TailGlowVM
Now 100% more demonic
Inspired by SadisticMystic's "minimal Pokemon recorded in the Pokedex" challenge runs for Pokemon Ultra Sun and X, I'm attempting a version for Pokemon Black 2. (By the way, if you're reading this, Sadistic, do you ever plan to complete the end of that Pokemon X run?) I'm playing in Normal Mode, because a) I wanted to do this run partly to see what the minimum was, rather than purely about the challenge, b) the extra levels gained and Pokemon faced may be partially offset by being able to use more Pokemon myself, and c) I was worried that there simply may not be enough EXP to beat the higher-levelled Pokemon with my minimum EXP rule. (If this run goes well though, by all means I encourage anyone else to try it on Challenge Mode.) I'm using a very slightly modified (to match the changes in this game) of Sadistic's Pokemon X rules:
So, once I begin, Mom asks me if I want a Pokemon and a Pokedex. I suppose I need at least one Pokemon to protect myself, and I have to pretend to want the Pokedex if I want to get a Pokemon and go around the region. I have to join Hugh (and the usual regular rival battles, sigh) to go and find Bianca. She gives me the Pokedex (no! please!) and lets me pick my starter. It doesn't affect the minimum number as to who I choose, so I'll go with Tepig. Bianca then gives Hugh the other Pokedex. I then have to fight Hugh's Oshawott, which I just Tackle to death as usual. It is at least a nice bit of EXP, levelling Tepig to Level 6. After visting the Pokemon Center, of which half the functions I have to sit through being explained even though I cannot use under the journal's superiors' restrictions, I get given some Poke Balls. Then I go outside and get the Town Map and Running Shoes - so at least Mom knows I do really want to avoid the grass when I can.
I head out onto Route 19 and have to watch the usual capture tutorial - fortunately, this does not record Lillipup or Purrloin, as I'm not directly involved. Now it's time to enter the grass - I go straight through the first patch without any encounters, then carefully through the next one. I briefly head northward and pick up the Potion, then enter Flocessy Town. There's nothing here other than picking up a Potion, so I won't stay in this area long.
Through the far end of the town, Alder asks me why I have two Town Maps (does he think I'm stealing?), then tells me to go down Route 20. I'm forced into my first wild trainer battle, with Youngster Terrell and his Patrat, followed by Lass Isabel with Purrloin. I may as well catch the Patrat I see in the grass, and I skip the final trainer. I then enter Flocessy Ranch and battle Cheren, who still has just Oshawott - seems it either doesn't have a Water move to hit Tepig even though I got STAB Ember, or just doesn't use it. Hugh then randomly panics upon hearing about the missing Herdier. I have to go through the grass to avoid the Janitor, then through some more down the steps and over the ledge - luckily, I can skip every Trainer in the ranch.
I had to reset several times to get through the grass here without any wild encounters - so by the time I finally reach the Herdier, I have a lot of frustration too. I speak to the Plasma Grunt, then... how come everyone else gets to skip straight back and I have to walk? At least there is only one patch of grass to go through on the path back.
Back in Flocessy Town, I meet Alder again, and, since I picked Tepig, I have to fight his two students that use Pansage and Panpour - it seems that just like Oshawott, Panpour has no STAB, meaning that Tepig can overpower it - this seems even stranger here, given the point of the battle is surely to make you catch and use another Pokemon, rather than just your starter, which is meant to lose? After this, I get interrupted by Mr Medal, who gives me the Medal Case and Medals, and I begin to return to Aspertia City. On the way back, Alder tells me about the gym reopening.
Aspertia City's Gym has opened up, and there's no puzzle here - instead, I simply have to defeat the two trainers on the ground if I want to challenge Cheren. (For the curious, does anyone remember the person suggesting you catch a Riolu? Well, that won't help you as much as he implies - Riolu's earliest proper STAB move, Force Palm, has been moved to a level above which a non-grinding player should have at this point, and Tepig won't have evolved either. I mentioned this on another thread a while back, but there's no Rock-, Ghost-, or Steel- type Pokemon here for a defensive type advantage, and nothing else learns a Fighting-type move, making this one of the very few gyms in which the player does not have a natural way to get a type advantage.)
Both the two trainers have Patrat and Lillipup, and Tepig carries on its previous "press Tackle and Ember while the opponent's mons slowly die" strategy. Cheren is not a really notable fight either, Tepig can simply 3HKO both his Pokemon, while he wastes turns using Work Up. Ember conveniently burns Lillipup, which is one advantage Tepig has as the starter here.
After this, I get the Basic Badge and Work Up TM, leave the gym and go outside, where Cheren and Bianca register on the Xtransceiver, along with Professor Juniper, who is pleased that I accepted the Pokedex and wants me to catch more Pokemon.
Current Progress:
Seen: 7 (Caught: 2)
Current Team:
Tepig L14 (Ember / Tackle / Tail Whip / Defense Curl)
Patrat L3 (Tackle / Leer) (Filler, will be boxing soon)
Badge Checkpoint 2
Before going back onto Route 19, I can finally buy some Repels - that should make things a bit faster. I go through Flocessy Town onto Route 20, where I meet Bianca and the Pokedex is upgraded (no!), get reminded about rustling grass, and am told to meet as many Pokemon as I can (sigh.) Before I can enter the next part of the route, I have to battle Hiker Jerome and his Riolu. It seems that Cheren managed to forget something as well, as he shows me the dark grass. Besides the Hiker, the single trainers here all have avoidable sightlines, and as always, the Twins at the top who have a Double Battle can be avoided by having only one Pokemon. In the gatehouse, I get some much-needed Great Balls from the lady at the gate, before entering Virbank City.
I get a call from Mom on the Xtransceiver, then Roxie shouts to her father about how he should stay as a captain, instead of becoming an actor. I go and collect the Great Balls from the person near the gym - not to catch a Magnemite, as I haven't seen it yet, but instead to get a Purrloin from the dark grass on Route 20, and may as well get a higher-levelled Patrat that I run into while searching. Both are somewhat underlevelled for where I am (Level 11/10 respectively to Tepig's 14), but much better than nothing. (Of course, I can only avoid the Twins by having one Pokemon, so from this grass I have to go back to Flocessy Town, then deposit the newly caught Pokemon, then go back along the route, then get Patrat and Purrloin back again in Virbank City.)
Before going into the Virbank Gym, I can quickly go out into the Virbank Complex, where the most notable things are the decent-for-now Thief TM, and the daily trade of a Poke Ball for a Great Ball. That's it for here though, so I have to go to the gym and fight the Roughneck, who has Grimer and Koffing, as well as the Guitarist with Venipede and another Koffing. Now it's time to face Roxie. I lead with Patrat to Leer Koffing twice, then once Patrat is fainted, Purrloin can chip it down a little before fainting. This way, Tepig can KO with Tackle (to avoid triggering Super Potion range) into Flame Charge, then level up, outspeed and 2HKO Whirlipede with just barely enough health to take a Venoshock... assuming Poison Point doesn't trigger. The Toxic Badge is mine! I'm now asked to go to Pokestar Studios, which ends the first section of this challenge run.
Current Progress:
Seen: 12 (Caught: 3)
Current Team:
Tepig L17 (Flame Charge / Tackle / Tail Whip / Defense Curl)
Patrat L11 (Frustration / Leer / Bite / Bide)
Purrloin L11 (Scratch / Growl / Thief / Sand-Attack)
- The Dexit Rule: At every point in the game, the Pokedex "Seen" count must be kept as low as possible, until it becomes mandatory to see certain species as a prerequisite for further progress in the storyline. If holding true to this rule requires traveling with a party of only one Pokemon so that double battle trainers don't challenge me at all, or wiping out against trainers that are acceptable to lose to so they never get to send out their backline Pokemon, so be it.
- All avoidable trainers must be skipped, and wild Pokemon can't be defeated for experience. Wilds can still be caught, as long as they are mandatory encounters and/or a species that I've already been forced to see earlier in the game (and, of course, assuming that my Poke Ball supplies hold out to have some left). If I run into a wild encounter by chance that I haven't seen yet, too bad, that violates rule #1 so reset back to the last save point.
- No buying anything except the various types of Repels (for convenience) and any non-replenishable purchases that can only be made once (for example: TMs). Even purchases made in other currencies such as Battle Points, Shards, or Poke Miles are subject to this restriction.
- No items obtained by means such as the Pickup ability or Thief against wild Pokemon may ever be used.
- No Pass Powers may be used except Encounter, and depending on how big the level gap gets along the way, I might eventually give Exp. Points the green light as well.
- The "Set" option will remain active for all battles, like the opponents and PVP battles always adhere to.
- No multiplayer or online connectivity at any point, to include trades or importing things.
So, once I begin, Mom asks me if I want a Pokemon and a Pokedex. I suppose I need at least one Pokemon to protect myself, and I have to pretend to want the Pokedex if I want to get a Pokemon and go around the region. I have to join Hugh (and the usual regular rival battles, sigh) to go and find Bianca. She gives me the Pokedex (no! please!) and lets me pick my starter. It doesn't affect the minimum number as to who I choose, so I'll go with Tepig. Bianca then gives Hugh the other Pokedex. I then have to fight Hugh's Oshawott, which I just Tackle to death as usual. It is at least a nice bit of EXP, levelling Tepig to Level 6. After visting the Pokemon Center, of which half the functions I have to sit through being explained even though I cannot use under the journal's superiors' restrictions, I get given some Poke Balls. Then I go outside and get the Town Map and Running Shoes - so at least Mom knows I do really want to avoid the grass when I can.
I head out onto Route 19 and have to watch the usual capture tutorial - fortunately, this does not record Lillipup or Purrloin, as I'm not directly involved. Now it's time to enter the grass - I go straight through the first patch without any encounters, then carefully through the next one. I briefly head northward and pick up the Potion, then enter Flocessy Town. There's nothing here other than picking up a Potion, so I won't stay in this area long.
Through the far end of the town, Alder asks me why I have two Town Maps (does he think I'm stealing?), then tells me to go down Route 20. I'm forced into my first wild trainer battle, with Youngster Terrell and his Patrat, followed by Lass Isabel with Purrloin. I may as well catch the Patrat I see in the grass, and I skip the final trainer. I then enter Flocessy Ranch and battle Cheren, who still has just Oshawott - seems it either doesn't have a Water move to hit Tepig even though I got STAB Ember, or just doesn't use it. Hugh then randomly panics upon hearing about the missing Herdier. I have to go through the grass to avoid the Janitor, then through some more down the steps and over the ledge - luckily, I can skip every Trainer in the ranch.
I had to reset several times to get through the grass here without any wild encounters - so by the time I finally reach the Herdier, I have a lot of frustration too. I speak to the Plasma Grunt, then... how come everyone else gets to skip straight back and I have to walk? At least there is only one patch of grass to go through on the path back.
Back in Flocessy Town, I meet Alder again, and, since I picked Tepig, I have to fight his two students that use Pansage and Panpour - it seems that just like Oshawott, Panpour has no STAB, meaning that Tepig can overpower it - this seems even stranger here, given the point of the battle is surely to make you catch and use another Pokemon, rather than just your starter, which is meant to lose? After this, I get interrupted by Mr Medal, who gives me the Medal Case and Medals, and I begin to return to Aspertia City. On the way back, Alder tells me about the gym reopening.
Aspertia City's Gym has opened up, and there's no puzzle here - instead, I simply have to defeat the two trainers on the ground if I want to challenge Cheren. (For the curious, does anyone remember the person suggesting you catch a Riolu? Well, that won't help you as much as he implies - Riolu's earliest proper STAB move, Force Palm, has been moved to a level above which a non-grinding player should have at this point, and Tepig won't have evolved either. I mentioned this on another thread a while back, but there's no Rock-, Ghost-, or Steel- type Pokemon here for a defensive type advantage, and nothing else learns a Fighting-type move, making this one of the very few gyms in which the player does not have a natural way to get a type advantage.)
Both the two trainers have Patrat and Lillipup, and Tepig carries on its previous "press Tackle and Ember while the opponent's mons slowly die" strategy. Cheren is not a really notable fight either, Tepig can simply 3HKO both his Pokemon, while he wastes turns using Work Up. Ember conveniently burns Lillipup, which is one advantage Tepig has as the starter here.
After this, I get the Basic Badge and Work Up TM, leave the gym and go outside, where Cheren and Bianca register on the Xtransceiver, along with Professor Juniper, who is pleased that I accepted the Pokedex and wants me to catch more Pokemon.
Current Progress:
Seen: 7 (Caught: 2)
Current Team:
Tepig L14 (Ember / Tackle / Tail Whip / Defense Curl)
Patrat L3 (Tackle / Leer) (Filler, will be boxing soon)
Badge Checkpoint 2
Before going back onto Route 19, I can finally buy some Repels - that should make things a bit faster. I go through Flocessy Town onto Route 20, where I meet Bianca and the Pokedex is upgraded (no!), get reminded about rustling grass, and am told to meet as many Pokemon as I can (sigh.) Before I can enter the next part of the route, I have to battle Hiker Jerome and his Riolu. It seems that Cheren managed to forget something as well, as he shows me the dark grass. Besides the Hiker, the single trainers here all have avoidable sightlines, and as always, the Twins at the top who have a Double Battle can be avoided by having only one Pokemon. In the gatehouse, I get some much-needed Great Balls from the lady at the gate, before entering Virbank City.
I get a call from Mom on the Xtransceiver, then Roxie shouts to her father about how he should stay as a captain, instead of becoming an actor. I go and collect the Great Balls from the person near the gym - not to catch a Magnemite, as I haven't seen it yet, but instead to get a Purrloin from the dark grass on Route 20, and may as well get a higher-levelled Patrat that I run into while searching. Both are somewhat underlevelled for where I am (Level 11/10 respectively to Tepig's 14), but much better than nothing. (Of course, I can only avoid the Twins by having one Pokemon, so from this grass I have to go back to Flocessy Town, then deposit the newly caught Pokemon, then go back along the route, then get Patrat and Purrloin back again in Virbank City.)
Before going into the Virbank Gym, I can quickly go out into the Virbank Complex, where the most notable things are the decent-for-now Thief TM, and the daily trade of a Poke Ball for a Great Ball. That's it for here though, so I have to go to the gym and fight the Roughneck, who has Grimer and Koffing, as well as the Guitarist with Venipede and another Koffing. Now it's time to face Roxie. I lead with Patrat to Leer Koffing twice, then once Patrat is fainted, Purrloin can chip it down a little before fainting. This way, Tepig can KO with Tackle (to avoid triggering Super Potion range) into Flame Charge, then level up, outspeed and 2HKO Whirlipede with just barely enough health to take a Venoshock... assuming Poison Point doesn't trigger. The Toxic Badge is mine! I'm now asked to go to Pokestar Studios, which ends the first section of this challenge run.
Current Progress:
Seen: 12 (Caught: 3)
Current Team:
Tepig L17 (Flame Charge / Tackle / Tail Whip / Defense Curl)
Patrat L11 (Frustration / Leer / Bite / Bide)
Purrloin L11 (Scratch / Growl / Thief / Sand-Attack)