepared. I didnt have any grass types (making Gastrodon et al extremely hard), I barely had any level 50 pokemon... in fact I only made it to Cynthia through extensive use of revives. both in battles and after them.

Next time, I was better prepared, and I won.

I've decided what my next team to tackle the elite 4 will be.

It will be:

Metagross
Salamence
Milotic
Sceptile
Camerupt
Heracross

The reason for the Camerupt is that I need both a fire and a ground pokemon, its the most convenient if not the most effective. If it wasnt a camerupt, it would be either an arcanine or a hippopowdon (I love those things for some reason).

In fact, I have some freebies to give away. This morning I decided to get hold of a Feebas in order to make a Milotic. So, after getting the feebas, I bred a few in order to make a feebas with ice beam and surf (since I'd already used my ice beam tm on my swampert). So.... I have one feebas to give away that knows ice beam and surf, and 2 to give away that know, well, nothing. and some chimchars, I think 3. I think all of them are level 1. Anyone want? Before you rush for feebas though, I dont think its easy to get them to evolve to milotic, you have to make them beautiful somehow. Dont ask me!

[headhunter228]

In fact, I have some freebies to give away. This morning I decided to get hold of a Feebas in order to make a Milotic. So, after getting the feebas, I bred a few in order to make a feebas with ice beam and surf (since I'd already used my ice beam tm on my swampert). So.... I have one feebas to give away that knows ice beam and surf, and 2 to give away that know, well, nothing. and some chimchars, I think 3. I think all of them are level 1. Anyone want? Before you rush for feebas though, I dont think its easy to get them to evolve to milotic, you have to make them beautiful somehow. Dont ask me!

You have to feed them Poffins until you've maxed out their Beauty. Even so, I'll take one. I know where to find them, but going through a giant-ass lake and trying to find one of four spots to find one is a bitch. I'll take one! I should be free again this Saturday.

[Ancalagon]

You have to feed them Poffins until you've maxed out their Beauty. Even so, I'll take one. I know where to find them, but going through a giant-ass lake and trying to find one of four spots to find one is a bitch. I'll take one! I should be free again this Saturday.

Cool, just pm me when you want to trade. I've started growing berries to make poffins now (I never bother with berries otherwise, not even for hold items).

[Mr. Murphy]

So.... I have one feebas to give away that knows ice beam and surf, and 2 to give away that know, well, nothing. and some chimchars, I think 3. I think all of them are level 1. Anyone want? Before you rush for feebas though, I dont think its easy to get them to evolve to milotic, you have to make them beautiful somehow. Dont ask me!

Is this in Emerald? If they will trade down to Ruby, I'd love a ChimChar and it would be awesome not to have to go Feebas hunting.

[Ancalagon]

Is this in Emerald? If they will trade down to Ruby, I'd love a ChimChar and it would be awesome not to have to go Feebas hunting.

No, sorry in Diamond only (Chimchar only appeared in Diamond for the first time).

Can you trade pokes from Emerald across the internet? I mean, I know they brought out a wireless adapter, but I thought it was local wifi only.

Get a DS and Diamond/Pearl (or wait till platinum)! Then you can trade with all of us (or alternatively, just get lots of freebies. There are a lot to be had!)

[Mr. Murphy]

No, sorry in Diamond only (Chimchar only appeared in Diamond for the first time).

Can you trade pokes from Emerald across the internet? I mean, I know they brought out a wireless adapter, but I thought it was local wifi only.

Get a DS and Diamond/Pearl (or wait till platinum)! Then you can trade with all of us (or alternatively, just get lots of freebies. There are a lot to be had!)

I didn't think Chimchar was in those ones, but I figured I should make sure.

I've been struggling with the decision, whether I should get pearl or diamond now or wait till platinum. I just got a DS Lite for Christmas, you see. In the meantime, I've been playing Ruby - I had left my game just outside the Cave of Origins many years ago (at 150+ hours of gametime I gave my GBA to a friend who was in the hospital, and never had the energy to get back into the game until I started reading this thread a few weeks back and got the itch all over again), and over the last few days I got my Groudon, got my eighth badge, and now I'm working on a team for the final four.

I gotta admit, it's a little tough getting back into the mindset of the game after four years - and the way I played back then was more than a little foolish. I powered my game up to discover a team that had almost no status moves, which is a pretty rookie mistake, and now I'm stuck leveling a bunch of 35's until they get high enough to face the Elite.

I might go pick up a copy of pearl or diamond used - I bet there are a bunch of them going real cheap by now.

[Ancalagon]

I didn't think Chimchar was in those ones, but I figured I should make sure.

I've been struggling with the decision, whether I should get pearl or diamond now or wait till platinum. I just got a DS Lite for Christmas, you see. In the meantime, I've been playing Ruby - I had left my game just outside the Cave of Origins many years ago (at 150+ hours of gametime I gave my GBA to a friend who was in the hospital, and never had the energy to get back into the game until I started reading this thread a few weeks back and got the itch all over again), and over the last few days I got my Groudon, got my eighth badge, and now I'm working on a team for the final four.

I gotta admit, it's a little tough getting back into the mindset of the game after four years - and the way I played back then was more than a little foolish. I powered my game up to discover a team that had almost no status moves, which is a pretty rookie mistake, and now I'm stuck leveling a bunch of 35's until they get high enough to face the Elite.

I might go pick up a copy of pearl or diamond used - I bet there are a bunch of them going real cheap by now.

I, ahem, am not a big fan of status moves! But yeah, I agree that in competitive battling they are definitely not only necessary but critical. I do make use of the odd good one like Swords Dance etc, but mostly I find that its either 2 rounds to use a status move and then attack, or two rounds (sometimes only one) to attack once with a super effective move and KO the enemy pokemon (this is against the CPU of course). So, mostly I dont bother with status moves cos I dont think I need them against the CPU.

Hmmmm.... I admit its a difficult decision. But, heres some food for thought. If you get Diamond/Pearl now, then when you get Platinum it will be like going back to old friends, seeing familiar sights but with a fresh coat of paint. Or even a new face. Theres a lot more stuff and an expanded PokeDex. Myself, I'm reallly looking forward to trading in some of my own Pokemon (suitably low level and tier so as not to make it too easy) and going through the game with my own selection of Pokes. You wont be able to do this just with Ruby, because you can only interact with GBA cartridges in Diamond once you have got the National Dex, which is generally post Elite 4. So, if you buy Diamond now, you get to experience it all again when Platinum comes out, only with your own set of Pokemon (to accomplish this, I'll need some willing volunteers to act as mules to trade between the two games, unless I just buy a 2nd DS! groan!).

The other thing that I would say is that I think, compared to Emerald and Fire Red, Diamond really is amazingly good. I'm surprised to say the graphics have improved amazingly - playing the GBA games for 20 hours and then going back to Diamond amazed me, its really so much better. Not only that, but I think theres a lot of cool stuff in the game, a lot of cool changes over the old games. Not only in terms of new Pokemon (which I think are cool) but also in rule changes, such as most Pokemon having a greatly expanded moveset, a lot of new moves being added, even for old Pokemon, and moves being divided into Physical and Special (previously, only types were divided this way, so Dark moves were always Special, no matter what, even though Dark Pokemon typically have much higher Attack than Special attack).

[J Arcane]

Most of my critters don't have any sort of status moves either. In the end I usually just aim for the one-hit KO, so status moves just wind up feeling like a waste of a slot that could go towards PP in an actual attack. Most of the status moves rarely seem to really have much effect unless used multiple times, and at that point I start wondering why I haven't just been hitting them, as usually by that point I could've easily finished them off.

Where a lack of status moves does sort of come into play though is when you get confronted with something you aren't super-effective against, and then you occasionally start wishing for debuffs or buff counters and such.

My current team has the bases covered pretty well though. It's mainly Bronzor/Bronzong, and Water/Ground types that give me trouble.

[headhunter228]

I, ahem, am not a big fan of status moves! But yeah, I agree that in competitive battling they are definitely not only necessary but critical. I do make use of the odd good one like Swords Dance etc, but mostly I find that its either 2 rounds to use a status move and then attack, or two rounds (sometimes only one) to attack once with a super effective move and KO the enemy pokemon (this is against the CPU of course). So, mostly I dont bother with status moves cos I dont think I need them against the CPU.



Me neither. But keep in mind that in competitive battling, your opponent is (probably) not stupid enough to leave in a Pokemon that's weak against yours. Therefore, any edge you can get will help. If I ever get into competitive battling, I would actually teach one of my Pokemon Baton Pass. Otherwise, I wouldn't bother.

[J Arcane]

Damnit. I never should've reloaded after that first attempt. The later battles I never even got as far as her Milotic, so now I don't have it in my dex.

Looks like I just need Drifloon, Milotic, the other two lake pokemon, and Palkia. Apparently Drifloon only shows up on Fridays at Valley Windworks, and I can get the lake ones just by going there, as if I'm reading right, it's only Mesprit who does the whole "chase game" nonsense.

[Ancalagon]

Damnit. I never should've reloaded after that first attempt. The later battles I never even got as far as her Milotic, so now I don't have it in my dex.

Looks like I just need Drifloon, Milotic, the other two lake pokemon, and Palkia. Apparently Drifloon only shows up on Fridays at Valley Windworks, and I can get the lake ones just by going there, as if I'm reading right, it's only Mesprit who does the whole "chase game" nonsense.

Set your DS's clock to 11:58 on Thursday night. Wait two minutes. Go and find your drifloon! Thats what I did.

And yes, there is a book in Celestic town or whatever (cant remember name) where you read a book on Palkia and it adds it to your dex.

[J Arcane]

So, some damn forum or other was suggesting it takes a hell of a lot of pokeballs to catch the lake trio. IS this true?

[Variable Gear]

So, some damn forum or other was suggesting it takes a hell of a lot of pokeballs to catch the lake trio. IS this true?
Don't they run away like the legendary dogs did in Gold and Silver? I think that you'll be wasting a few Poke Balls in your quest to capture the Lake Trio. Still, you should have the Pokedollars to cover it.

[J Arcane]

Don't they run away like the legendary dogs did in Gold and Silver? I think that you'll be wasting a few Poke Balls in your quest to capture the Lake Trio. Still, you should have the Pokedollars to cover it.
Well, I just caught Azelf with three dusk balls, so I think they may've been exaggerating a bit.

And I've got a Gastly with Mean Look in the part expressly to try and prevent them from fleeing.

[Variable Gear]

Well, I just caught Azelf with three dusk balls, so I think they may've been exaggerating a bit.

And I've got a Gastly with Mean Look in the part expressly to try and prevent them from fleeing.
There you go. If you've got a Pokemon with Mean Look, you'll catch them in no time.

[Joshkdmw]

Closet? Hell, I'll shout it from the rooftops!

Best Pokemon ever? Sudowoodo. It's a rock/fighting type, and looks like a damn TREE. I remember the first time I saw it, and was very puzzled when Flamethrower did practically nothing.

[J Arcane]

Diamond/Pearl is rich with Pokemon with weird type combos and such that just put giant holes right through one's usual expectations. It gets sort of annoying after a while, especially if, like I had to recently, you're playing without the benefit of internet access.

[Ancalagon]

I hate those Sudowoodos! I think they are Rock, not Rock/Fighting though. My worst Pokemon to fight are any Pokemon that use status moves that put you to sleep or paralyze you. I hate wasting a turn to heal that. And confusion too.

I just beat the 7th gym in Emerald! First time I tried it I got my ass handed to me repeatedly. Then I skulked away, gained a few levels for my Swampert, did the New Mauville quest to get Thunderbolt for my Manectric, and tried again. I won!

[J Arcane]

Well, I've got Palkia and the lake trio in my dex now, still haven't caught Mesprit but he's still flying around so I'll get him sooner or later.

Still need Milotic and Drifloon though. I'm curious, does it add something to your dex as seen if you've seen it in a trade party or battle or somesuch like that? Or do you have to actually trade the thing to have it show up?

[Joshkdmw]

I hate those Sudowoodos! I think they are Rock, not Rock/Fighting though.

Well, they learn plenty of fighting moves, so they may as well be rock/fighting.

[Variable Gear]

Well, they learn plenty of fighting moves, so they may as well be rock/fighting.
While Sudowoodo does learn a variety of fighting moves, the species is unable to STAB its opponents with them. :o

[Ancalagon]

Well, I've got Palkia and the lake trio in my dex now, still haven't caught Mesprit but he's still flying around so I'll get him sooner or later.

Still need Milotic and Drifloon though. I'm curious, does it add something to your dex as seen if you've seen it in a trade party or battle or somesuch like that? Or do you have to actually trade the thing to have it show up?

You mean if you battle a friend wirelessly? I think, being a battle, it would count as seen. As for trading, I think you actually need to trade for it to work. Just set your DS clock to late thursday night like I said, works like a charm. And just fight cynthia again to see her milotic, even if you dont win.

[Joshkdmw]

While Sudowoodo does learn a variety of fighting moves, the species is unable to STAB its opponents with them. :o

I'm afraid I don't get your meaning.

[J Arcane]

You mean if you battle a friend wirelessly? I think, being a battle, it would count as seen. As for trading, I think you actually need to trade for it to work. Just set your DS clock to late thursday night like I said, works like a charm. And just fight cynthia again to see her milotic, even if you dont win.
Well, I cheated the date to get the balloon thing, but I guess I'm gonna have to take your suggestion for Milotic.

Which means I have to wait until I get some more levels, because I really don't feel like spending a bajillion in cash on the supplies I'd need to brute force my way there again.

[LongStepMantis]

I'm afraid I don't get your meaning.

STAB is an acronym for Same Type Attack Bonus.

For example if you have a Rock type pokemon using a Rock move it gets STAB.
This makes the damage output 1.5x normal...I think.

Same for a Water poke using Water moves, etc. etc. It's one of the nicer bonuses that dual-type pokemon get. A Flying/Poison poke will do extra damage with both Flying and Poison moves.

[Ancalagon]

Well, I cheated the date to get the balloon thing, but I guess I'm gonna have to take your suggestion for Milotic.

Which means I have to wait until I get some more levels, because I really don't feel like spending a bajillion in cash on the supplies I'd need to brute force my way there again.


I could give you a level 49 Leafeon if you want? It will level up quickly with the trade bonus, and if you teach it Energy Ball it will own the Water/ground types that are so common in the Elite 4. Can also give you a level 47 Aggron I dont use anymore (not that Aggrons are much good, but anyway...).

In fact, come to think of it, I probably wont ever use my Garchomp again, so you can have that too. Thats probably high 50's low 60's.

[J Arcane]

I could give you a level 49 Leafeon if you want? It will level up quickly with the trade bonus, and if you teach it Energy Ball it will own the Water/ground types that are so common in the Elite 4. Can also give you a level 47 Aggron I dont use anymore (not that Aggrons are much good, but anyway...).

In fact, come to think of it, I probably wont ever use my Garchomp again, so you can have that too. Thats probably high 50's low 60's.
I dunno. I still haven't made any decisions on any team replacements. For the most part my team seems to cover most anything with their current moves and such, so I'm always afraid of change. I'm still not certain about subbing Allakazam for Dialga, but Alla's just got such shitty ass defenses.

Here's my current team:

Golem lvl50
Staraptor lvl49
Empoleon lvl50
Dialga lvl50
Luxray lvl49
Machamp lvl50

Type wise, I didn't run into more than two or three snags, the real problem was just that by the time you get to the Champion, they've got 10 or more levels on me, and super-effective/resistant/etc just doesn't even matter at that point. They just did more damage than I could really take. More than a few times I'd get stuck in that loop of "Well, they can two shot me, and I've already taken the first shot, so do I hope and pray my speed rolls higher than their's or they use a non-attack so I can hit them, or do I heal up again". Too many fights wound up just being coin tosses.

[Joshkdmw]

STAB is an acronym for Same Type Attack Bonus.

For example if you have a Rock type pokemon using a Rock move it gets STAB.
This makes the damage output 1.5x normal...I think.

Same for a Water poke using Water moves, etc. etc. It's one of the nicer bonuses that dual-type pokemon get. A Flying/Poison poke will do extra damage with both Flying and Poison moves.

Now I gotcha.

I love to play pokemon, but I never learned too much of the theory behind it aside from type bonuses. I remember hearing something about EV training, or something, and it seemed confusing and unnecessary.

[Ancalagon]

I dunno. I still haven't made any decisions on any team replacements. For the most part my team seems to cover most anything with their current moves and such, so I'm always afraid of change. I'm still not certain about subbing Allakazam for Dialga, but Alla's just got such shitty ass defenses.

Here's my current team:

Golem lvl50
Staraptor lvl49
Empoleon lvl50
Dialga lvl50
Luxray lvl49
Machamp lvl50

Type wise, I didn't run into more than two or three snags, the real problem was just that by the time you get to the Champion, they've got 10 or more levels on me, and super-effective/resistant/etc just doesn't even matter at that point. They just did more damage than I could really take. More than a few times I'd get stuck in that loop of "Well, they can two shot me, and I've already taken the first shot, so do I hope and pray my speed rolls higher than their's or they use a non-attack so I can hit them, or do I heal up again". Too many fights wound up just being coin tosses.

Yeah, first time I fought them it was like that for me too. Theres only so much type bonuses can do, Cynthia's level 66 Garchomp is just insanely powerful. You really need a powerful pokemon using a powerful ice move (I gave ice beam to my swampert) to hurt it. And even then, with a level 69 swampert using ice beam against it, a move that does 95 damage, it takes two hits (admittedly, swampert's special attack isnt as good as his physical attack, and it still is nearly fatal for the garchomp, but not quite).

I scraped through the first three, but the last of the elite 4, the psychic guy, raped me hard. I only just beat him. My problem was that my only fire type - infernape - is also vulnerable to psychic. Problem is, you need a fire type to beat that damn bronzong. Now my Charizard OHKO's it with flamethrower. But then again, it is level 66 and does have high special attack.

[rinichanraar]

Yeah, EV training is only really necessary if you play competitively or are trying to get a big win streak at the Battle Tower. I generally don't EV train, but, like I said earlier, I'll sometimes EV train my Alakazam because he's awesome and I love him.

Another thing I refuse to do is check the IVs on my Pokemon to try and get the perfect one. It's just way too much work for me and isn't fun.

[Variable Gear]

Now I gotcha.

I love to play pokemon, but I never learned too much of the theory behind it aside from type bonuses. I remember hearing something about EV training, or something, and it seemed confusing and unnecessary.
It's okay not to be into EV training or know what STAB stands for, but same-type attack bonuses are essential to a well-trained team. It's good that you realize the importance of them.

[Mr. Murphy]

It's okay not to be into EV training or know what STAB stands for, but same-type attack bonuses are essential to a well-trained team. It's good that you realize the importance of them.

I didn't know what it meant either, to be honest.

I've decided to go get a copy of diamond or pearl tonight, I'd like to see what the newer games look like. I'm not sure I'll ever get around to defeating the Elite 4 in Ruby now.

[Ancalagon]

I've decided to go get a copy of diamond or pearl tonight, I'd like to see what the newer games look like. I'm not sure I'll ever get around to defeating the Elite 4 in Ruby now.

Good for you! Hope you like them.

I was going to say, the other nice thing is that the wireless connectivity makes it a lot easier to trade with people, which is a really nice way of getting new pokemon.

[LongStepMantis]

I don't mean to derail or sidetrack anyone, but this flash at Newgrounds is epic, especially for a pokemon fan...just make sure you watch until the end.

Link (http://www.newgrounds.com/portal/view/479392#)

[headhunter228]

Yeah, first time I fought them it was like that for me too. Theres only so much type bonuses can do, Cynthia's level 66 Garchomp is just insanely powerful. You really need a powerful pokemon using a powerful ice move (I gave ice beam to my swampert) to hurt it. And even then, with a level 69 swampert using ice beam against it, a move that does 95 damage, it takes two hits (admittedly, swampert's special attack isnt as good as his physical attack, and it still is nearly fatal for the garchomp, but not quite).

I scraped through the first three, but the last of the elite 4, the psychic guy, raped me hard. I only just beat him. My problem was that my only fire type - infernape - is also vulnerable to psychic. Problem is, you need a fire type to beat that damn bronzong. Now my Charizard OHKO's it with flamethrower. But then again, it is level 66 and does have high special attack.


I barely managed to scrape through with my team. I had to use my Dialga for the most part. What I need to do is build another team and take the Elite Four without using any of my many legendaries. Give me Heatran and Giratina, and I can rape the Elite Four. Without them, I might be able to beat them, but I don't know what I'd do to Garchomp without a good Ice-type.

[JayVe]

I barely managed to scrape through with my team. I had to use my Dialga for the most part. What I need to do is build another team and take the Elite Four without using any of my many legendaries. Give me Heatran and Giratina, and I can rape the Elite Four. Without them, I might be able to beat them, but I don't know what I'd do to Garchomp without a good Ice-type.

Wooo congrats! Now that you've beaten the Elite 4, your Pokémon adventure has really just begun!

[Ancalagon]

I barely managed to scrape through with my team. I had to use my Dialga for the most part. What I need to do is build another team and take the Elite Four without using any of my many legendaries. Give me Heatran and Giratina, and I can rape the Elite Four. Without them, I might be able to beat them, but I don't know what I'd do to Garchomp without a good Ice-type.

I've never used my Dialga for precisely that reason - I only want to use Pokemon that can be bred. It also gives me much greater variety in the Pokemon I can use to be honest, and especially with having FireRed and Emerald there are a lot of good Pokemon that I have access to without trading, which is cool.

I cant really find a good ice type to be honest. The best is probably Walrein. My next PokeTeam will have a milotic that knows ice beam on it, that should rape garchomp.

Wooo congrats! Now that you've beaten the Elite 4, your Pokémon adventure has really just begun!

I heard those words when I first beat the Elite 4.... and I might even agree actually. Theres a lot to do, if you want to do it. I mean, it really opens up a lot for you - the Fight Area, Battle Tower, Pal Park, the dongle method, PokeRadar, you have more options for breeding, etc etc. The thing is, it becomes so open ended that sometimes I lose track of the reason I play the game, and then I dont want to play it anymore. Its like one of those vicious circle things, that if you think about it you realize theres not much point to the game past the Elite 4.

ie:
"Why do you play the game?" A: "To get better Pokemon"
"But why?" A: "Ummm.... Well.... that is to say...."

So I think what drives me now is wanting to assemble new Teams to take on the Elite 4 (I'm constantly reminded of that extra bit at the end of the Iron Man movie, that hints at the Avengers, ie "We're putting together a Team"). And getting hold of cool Pokemon like Salamence is nice too.

[KSmitty]

I heard those words when I first beat the Elite 4.... and I might even agree actually. Theres a lot to do, if you want to do it. I mean, it really opens up a lot for you - the Fight Area, Battle Tower, Pal Park, the dongle method, PokeRadar, you have more options for breeding, etc etc. The thing is, it becomes so open ended that sometimes I lose track of the reason I play the game, and then I dont want to play it anymore. Its like one of those vicious circle things, that if you think about it you realize theres not much point to the game past the Elite 4.

ie:
"Why do you play the game?" A: "To get better Pokemon"
"But why?" A: "Ummm.... Well.... that is to say...."

So I think what drives me now is wanting to assemble new Teams to take on the Elite 4 (I'm constantly reminded of that extra bit at the end of the Iron Man movie, that hints at the Avengers, ie "We're putting together a Team"). And getting hold of cool Pokemon like Salamence is nice too.
Do you have a Wii? Something nice to do is port over your Pokemon Battle Revolution and use your different E4 teams to challenge the different stadiums. It won't get you much in the way of money or items, but it does add some variation to the 'make new team beat Elite4, make new team beat Elite4' cycle.

[LongStepMantis]

Its like one of those vicious circle things, that if you think about it you realize theres not much point to the game past the Elite 4.

ie:
"Why do you play the game?" A: "To get better Pokemon"
"But why?" A: "Ummm.... Well.... that is to say...."

I caught myself doing this many times. I had already beaten the gyms and the E4...so why was I still going? Gathering pokemon and experimenting with new teams is the real reason I play. I sometimes notice myself going to great lengths to capture a pokemon I don't have, and don't even plan on using at any point, simply because "I don't have that one yet."

Like catching a Feebas. I don't really plan on using a Milotic, but I still went square-by-square, fishing, looking for the elusive Feebas. I wasn't going to use it...but I didn't have it yet. Just knowing that it was out there, taunting me with it's uncatchedness (not a real word)...it made me want to get one. :p

[Ancalagon]

Do you have a Wii? Something nice to do is port over your Pokemon Battle Revolution and use your different E4 teams to challenge the different stadiums. It won't get you much in the way of money or items, but it does add some variation to the 'make new team beat Elite4, make new team beat Elite4' cycle.

No, I dont have one, dont really plan on getting one in the immediate future. Although, recently I've been gripped by a new Poke Madness. I have the sudden urge to buy a second DS, just so that I can trade Pokemon with myself, and either buy Pearl or wait until Diamond comes out. Isnt that the biggest waste of money you've ever heard of?

I caught myself doing this many times. I had already beaten the gyms and the E4...so why was I still going? Gathering pokemon and experimenting with new teams is the real reason I play. I sometimes notice myself going to great lengths to capture a pokemon I don't have, and don't even plan on using at any point, simply because "I don't have that one yet."

Like catching a Feebas. I don't really plan on using a Milotic, but I still went square-by-square, fishing, looking for the elusive Feebas. I wasn't going to use it...but I didn't have it yet. Just knowing that it was out there, taunting me with it's uncatchedness (not a real word)...it made me want to get one. :p

I kinda do that too - I ask for pokemon on pokemongts.com that I dont really need (they breed them for you, for free). And I catch cool Pokemon in FireRed/Emerald and migrate them to Diamond, just in case I one day use them in a team. Right now, I'm growing berries and making Poffins (never thought I'd be doing that!) in order to make my Feebas evolve to a Milotic. There is a point to that though, I'll be able to use a powerful Pokemon with some pretty powerful moves like Surf and Ice Beam.

And lately I've started to think about breeding successive generations of Pokemon in order to get good IV values, and item farming with Meowths with Pickup to get lots of Rare Candies, and even breeding in Emerald/FireRed in order to make cool Pokes that I can then transfer to Diamond and still have the trade experience bonus.

I'm nearly at the 8th gym in Emerald now, just a little more and more of the game will open up for me. Then it will be time for the elite 4, and then back to Fire Red to beat the 6th, 7th and 8th gyms and the elite 4.

Is it just me, or did we get screwed over in terms of end game content in Pearl/Diamond? I'm surprised at how big the Sevii Islands in FireRed/Leaf Green seem to be (never been there admittedly). And Emerald has that huge Battle Frontier.

[Mr. Murphy]

No, I dont have one, dont really plan on getting one in the immediate future. Although, recently I've been gripped by a new Poke Madness. I have the sudden urge to buy a second DS, just so that I can trade Pokemon with myself, and either buy Pearl or wait until Diamond comes out. Isnt that the biggest waste of money you've ever heard of?


Look on e-bay for an older model, maybe you can find one super cheap. If you start looking now, you can find a really cheap one by the time Platinum comes out.

I went down to the local video game store last night only to find it empty. I don't know if it was out of business or being remodeled, but the lights were on and the place was empty.

Might go out to the mall tonight for a copy, we'll see.

[Ancalagon]

Look on e-bay for an older model, maybe you can find one super cheap. If you start looking now, you can find a really cheap one by the time Platinum comes out.

I went down to the local video game store last night only to find it empty. I don't know if it was out of business or being remodeled, but the lights were on and the place was empty.

Might go out to the mall tonight for a copy, we'll see.

You can get them for about £50, still a lot of money to be able to trade Pokemon!

[Mr. Murphy]

Got a copy of Diamond today, but I got it used and it didn't come with an instruction booklet. Is there anything new in the series that won't be explained as I play?

There's a savegame already on it, so I was just looking around a little bit in his PokeDex, and the jump to pseudo-3D graphics is kindof jarring. I've always been a fan of sexy 2D, I kinda liked the look of Ruby, but I'm sure I'll get used to this.

[Variable Gear]

Got a copy of Diamond today, but I got it used and it didn't come with an instruction booklet. Is there anything new in the series that won't be explained as I play?
I don't think so. You should be fine, even without a manual.
There's a savegame already on it, so I was just looking around a little bit in his PokeDex, and the jump to pseudo-3D graphics is kindof jarring. I've always been a fan of sexy 2D, I kinda liked the look of Ruby, but I'm sure I'll get used to this.
You'll get used to the new graphics quickly. Game Freak kept the visuals pretty simplified while making the jump to the third dimension. It's jarring at first, though.

[Ancalagon]

Got a copy of Diamond today, but I got it used and it didn't come with an instruction booklet. Is there anything new in the series that won't be explained as I play?

There's a savegame already on it, so I was just looking around a little bit in his PokeDex, and the jump to pseudo-3D graphics is kindof jarring. I've always been a fan of sexy 2D, I kinda liked the look of Ruby, but I'm sure I'll get used to this.

No, its pretty similar to the old games. Not much new here in terms of game mechanics. The one thing I would take trouble to point out is that now all moves can either be physical or special, and they use the respective stat for each. For example, in 3rd generation, Dark attacks were considered Special, so each and every dark attack always used the special attack and defense stats. But now, in Diamond/Pearl, you get physical dark moves like crunch, that use the normal attack and defense stats, and special dark moves like dark pulse that use the special attack and defense stats. So.... choosing moves for your pokemon may require a little more thought, but the change was desperately needed in my opinion.

As for the graphics.... yeah you get used to it. Now whenever I change from GBA Pokemon back to DS Pokemon, my eyes weep with joy at the sight.

EDIT: Status update for Emerald

I've finished the 8 gyms, and caught myself a lot of Bagons. Now, its time to breed them! They will know Dragon Dance and Dragon Claw, and a lucky few will be sent up to my Diamond game. I've also decided to hunt for Feebas' here, and breed them here, again to be sent up to Diamond. I'm still growing berries in Diamond to make poffins.

Next... I'll think about whether I want to tackle the Emerald Elite 4. Wonder if its worth the effort needed to grind my pokes up to be a high enough level.

[Variable Gear]

No, its pretty similar to the old games. Not much new here in terms of game mechanics. The one thing I would take trouble to point out is that now all moves can either be physical or special, and they use the respective stat for each. For example, in 3rd generation, Dark attacks were considered Special, so each and every dark attack always used the special attack and defense stats. But now, in Diamond/Pearl, you get physical dark moves like crunch, that use the normal attack and defense stats, and special dark moves like dark pulse that use the special attack and defense stats. So.... choosing moves for your pokemon may require a little more thought, but the change was desperately needed in my opinion.
This is a very important change to consider. There are Pokemon who you'd previously stack physical moves on, since they tend to do a ton of damage, but now you've got to pay attention of each Pokemon's stats. You want to outfit your team with moves that reflect their statistical strengths.

[LongStepMantis]

No, its pretty similar to the old games. Not much new here in terms of game mechanics. The one thing I would take trouble to point out is that now all moves can either be physical or special, and they use the respective stat for each. For example, in 3rd generation, Dark attacks were considered Special, so each and every dark attack always used the special attack and defense stats. But now, in Diamond/Pearl, you get physical dark moves like crunch, that use the normal attack and defense stats, and special dark moves like dark pulse that use the special attack and defense stats. So.... choosing moves for your pokemon may require a little more thought, but the change was desperately needed in my opinion.


I was hoping that would change from the GBA gens. Some pokemon would just get the shaft because their attack types couldn't make use of the stats they excelled at. Like a pokemon with high attack and low sp. attack, using dark moves...waste.

EDIT: Status update for Emerald

I've finished the 8 gyms, and caught myself a lot of Bagons. Now, its time to breed them! They will know Dragon Dance and Dragon Claw, and a lucky few will be sent up to my Diamond game. I've also decided to hunt for Feebas' here, and breed them here, again to be sent up to Diamond. I'm still growing berries in Diamond to make poffins.

Next... I'll think about whether I want to tackle the Emerald Elite 4. Wonder if its worth the effort needed to grind my pokes up to be a high enough level.


If you don't care about fairness and just want to beat the E4...just put Rayquaza in as your starter and use his multi-turn dragon attack (don't recall the name). Most of the pokemon the E4 use will get 1-hit KO'ed, send out a new pokemon, and then that one gets 1-hit KO'ed by the continuing assault of the move. You can sometimes wipe out the majority of their team by using that attack ONCE. Just remember he makes himself confused after a handful of rounds with that attack.

Of course, Rayquaza is legendary, and extremely broken stats wise. He's lv. 70 when you get him, and his lowest stats are still in the 200 range.
Wouldn't recommend using him if you want to be fair about it, but if you just want past the E4 without grinding...there ya go. ;)

[J Arcane]

I need a better place to grind my Staraptor. I've been grinding my levels in the entrance to Victory Road, but while Staraptor's great against the Machokes and Medichams that spawn, he's pretty much useless against every other damn thing in this area.

Is there somewhere I can reliably go for a lot of weak-to-flying critters rough around lvl40?

[Ancalagon]

I need a better place to grind my Staraptor. I've been grinding my levels in the entrance to Victory Road, but while Staraptor's great against the Machokes and Medichams that spawn, he's pretty much useless against every other damn thing in this area.

Is there somewhere I can reliably go for a lot of weak-to-flying critters rough around lvl40?

Fly to Veilstone city, go west onto route 215, and very close to the city gates are two trainers, who you can rematch using the vs seeker. they give good exp.

The one has a normal type pokemon (cant remember name) and a Kadabra, and the other has a Monferno, Gyarados, and Luxray (or Shinx maybe). If you are high enough level, you could OHKO the first two pokemon. Ummm.... other than that, I dont really know. Give him the exp share and use a pokemon that can take all of them on?

I was hoping that would change from the GBA gens. Some pokemon would just get the shaft because their attack types couldn't make use of the stats they excelled at. Like a pokemon with high attack and low sp. attack, using dark moves...waste.


Agreed! I have an Absol in Emerald that is shafted for precisely that reason. It makes so much more sense its amazing they didnt do it years ago.


If you don't care about fairness and just want to beat the E4...just put Rayquaza in as your starter and use his multi-turn dragon attack (don't recall the name). Most of the pokemon the E4 use will get 1-hit KO'ed, send out a new pokemon, and then that one gets 1-hit KO'ed by the continuing assault of the move. You can sometimes wipe out the majority of their team by using that attack ONCE. Just remember he makes himself confused after a handful of rounds with that attack.

Of course, Rayquaza is legendary, and extremely broken stats wise. He's lv. 70 when you get him, and his lowest stats are still in the 200 range.
Wouldn't recommend using him if you want to be fair about it, but if you just want past the E4 without grinding...there ya go. ;)

Hmmmm.... maybe. From having a look at what types of Pokemon they use, I'm fairly well coverded. I just need to decide on who to teach Ice Beam to so that I can take out the Dragon guy easily. The rest shouldnt be too much of a problem. I might consider levelling up a Bagon and teaching it crunch, then evolving it to a Salamence. That would destroy that Ghost trainer.

I must say, I'm amazed at how good the Sunny Day + Solar Beam combo is against water type pokemon. Not only does it weaken water and ice moves, but it lets solar beam charge in one round instead of two, which led to my Vileplume OHKO'ing most of the 8th gym's pokemon. I use sleep powder first to let me use sunny day in peace!

[headhunter228]

MUAHAHAHAHAHA!!! Tyranitar at long LAST!!! I can finally go to the Battle Tower and tell Palmer to shove it! It's doubtful I'll get that 100-win streak, but my team of Dragonite, Heatran, and Tyranitar should do well.

If you don't care about fairness and just want to beat the E4...just put Rayquaza in as your starter and use his multi-turn dragon attack (don't recall the name).

If I recall correctly, that move is Outrage.

[Ancalagon]

Sigh.... its been a long day.

I started hunting for Feebas today in Emerald, so that I could breed them in Emerald and transfer them up to Diamond. I struck it lucky - probably less than an hour after starting, and less than 30 of 600 squares, I found my Feebas. So I caught a few of them. Happy with my super lucky find, I took time off for lunch. Big mistake. We didnt have any butter, so I couldnt make a sandwich. So I nipped out to the shops quick (for those of you who dont know, I had hernia surgery recently, so I'm not supposed to do much walking). And.... promptly locked myself out of the house. So now its 3 hours before anyone comes home, I'm locked outside, its cold, and I cant walk too much. I ended up having to take a tube to my brothers work, picking up keys, and coming back, wasting most of my afternoon.

Tonight though.... its breeding time.

[headhunter228]

Sigh.... its been a long day.

I started hunting for Feebas today in Emerald, so that I could breed them in Emerald and transfer them up to Diamond. I struck it lucky - probably less than an hour after starting, and less than 30 of 600 squares, I found my Feebas. So I caught a few of them. Happy with my super lucky find, I took time off for lunch. Big mistake. We didnt have any butter, so I couldnt make a sandwich. So I nipped out to the shops quick (for those of you who dont know, I had hernia surgery recently, so I'm not supposed to do much walking). And.... promptly locked myself out of the house. So now its 3 hours before anyone comes home, I'm locked outside, its cold, and I cant walk too much. I ended up having to take a tube to my brothers work, picking up keys, and coming back, wasting most of my afternoon.

Tonight though.... its breeding time.

Man, that's rough. It's cold where I live, too, and I have to practice baseball in this weather. Speaking of breeding, I'm going to find out tonight if I can breed a Heatran. It has a gender, so it would seem like I could, but I'm not sure.

[Ancalagon]

Man, that's rough. It's cold where I live, too, and I have to practice baseball in this weather. Speaking of breeding, I'm going to find out tonight if I can breed a Heatran. It has a gender, so it would seem like I could, but I'm not sure.

Nope, its a legendary, so its in the no eggs group: Heatran (http://bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/wiki/Heatran_(Pok%C3%A9mon))

[J Arcane]

Argh. I want my National Dex damnit.

I got Dialga and Empoleon leveled up to 60 yesterday, and started working on Staraptor, but somehow all that effort put me in mind to reconsidering my team make up, and whether I might be able to squeeze another type or two in there.

Staraptor was the first one I started reconsidering. Normal/Flying feels like a waste of a dual type. So I started thinking about some other move types I could really use, and Fire and Grass came to mind. Unfortunately, the only Fire/Flying types in the whole series are Charizard and Moltres, neither of which are within my reach, and while there's a Grass/Flying type available in the form of Hoppip, I have to have the National and the Poke Radar to find it. So now I'm pondering either a Honchcrow or a Drifloon, to get some better Dark attacks than the Crunch I have on my Luxray, or get me some Ghost attacks. Both of them also potentially get some really nice abilities, Super Luck on the Honchcrow which doubles crit rate, and Aftermath on the Drifloon which takes 25% of the enemy's HP if it ever gets killed.

The other two that have me pondering possible replacements are the aforementioned Luxray, and Machamp. Both are single typed, which potentially means they could be replaced by dual-types, so as to expand my range. For the Luxray, I was thinking of getting Rotom in there, but of course, that's another one that needs the National Dex. Also requiring the National Dex would be the Shroomish that evolves into the Breloom that could give me a Grass/Fighting type to replace Machamp. I could get a Fire/Fighting type if I could somehow get ahold of a Chimchar, and while I see the starters on the GTS all the time, they're often for really ridiculous trades on account of how much of a pain in the ass it is to get one to trade. So that leaves raising up my Medicham or my Riolu for a Fighting/Psychic or Fighting/Steel type respectively, the former of which might be nice except it's weak on Sp.Atk. and that's what all the good Psy moves use, and the latter is mostly redundant since I already have two Steel types as it is.

So for now I've just been levelling my Golem, since I know I want to keep him at least, and I may just say fuck it and not bother with the tweaks.

[Ancalagon]

Argh. I want my National Dex damnit.

I got Dialga and Empoleon leveled up to 60 yesterday, and started working on Staraptor, but somehow all that effort put me in mind to reconsidering my team make up, and whether I might be able to squeeze another type or two in there.

Staraptor was the first one I started reconsidering. Normal/Flying feels like a waste of a dual type. So I started thinking about some other move types I could really use, and Fire and Grass came to mind. Unfortunately, the only Fire/Flying types in the whole series are Charizard and Moltres, neither of which are within my reach, and while there's a Grass/Flying type available in the form of Hoppip, I have to have the National and the Poke Radar to find it. So now I'm pondering either a Honchcrow or a Drifloon, to get some better Dark attacks than the Crunch I have on my Luxray, or get me some Ghost attacks. Both of them also potentially get some really nice abilities, Super Luck on the Honchcrow which doubles crit rate, and Aftermath on the Drifloon which takes 25% of the enemy's HP if it ever gets killed.

The other two that have me pondering possible replacements are the aforementioned Luxray, and Machamp. Both are single typed, which potentially means they could be replaced by dual-types, so as to expand my range. For the Luxray, I was thinking of getting Rotom in there, but of course, that's another one that needs the National Dex. Also requiring the National Dex would be the Shroomish that evolves into the Breloom that could give me a Grass/Fighting type to replace Machamp. I could get a Fire/Fighting type if I could somehow get ahold of a Chimchar, and while I see the starters on the GTS all the time, they're often for really ridiculous trades on account of how much of a pain in the ass it is to get one to trade. So that leaves raising up my Medicham or my Riolu for a Fighting/Psychic or Fighting/Steel type respectively, the former of which might be nice except it's weak on Sp.Atk. and that's what all the good Psy moves use, and the latter is mostly redundant since I already have two Steel types as it is.

So for now I've just been levelling my Golem, since I know I want to keep him at least, and I may just say fuck it and not bother with the tweaks.

Seriously - and I mean this deadly seriously - I can breed you pretty much all of those that you mentioned. In fact, I literally have several Chimchar sitting in my box that I dont need, you can have all of them if you want. In fact you have a choice of Fire/Fighting types - you can have a Torchic instead if you want. How about a Scyther? Their bug attacks are great against psychics. I can breed you a Charmander if you want, its really no trouble. It will even know Flame Thrower I think (one of the best fire type moves). I can give you a Poliwag, which evolves into a Poliwrath (a water/fighting type). I think I have a shroomish somewhere, if I dont I have the national dex and both ruby and emerald so it will be easy to get hold of. I can also get you a Bagon, which evolves into the super powerful Salamence, a Dragon/Flying type. I can breed you a Riolu, although evolving it into a Lucario is a bit of a bore, but its well worth it.

Seriously, if you want any of those just let me know. And being traded they will level up 50% quicker.

[Mr. Murphy]

Seriously - and I mean this deadly seriously - I can breed you pretty much all of those that you mentioned. In fact, I literally have several Chimchar sitting in my box that I dont need, you can have all of them if you want. In fact you have a choice of Fire/Fighting types - you can have a Torchic instead if you want. How about a Scyther? Their bug attacks are great against psychics. I can breed you a Charmander if you want, its really no trouble. It will even know Flame Thrower I think (one of the best fire type moves). I can give you a Poliwag, which evolves into a Poliwrath (a water/fighting type). I think I have a shroomish somewhere, if I dont I have the national dex and both ruby and emerald so it will be easy to get hold of. I can also get you a Bagon, which evolves into the super powerful Salamence, a Dragon/Flying type. I can breed you a Riolu, although evolving it into a Lucario is a bit of a bore, but its well worth it.

Seriously, if you want any of those just let me know. And being traded they will level up 50% quicker.

Could you trade me a charmander sometime? He was always my favorite, and from what I'm reading, there is a slight lack of good fire pokemon in Diamond until you hit the endgame.

[Ancalagon]

Could you trade me a charmander sometime? He was always my favorite, and from what I'm reading, there is a slight lack of good fire pokemon in Diamond until you hit the endgame.

Yeah of course. Will start breeding one now (it doesnt take long). Thats true about the lack of fire types - unless you chose Chimchar, your only option is Ponyta/Rapidash.

J Arcane, another good fighting Pokemon is Heracross. It can learn Megahorn, an extremely damaging bug attack.

Mr Murphy, I'll PM you with my friend code when its done. I can get you other starters from earlier generations if you want? Squirtle? Bulbasaur? The only generation I dont have is the second generation (Totodile etc)

[Mr. Murphy]

Yeah of course. Will start breeding one now (it doesnt take long). Thats true about the lack of fire types - unless you chose Chimchar, your only option is Ponyta/Rapidash.

J Arcane, another good fighting Pokemon is Heracross. It can learn Megahorn, an extremely damaging bug attack.

Mr Murphy, I'll PM you with my friend code when its done. I can get you other starters from earlier generations if you want? Squirtle? Bulbasaur? The only generation I dont have is the second generation (Totodile etc)

I actually played the first generation, and liked all of those guys, so feel free to hook me up, if you like. Do me a favor and give them names? I don't really care what they are, as long as they aren't screaming at me in all caps.

I have some pretty oddly named Pokemon by this point. I tend to name them the first thing that comes to mind when I'm looking at the name screan, so I have Pokemon with names that range in style from Turtris and Chicatrix to Wayne and Lebowski. Wayne is a bat, you see. And Lebowski is a geodude. Um.

[J Arcane]

I hadn't thought about Heracross. For some reason I dismissed the bug types because I started by looking at the Bug/Flying types and their resist combinations wound up sucking ass so I didn't even think about it.

That would give me another good anti-Psychic option, and mean I could instead stick Charizard in as my Flying critter for some fire.

Still don't know what, if anything, I'll do with Luxray. There really isn't much in the way of dual type Electric. I think I may just have to live with him.

I'd still like to build a cool Ghost-type team at some point too.

I'm heading to the library here in a minute where I'll have wireless, so if you'll be available for some trades I'll be on.

[CES]

Still don't know what, if anything, I'll do with Luxray. There really isn't much in the way of dual type Electric. I think I may just have to live with him.

I'd still like to build a cool Ghost-type team at some point too.



Go find Rotom, he's a dual Ghost/Electric which should fit your goals nicely.

[rinichanraar]

Go find Rotom, he's a dual Ghost/Electric which should fit your goals nicely.

I was just thinking that. Rotom would be a good choice. Whenever I think of him, I think of that blog Gabe from Penny Arcade wrote where he went to a competition and some bitch kid dissed his Rotom.

Oh, here (http://penny-arcade.com/2007/07/23/pokemon/) it is.

Okay, so maybe they didn't directly insult his Rotom... but still.

[KSmitty]

Yeah of course. Will start breeding one now (it doesnt take long). Thats true about the lack of fire types - unless you chose Chimchar, your only option is Ponyta/Rapidash.

J Arcane, another good fighting Pokemon is Heracross. It can learn Megahorn, an extremely damaging bug attack.

Mr Murphy, I'll PM you with my friend code when its done. I can get you other starters from earlier generations if you want? Squirtle? Bulbasaur? The only generation I dont have is the second generation (Totodile etc)
I have all of the Crystal starters. PM me your friend code and we can set something up.

[Ancalagon]

I have all of the Crystal starters. PM me your friend code and we can set something up.

Thanks, that would be really great.

I can make my Feebas evolve into Milotic now! I tested it today, I have the necessay poffins to do so. In fact, once you get a few wiki berry plants growing, its not all that hard. You just have to use them to make a few poffins, give to the Feebas, and level it up, and it evolves. Finding the Feebas and growing the berries are the time consuming parts, the rest isnt so bad.

[headhunter228]

I just got a harsh reality check in the Battle Tower. After replacing Heatran with Roserade, I made another run, only to have my entire team annihilated by a Hitmonlee. Roserade+Blaze Kick = KO. Dragonite + Stone Edge = KO. Tyranitar + Close Combat = KO. And after all that time getting my uber team together.

On a side note, Ancalagon, do you have Torchic? I miss the Blaziken I had in Sapphire. I also wouldn't mind getting a Feebas while I'm at it.

[Mr. Murphy]

I just got a harsh reality check in the Battle Tower. After replacing Heatran with Roserade, I made another run, only to have my entire team annihilated by a Hitmonlee. Roserade+Blaze Kick = KO. Dragonite + Stone Edge = KO. Tyranitar + Close Combat = KO. And after all that time getting my uber team together.

On a side note, Ancalagon, do you have Torchic? I miss the Blaziken I had in Sapphire. I also wouldn't mind getting a Feebas while I'm at it.

Helpful fucker just hooked me up with a Torchic and like five other cool Pokemon.

[J Arcane]

I was pondering last night as to whether I even wanted to keep an Electric in the party. In terms of effectiveness, he's really only useful against Water Pokemon, as I have flying covered by my Golem, and at that, he's easily trumped by Water/Ground types, which are irritatingly common in this game.

So I was thinking of levelling my Carnivine instead to get some Grass in there, while still having the Dark moves that Luxray has, plus more. Grass remains effective against water, as well as ground, so water/ground types no longer hold any fear, and gets effectiveness against several other types, though sadly in exchange for an increased number of weaknesses.

[headhunter228]

I was pondering last night as to whether I even wanted to keep an Electric in the party. In terms of effectiveness, he's really only useful against Water Pokemon, as I have flying covered by my Golem, and at that, he's easily trumped by Water/Ground types, which are irritatingly common in this game.

So I was thinking of levelling my Carnivine instead to get some Grass in there, while still having the Dark moves that Luxray has, plus more. Grass remains effective against water, as well as ground, so water/ground types no longer hold any fear, and gets effectiveness against several other types, though sadly in exchange for an increased number of weaknesses.

Here's an idea. PM me your friend code, and I can hook you up with a Cacturne (Grass/Dark) if you want. I'm at the endgame, and I know where I can find one at a fairly high level. (anywhere from 50-55) I'll also try to give it a good move set. PM me if you're interested.

[LongStepMantis]

I was pondering last night as to whether I even wanted to keep an Electric in the party. In terms of effectiveness, he's really only useful against Water Pokemon, as I have flying covered by my Golem, and at that, he's easily trumped by Water/Ground types, which are irritatingly common in this game.

So I was thinking of levelling my Carnivine instead to get some Grass in there, while still having the Dark moves that Luxray has, plus more. Grass remains effective against water, as well as ground, so water/ground types no longer hold any fear, and gets effectiveness against several other types, though sadly in exchange for an increased number of weaknesses.

Electric types are so/so. But Electric attacks are key, at least in my experience.

So the real fix seems to be finding a decent non-electric poke who can learn Electric attacks.

[Ancalagon]

On a side note, Ancalagon, do you have Torchic? I miss the Blaziken I had in Sapphire. I also wouldn't mind getting a Feebas while I'm at it.

Yup. Should I breed you one? I'll take that as a yes?

I was pondering last night as to whether I even wanted to keep an Electric in the party. In terms of effectiveness, he's really only useful against Water Pokemon, as I have flying covered by my Golem, and at that, he's easily trumped by Water/Ground types, which are irritatingly common in this game.

So I was thinking of levelling my Carnivine instead to get some Grass in there, while still having the Dark moves that Luxray has, plus more. Grass remains effective against water, as well as ground, so water/ground types no longer hold any fear, and gets effectiveness against several other types, though sadly in exchange for an increased number of weaknesses.

Yeah.... I sometimes debate whether to keep a Pokemon dedicated to Electric type attacks. They are mostly covered by grass, except for Water/Flying Pokemon like Gyarados. But I think you can use Rock for them. Currently I use an Electivire, who is extremely powerful, and who also gets moves like Ice Punch and Fire Punch, making him a bit more versatile (in fact, you are getting one too).

PS want some grass starters? Bulbasaur? Grovyle (or whatever the 3rd gen grass starter is). Dont have turtwig yet.
But these days I wont leave home without my Grass attacks. Although they and Water share some common uses (ie against ground and rock), being good against water, and being the only weakness of Water/Ground Pokemon, they are handy to have along.

[J Arcane]

As a public service announcement, I'd like to encourage all present Pokefreaks to register your damn friend code in the database! (http://www.colonyofgamers.com/cogforums/showthread.php?t=4082)

Makes trades and such go a lot easier if I've already got everyone's friend code and they've got mine. ;)

[CES]

I was pondering last night as to whether I even wanted to keep an Electric in the party. In terms of effectiveness, he's really only useful against Water Pokemon, as I have flying covered by my Golem, and at that, he's easily trumped by Water/Ground types, which are irritatingly common in this game.

So I was thinking of levelling my Carnivine instead to get some Grass in there, while still having the Dark moves that Luxray has, plus more. Grass remains effective against water, as well as ground, so water/ground types no longer hold any fear, and gets effectiveness against several other types, though sadly in exchange for an increased number of weaknesses.

Remember though, electric attacks get you a high chance of inflicting the incredibly valuable paralyze status ailment. Excellent for catching those little fast bastard pokemon. Dark would be a nice fallback though as well since most of the Dark type attacks can cause Flinching (which i'd like to state is completely fucking annoying)

[Ancalagon]

Remember though, electric attacks get you a high chance of inflicting the incredibly valuable paralyze status ailment. Excellent for catching those little fast bastard pokemon. Dark would be a nice fallback though as well since most of the Dark type attacks can cause Flinching (which i'd like to state is completely fucking annoying)

Yeah, those are all annoying. And sleep too! Especially cos, at least with paralysis, you have a 50% chance of being able to do anything, and with flinch, you just miss a round. Sleep is the most annoying of all.

[J Arcane]

Remember though, electric attacks get you a high chance of inflicting the incredibly valuable paralyze status ailment. Excellent for catching those little fast bastard pokemon. Dark would be a nice fallback though as well since most of the Dark type attacks can cause Flinching (which i'd like to state is completely fucking annoying)
Yeah, flinching's a wee bastard it is. I find I don't tend to cause it as much as the computer does it to me, as seems typical for such things in these sorts of games, but it's still nice to have that chance.

I think for the moment, since I'm almost done getting my current team to 60, and I won't have time to do any trades until at least tomorrow night, that I'm just gonna push through the Final Four tonight if I can, possibly with the help of my remaining rare candies to speed getting this last Machamp leveled up.

Then maybe I'l work on that all Ghost team I'm thinking of . . .

[Ancalagon]

Yeah, flinching's a wee bastard it is. I find I don't tend to cause it as much as the computer does it to me, as seems typical for such things in these sorts of games, but it's still nice to have that chance.

I think for the moment, since I'm almost done getting my current team to 60, and I won't have time to do any trades until at least tomorrow night, that I'm just gonna push through the Final Four tonight if I can, possibly with the help of my remaining rare candies to speed getting this last Machamp leveled up.

Then maybe I'l work on that all Ghost team I'm thinking of . . .

Cool, good luck with them! I have those pokemon you requested, but you can get them anytime. I guess if you took them now, it would just take more time to level them up to face the elite 4. Unless there was a specific weakness you had that needed covering.

[J Arcane]

Cool, good luck with them! I have those pokemon you requested, but you can get them anytime. I guess if you took them now, it would just take more time to level them up to face the elite 4. Unless there was a specific weakness you had that needed covering.
Well, I do have something of a problem with Water/Ground and Steel/Psychic types, which is why I wanted to squeeze Fire and Grass in there somehow, but I'm starting to lose my patience a bit for all the grinding, so I honestly don't think I want to deal with levelling up a new team member. My attempt at levelling my Carnivine lasted about two levels before my Luxray came back out. ;)

[CES]

Yeah, those are all annoying. And sleep too! Especially cos, at least with paralysis, you have a 50% chance of being able to do anything, and with flinch, you just miss a round. Sleep is the most annoying of all.

Not true, you forgot the biggest bastard status ailment of them all, though it's not classed as one: Confusion aka: Fucking Bastard Zubat Syndrome. Much, much hate for them.


Also, considering an all of the one type team but I don't know what to pick (not Water anyway, built those in the past many times since I really do like the type) I was considering Flying but there's very little in the way of decent moves for the type. Definitely would have a Staravia in that line up for Close Combat to waste Rock/Normal types.

[J Arcane]

Booya! I'm the Champion! Suck it Milotic!

Ran into pretty much the usual problem spots: Gastrodon, Bronzong, and that damn Milotic which I pretty much only beat because the AI tried to use Mirror Coat after I used a potion. Garchomp gave me quite a fight this time around too.

Now to go get my National Dex.

[Ancalagon]

Booya! I'm the Champion! Suck it Milotic!

Ran into pretty much the usual problem spots: Gastrodon, Bronzong, and that damn Milotic which I pretty much only beat because the AI tried to use Mirror Coat after I used a potion. Garchomp gave me quite a fight this time around too.

Now to go get my National Dex.

Congratulations! What are you missing from the dex?

[J Arcane]

Congratulations! What are you missing from the dex?
nothing. Milotic was the only one, and I got that by beating the Champion.

Now I has my National Dex, and I just caught Giratina, which proved to be easier than I expected.

He needs some better moves though. Shadow Force is awesome, but the rest of his moves are somewhat lackluster. I think I'm gonna get Ominous Wind in there, as well as Dragon Pulse, the latter of which I apparently missed in Victory Road, and the former of which I just need a Heart Scale to reteach. Shame he can't learn any Dragon moves more powerful than Pulse.

[Ancalagon]

nothing. Milotic was the only one, and I got that by beating the Champion.

Now I has my National Dex, and I just caught Giratina, which proved to be easier than I expected.

He needs some better moves though. Shadow Force is awesome, but the rest of his moves are somewhat lackluster. I think I'm gonna get Ominous Wind in there, as well as Dragon Pulse, the latter of which I apparently missed in Victory Road, and the former of which I just need a Heart Scale to reteach. Shame he can't learn any Dragon moves more powerful than Pulse.

I was gonna say, the next you do is venture into the underground to get some heart scales. Get a few of those sphere thingys, and plant them in rows next to the walls. Wait a day or two and you will be able to mine the walls for stuff. You can get a lot of evolutionary stones, heart scales, and fossils there. It can even be kinda fun (the mining game).

I was breeding Treecko's this morning, trying to see if I could get a female treecko from my male treecko and ditto. Apparently its impossible - I bred 9 treeckos, and all of them were male. Does anyone know if its possible for you to get a female pokemon from a male pokemon and a ditto?

[J Arcane]

If I recall correctly, the sex of the starter Pokemon in all the games going back to the originals is affected by which version of the game you have, but don't quote me on that. That may carry through to breeding, or you've just got really bad luck.

According to Bulbapedia though, you can breed either sex with a Ditto.

I think I'm a little burnt on the Pokemans after this week. After I got Giratina I went back in Victory Road to get that Dragon Pulse, and go through the door I missed to get to that new route past the League, but I just lost my patience for the big annoying maze thing and turned it off to play some Rocket Slime.

I'll probably take a few days break at least, then maybe get back to working on my Ghost team or something.

[J Arcane]

Apparently, there's an event coming up wherein we US gamers might get a shot at getting Shaymin: http://bulbanews.bulbagarden.net/wiki/Toys_%27R%27_Us_giving_away_Shaymin_in_February

Is it a sign of how seriously far I've fallen that a part of me seriously considered scheduling a trip up to the Portland area's nearest Toys'R'Us to get one? I do really like Hedgehog things.

[Suave Peanut]

Well damn. Our Toys 'R' Us in town went out of business this month. Who could I convince to send me one of those?

[Ancalagon]

Is it a sign of how seriously far I've fallen that a part of me seriously considered scheduling a trip up to the Portland area's nearest Toys'R'Us to get one? I do really like Hedgehog things.

Dont worry, I'm still considering buying a second DS just for me to be able to trade with myself. A Second. Nintendo DS. When my first one is working perfectly well.

I've gone back to Fire Red now. Beaten the 6th gym, I'm now on Cinnabar island, planning some team changes. I've decided to bring a Nidoqueen/Nidoking onto my team, and teach it Ice Beam, Thunderbolt and Earthquake through TMs. I can either level up a Nidorina to level 53 for her to learn crunch, or just go with either of them and teach them Shadow Ball via TM. Problem is, although Shadow Ball and Crunch do the same thing basically, to buy all of these TMs is going to be expensive. You have to buy them from that Celadon Game Corner place, which either involves gambling (time consuming) or cash (which I dont have too much of at the moment. If it works out though, I'll have an extremely versatile pokemon on my team.

Which leads me to the next problem - what to do with my 6th slot? Currently, I have:

Poliwrath - Water/Fighting
Exeggcutor - Grass/Psychic
Scyther - Bug/Flying
Charizard - Fire/Flying
Nidoqueen/Nidoking (mentioned above) - Poison/Ground, but will know Ground, Ice, Electric and Dark moves

What should I have in my 6th slot? I might put a Rhydon in there (currently its a graveller, I want a Rhydon cos they have better stats). The Rhydon would know Earthquake and Rock Blast. Note that, this being Fire Red, I'm extremely limited in the Pokemon available to me.

[Suave Peanut]

Dont worry, I'm still considering buying a second DS just for me to be able to trade with myself. A Second. Nintendo DS. When my first one is working perfectly well.

Does the DSi communicate with the DS? If so, we won't be buying a second: we'll be upgrading!

[J Arcane]

Does the DSi communicate with the DS? If so, we won't be buying a second: we'll be upgrading!
DSi has no GBA slot, which means it's usefulness as a second Pokemon-related device would pretty much have to be solely limited to trading between DS versions, as there's no way for it to upload from the previous games.

[Suave Peanut]

DSi has no GBA slot, which means it's usefulness as a second Pokemon-related device would pretty much have to be solely limited to trading between DS versions, as there's no way for it to upload from the previous games.

Exactly!!!

[Ancalagon]

DSi has no GBA slot, which means it's usefulness as a second Pokemon-related device would pretty much have to be solely limited to trading between DS versions, as there's no way for it to upload from the previous games.

I hear it also has worse battery life. So yeah, not much of a Poke-device.

[Variable Gear]

DSi has no GBA slot, which means it's usefulness as a second Pokemon-related device would pretty much have to be solely limited to trading between DS versions, as there's no way for it to upload from the previous games.
That's true.

However, there is potential for a DSi-exclusive Pokemon game that could pull content from past Pokemon games, which could be sold as DSi Ware. That would be an excellent use of the hardware.

[headhunter228]

Apparently, there's an event coming up wherein we US gamers might get a shot at getting Shaymin: http://bulbanews.bulbagarden.net/wiki/Toys_%27R%27_Us_giving_away_Shaymin_in_February

Is it a sign of how seriously far I've fallen that a part of me seriously considered scheduling a trip up to the Portland area's nearest Toys'R'Us to get one? I do really like Hedgehog things.

AARRGGHH, proxied! I've never even heard of Shaymin until today. I'll have to look that up. Even so, I got a Deoxys from my local GameStop, but if it's only at Toys R' Us, I'll have to drive 60 miles just to see what it's all about.

EDIT: I just checked it out at Psypoke. Not bad at all.

[Ancalagon]

I just beat the FireRed elite 4 and got the National Dex! Woohoo! I made sure to grind my pokemon until they were sufficiently high in level (2 of them at level 54, the rest at 59-60) and I had no trouble. Most of their Pokemon were OHKO'd.

So.... Sevii Islands is now completely open to me. And I can breed Pokemon in FireRed, if I so desire. I think the first thing I'll do with my new found power is catch some level 43 Meowths, because they are the highest level pokemon available in the wild with the pickup ability. Very good for farming for rare candies and other goodies.

Maybe I'll beat the Emerald Elite 4 now. Only problem is, Emerald seems to lack good places to grind for experience, unlike Fire Red, which has one or two good places.

[LongStepMantis]

I just beat the FireRed elite 4 and got the National Dex! Woohoo! I made sure to grind my pokemon until they were sufficiently high in level (2 of them at level 54, the rest at 59-60) and I had no trouble. Most of their Pokemon were OHKO'd.

So.... Sevii Islands is now completely open to me. And I can breed Pokemon in FireRed, if I so desire. I think the first thing I'll do with my new found power is catch some level 43 Meowths, because they are the highest level pokemon available in the wild with the pickup ability. Very good for farming for rare candies and other goodies.

Maybe I'll beat the Emerald Elite 4 now. Only problem is, Emerald seems to lack good places to grind for experience, unlike Fire Red, which has one or two good places.

Now that you're past the E4 in FireRed, you should go grab Mewtwo...as if it needs to be said, he's the bees fucking knees psychic powerhouse. At the very least just to have him.

[Ancalagon]

Now that you're past the E4 in FireRed, you should go grab Mewtwo...as if it needs to be said, he's the bees fucking knees psychic powerhouse. At the very least just to have him.

I collected Zapdos, Articuno and Moltres and transferred those over to Diamond already, so now I'm thinking about going on a Legendary catching Spree. I can only catch Mewtwo once I've finished the Sevii Island quest, which might take me a while.

Then.... I have some breeding to do in Emerald, and I want to catch the three Regis in Emerald so I can awaken Regigigas in Diamond.

Although... having finished the Kanto Elite 4, I'm now wondering if my Poke Madness will ebb. Also, I'm going back to work soon. I'm gonna have to reclaim my sanity at some stage, anyway.

Perhaps.... I'll leave things until Platinum? (which, I must say, I'm starting to really look forward to. Being able to rematch gym leaders and the elite 4 sounds awesome!)

[LongStepMantis]

Good luck with the Regis.

I found them to be one of the biggest pains in the asses to round up. Next to the ones you have to randomly encounter. It doesn't help that they don't really seem very good for all the trouble and being legendary. Perhaps Regigigas makes up for that.

But having to catch a Wailmer and a Relicanth just to get to them was annoying as well. The Relicanth took me a few hours of trolling the underwater seaweed beds...just so I could put him in my party once and not even fight with him.

[Ancalagon]

Good luck with the Regis.

I found them to be one of the biggest pains in the asses to round up. Next to the ones you have to randomly encounter. It doesn't help that they don't really seem very good for all the trouble and being legendary. Perhaps Regigigas makes up for that.

But having to catch a Wailmer and a Relicanth just to get to them was annoying as well. The Relicanth took me a few hours of trolling the underwater seaweed beds...just so I could put him in my party once and not even fight with him.

Huh? You need to have those things in your party to encounter the Regis? I encountered a Relicanth once, and KO'd it. I might not bother with the Regis then!

As I said, my Pokemadness is subsiding and sanity is returning. I think I'll go back to reading those graphic novels I bought.

[J Arcane]

You need to have both a Wailmer and a Relicanth in your party in the 1st and 6th slots when you enter the special cave. This will cause an earthquake that opens the three caves the golems are hidden in. Which needs to be the 1st, and which the 6th, depends on whether it's Ruby/Sapphire or Emerald, as the order switched in Emerald.

[LongStepMantis]

Huh? You need to have those things in your party to encounter the Regis? I encountered a Relicanth once, and KO'd it. I might not bother with the Regis then!

As I said, my Pokemadness is subsiding and sanity is returning. I think I'll go back to reading those graphic novels I bought.

The process of acquiring the Regis is one of the more convoluted quests for legendaries. You need a Wailmer and a Relicanth, which you find out from reading the braille tablets scattered around the world. One of them goes at the front of your party, the other in the rear slot. This is neccesary to open the doors guarding the regis. You only have to do it once, and then you can put them back in their boxes forever.

It was a pain when i did it in Emerald because the only places Relicanths pop up is when you are diving, and traveling through the seaweed underwater. They are also rare. It took me probably 150 fights before I ran into one. You could get luckier than I did though.

[Ancalagon]

The process of acquiring the Regis is one of the more convoluted quests for legendaries. You need a Wailmer and a Relicanth, which you find out from reading the braille tablets scattered around the world. One of them goes at the front of your party, the other in the rear slot. This is neccesary to open the doors guarding the regis. You only have to do it once, and then you can put them back in their boxes forever.

It was a pain when i did it in Emerald because the only places Relicanths pop up is when you are diving, and traveling through the seaweed underwater. They are also rare. It took me probably 150 fights before I ran into one. You could get luckier than I did though.

I'll skip it thanks! Unless I'm really bored. Besides, in Platinum, you can catch the Regis in Platinum itself, no need to transfer them over. So... that would make life much simpler.

[Mr. Murphy]

You need to have both a Wailmer and a Relicanth in your party in the 1st and 6th slots when you enter the special cave. This will cause an earthquake that opens the three caves the golems are hidden in. Which needs to be the 1st, and which the 6th, depends on whether it's Ruby/Sapphire or Emerald, as the order switched in Emerald.

I was astounded to discover this whole quest the other day, as it seemed like the kindof thing that would get passed around as a fake "bring Aeris back to life/get General Leo in your party" piece of BS on the internet.

I was more astounded to discover I had a Relicanth sitting in my box like it was no big thang.

[KSmitty]

I collected Zapdos, Articuno and Moltres and transferred those over to Diamond already, so now I'm thinking about going on a Legendary catching Spree. I can only catch Mewtwo once I've finished the Sevii Island quest, which might take me a while.

Perhaps.... I'll leave things until Platinum? (which, I must say, I'm starting to really look forward to. Being able to rematch gym leaders and the elite 4 sounds awesome!)
Oddly enough I am on a legendary spree in Diamond. I have Dialga of course, the three Lake Spirits and last night I finally got around to catching Regigas. Tonight I'll probably shoot for Cressalia. I still need Heatran and Giratina. I look forward to getting the Shaymin from T'R'U and according to serebii.net (http://www.serebii.net/index2.shtml), there will be a lvl 100 Regigas T'R'U event to promote Platinum in March.

And thanks for the Lucky Egg tip, I found it later that afternoon.

[Mr. Murphy]

I'm at the Elite 4 in Ruby with a team of mostly level 35 pokemon. Leveling them up is taking forever. Are there any particularly good areas to grind for exp. in Ruby before you defeat the Elite?

[LongStepMantis]

I'm at the Elite 4 in Ruby with a team of mostly level 35 pokemon. Leveling them up is taking forever. Are there any particularly good areas to grind for exp. in Ruby before you defeat the Elite?

Assuming that Emerald and Ruby are alike enough, Victory road is probably your best bet. There are a few better areas depending on what types of pokemon you want to train up, but if you need to do your whole team...not much else can help.

[KSmitty]

Well I caught Cressalia last night, didn't even have to use my master ball. Next on the list is Giratina. I'll probably save Heatran for the weekend as capturing him involves a little dungeon crawling.

[KSmitty]

Caught Giratina, it was much easier than I thought it would be after the battle to catch Rayquaza.

Does anyone know anything about the requirements to get pokemon at the Nintendo Special Events? I had planned on getting Pearl later, but with the Shaymin event coming up I could get Pearl now and get another Shaymin, but I don't know if I could get Shaymin without having unlocked the National Pokedex. Anyone know anything about what you would need to have done to get Shaymin?

[CES]

Caught Giratina, it was much easier than I thought it would be after the battle to catch Rayquaza.

Does anyone know anything about the requirements to get pokemon at the Nintendo Special Events? I had planned on getting Pearl later, but with the Shaymin event coming up I could get Pearl now and get another Shaymin, but I don't know if I could get Shaymin without having unlocked the National Pokedex. Anyone know anything about what you would need to have done to get Shaymin?

For the D/P event pokemon, it should just be a case of forking over your game cart and them giving you the item you need to get to where the pokemon is.

[headhunter228]

Caught Giratina, it was much easier than I thought it would be after the battle to catch Rayquaza.

Does anyone know anything about the requirements to get pokemon at the Nintendo Special Events? I had planned on getting Pearl later, but with the Shaymin event coming up I could get Pearl now and get another Shaymin, but I don't know if I could get Shaymin without having unlocked the National Pokedex. Anyone know anything about what you would need to have done to get Shaymin?

I got my Deoxys without having the National 'Dex. You don't even have to fork over your cart. All you have to do is download it at the event.

Speaking of Giratina, that was one of the hardest Pokemon I've ever been able to catch. I caught it with my very last Timer Ball. But then again, I remember Rayquaza's starting moveset, and I can see how it would be hard to capture. I've never tried to catch Rayquaza the hard way. I just threw out my Master Ball.

[headhunter228]

As I mentioned in the Monday Blues thread, all I've ever been able to play is my DS. I've had a week to play a lot of Pokemon, and for the most part, all I've really been doing is training. In between bursts of Battle Tower challenges, I trained my Scizor from Lvl. 1 to 53, and my Skarmory from Lvl. 1 to 50. Scizor went from 0 to 50 wearing the Macho Brace, so his stats are pretty good. Skarmory's Attack went pretty high, mainly because, starting at about Lvl. 15, I made it wear a Power Bracer. Now it's Attack is at 141, when I wasn't expecting it to go much farther than 100. I'll have to keep those kind of items in mind when I raise some more Battle Tower challengers. Maybe I could get another Dragonite, but this time, raise it while it's wearing a Power Bracer to make it's Attack skyrocket even farther than the 182 it's at right now. That's what I get by trying to level it up the easy way: Giving it the Exp. Share, then challenging the Elite Four a couple of times.

[headhunter228]

Hell YES!!! I made it to Palmer in the Battle Tower for the first time and whooped his ass!! Awesome. The 20 BP I got for beating him makes me wish I had thought to knock him off earlier. But then I get killed by the next challenger. I swear, the random number generator must have hated me for beating Palmer, because the Pinsir I fought next hit me THREE TIMES IN A ROW with Guillotine. How the hell does that happen?

[KSmitty]

Hell YES!!! I made it to Palmer in the Battle Tower for the first time and whooped his ass!! Awesome. The 20 BP I got for beating him makes me wish I had thought to knock him off earlier. But then I get killed by the next challenger. I swear, the random number generator must have hated me for beating Palmer, because the Pinsir I fought next hit me THREE TIMES IN A ROW with Guillotine. How the hell does that happen?
Short answer: The game cheats

Seriously though the trainers/gym leaders do seem to get a high number of critical hits and to consistently land moves with very low hit accuracy. I haven't gone to the Battle Tower in Diamond yet, but it was pretty bad for me on Mt Battle vs100 in Colosseum(GC).

[headhunter228]

Short answer: The game cheats

Seriously though the trainers/gym leaders do seem to get a high number of critical hits and to consistently land moves with very low hit accuracy. I haven't gone to the Battle Tower in Diamond yet, but it was pretty bad for me on Mt Battle vs100 in Colosseum(GC).

I can imagine. I didn't like Colosseum, mainly because you have less Pokemon to work with in order to build a team. That, and I really couldn't care less for purifying Shadow Pokemon. When I play a Pokemon game, I play because I want to turn a bunch of weaklings I caught wild into unstoppable killing machines, then test them against worthy opponents. Giant criminal syndicates and the Pokemon League itself fall before my might during my climb to the top. Not so in Colosseum. I don't care for stopping the Shadow Pokemon plot. All I care for is being the best. I just happen to single-handedly destroy the largest criminal organization in the region while I'm at it.

[J Arcane]

Well, I'm back on the Pokemon kick again.

I finally got bored with Rocket Slime, and Metroid Hunters, while fun, tends to cause hand cramps after enough constant L-Button mashing, and I somehow found myself with the urge to finally start working on my Ghost team.

I caught Rotom this evening, and a Nincada earlier today which I'm raising to produce me a Shedinja. I'm also going to heavily encourage a friend of mine to finally get himself a damn DS so that I can do the necessary Underground silliness I need to get Spiritomb. I already have a Drifblim, and Giratina, as well as like three seperate Gastlys and a Haunter somewhere which I will have to select one of to raise to a Gengar.

I'm also going to have to catch a Snorunt to turn into a Froslass, which is probably what I'll catch next.

The fun one to get is going to be Dusknoir, on account of I have to get a damn Reaper Cloth, and also I have to finally get through that godforsaken maze in Victory Road to get to the route that Duskulls are found on.

Does anyone know a good source for maps for these games?

[Suave Peanut]

Every time I see a preview for Platinum I am tempted! I am one of those kids that was heavy into Red/Blue 10 years ago and never grew out of it. I put over 200 hours into Pearl, the most of any of the games so far, amassing a 400+ monster living dex. I don't know if I'm ready to go through that again, or transfer all of my monsters over... goodness, that would take a while!

[headhunter228]

Well, I'm back on the Pokemon kick again.

I finally got bored with Rocket Slime, and Metroid Hunters, while fun, tends to cause hand cramps after enough constant L-Button mashing, and I somehow found myself with the urge to finally start working on my Ghost team.

I caught Rotom this evening, and a Nincada earlier today which I'm raising to produce me a Shedinja. I'm also going to heavily encourage a friend of mine to finally get himself a damn DS so that I can do the necessary Underground silliness I need to get Spiritomb. I already have a Drifblim, and Giratina, as well as like three seperate Gastlys and a Haunter somewhere which I will have to select one of to raise to a Gengar.

I'm also going to have to catch a Snorunt to turn into a Froslass, which is probably what I'll catch next.

The fun one to get is going to be Dusknoir, on account of I have to get a damn Reaper Cloth, and also I have to finally get through that godforsaken maze in Victory Road to get to the route that Duskulls are found on.

Does anyone know a good source for maps for these games?

The maps that I use I got from my little brother's Diamond/Pearl Pokedex and endgame walkthrough. That was a book my little brother bought. But as for maps online? I couldn't tell you. I can tell you that the Reaper Cloth is north of the Resort Area, on Route 229. You need Cut to get at it. Also, there's someone in Snowpoint who will trade a Haunter for a Medicham. That Haunter will promptly evolve into Gengar when you do.

[KSmitty]

Does anyone know a good source for maps for these games?

Towards the bottom of the gamefaqs page there are some images (PNG) for various parts of the game. Not as good as having the strat guide, but still better than nothing.

I can tell you that the Reaper Cloth is north of the Resort Area, on Route 229. You need Cut to get at it.
NICE! I thought there was just the one you got from Turnback Cave.

[J Arcane]

Neat. I gots me a Shedinja. In some ways it's move set kinda sucks, and so do it's stats, but I thought the whole Wonder Guard thing sounded cool.

[KSmitty]

Neat. I gots me a Shedinja. In some ways it's move set kinda sucks, and so do it's stats, but I thought the whole Wonder Guard thing sounded cool.
Its very good for catching some legendary pokemon.

Also for everyone close to a T'R'Us:
http://tagn.files.wordpress.com/2009/02/shayminevent.png

[Suave Peanut]

BLERG! Our TRU went out of business not two weeks ago.

Anybody want to send one of those guys my way??

[J Arcane]

Alas, I don't think I can really afford the gas to hijack my friend's car all the way to Eugene for the nearest TRU.

[headhunter228]

I can't see the pic, and I can't find the dates anywhere (stupid proxies). Could someone tell me when the event is, if it hasn't already passed?

[divinechaos]

Feb 8th-14th. I'll be going tomorrow!

[headhunter228]

Okay, so the last day is Saturday. I hope my car can make it the 60 miles to the closest Toys R' Us, and I don't have to work that day.