Let's Play! Herman Gigglethorpe's Pokemon Solo Playthroughs

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Pokemon Crystal Solo Crobat Part 3: Ironclad Teams


Chuck in Cianwood Gym was a clean win with two Wing Attacks to Primeape and Poliwrath. DRACULA, like all vampires, had a sense of melodrama and decided to evolve at Level 42 after earning the 6th badge. This was not coincidentally the moment when the Fly HM became available. Crobat had a menacing bat icon on the world map unlike the generic bird that usually appeared.


DRACULA felt confident enough to Fly to Olivine City and face Jasmine immediately. Despite being fully evolved, Crobat's best move against the Magnemites was to Return them to their Poke Balls, which required two hits each. This left him open to Thunder Wave paralysis and Thunderbolt. Even when paralyzed, DRACULA was faster than Jasmine's entire Steel type roster. DRACULA shone Confuse Ray on Steelix and started Biting its metal hide to exploit its lower Special Defense. The first Iron Tail connected and DRACULA was reeling from paralysis in one round. Steelix hit itself twice in confusion and flinched three times from Bite. It wasn't enough. Jasmine fed Steelix a Hyper Potion and the snake lashed DRACULA for the last time with a critical Iron Tail.


DEATH COUNT: 7


Crobat still has two opportunities left for leveling up: the Team Rocket hideout in Mahogany Town, and Pryce's Gym. Perhaps it might be safer to equip a Przcureberry and use Fly to stall out PP for Iron Tail. If DRACULA can get past both Magnemites while only taking 1 Thunder Wave, that is.

 

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Pokemon Crystal Solo Crobat Part 4: What a Wonderful Night to Have a Curse


DRACULA Returned to Mahogany Town tonight to show Team Rocket who the true Prince of Darkness was. Not that it was hard when most of the Grunts had Pokemon in the high teens. Crystal's weak enemy trainers can actually make the game more difficult if you have trouble with a Gym Leader or the Elite 4.


Gym Leader Pryce was a legitimate opponent for the first time in. . .probably the history of these solo challenges. One Return at Level 45 was enough to club Seel. Dewgong barely survived Fly and aimed an Aurora Beam at Crobat. Piloswine withstood Fly with a greater HP margin and cast Blizzard, chilling DRACULA to 81/155. And to think Stephenie Meyer said vampires were "cold ones"! Bite finished off Dewgong, and a critical Bite made the Hyper Potion pointless for Piloswine, leaving it open to a second Bite.


DRACULA battled a trainer or two in Mt. Mortar to grow to Level 46, then equipped the Przcureberry and stared down Jasmine. This attempt started out well: Magnemite #1 missed its Thunder Wave, and Magnemite #2 missed its Supersonic. Steelix was mostly lucid throughout its Confuse Ray and only attacked itself once. None of its Iron Tails missed Crobat at all: one was critical, and one dropped his Defense. Trying to stall out its PP with Fly was futile, and Bite's flinches were the superior option. It seemed DRACULA would sleep for the next century after the final Iron Tail.


DEATH COUNT: 7


DRACULA must have shouted "Have at you!" to Jasmine on the next take. A critical Return demagnetized Magnemite #1, and Przcureberry nullified Magnemite #2's Thunder Wave. Steelix attacked itself immediately after Confuse Ray, whiffed two Iron Tails in a row, and flinched after Iron Tail #2 missed. Steelix drank a Hyper Potion and lashed with a critical Iron Tail that didn't even reduce Crobat's HP below 50%. About 4 Bites and 2 self-inflicted wounds later, and Steelix knocked itself out! CARMILA congratulated DRACULA on his power of vampiric mesmerism at Level 46 with 103/159 HP.


It was surprising that Crobat only needed 3 tries to defeat Jasmine, considering his narrow range of attack types. At least Noctowl had Hypnosis. Pidgeot could try Mud Slap, while Togetic could get Fire Blast from the Game Corner. (Thinking of other potential Flying solos. . .)

 

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Pokemon Crystal Solo Crobat Part 5: Die, Monster! You Don't Belong in This World!


Team Rocket holding the Goldenrod Radio Tower hostage was good for DRACULA since he earned multiple levels by defeating the feeble Grunts and Executives. Not even the leader with his Houndoom stood a chance. But RICHTER Belmont in the Goldenrod Underground had become much better since the Burned Tower encounter. His Magnemite endured one Return and paralyzed DRACULA with Thunder Wave. Haunter chanted a Curse, and Meganium set up Reflect to stall for time as Curse drained DRACULA's HP.


DEATH COUNT: 8


On Take 2, Crobat Bit Magnemite to make it flinch before smashing it with Return. The rest of his team fell quickly at regular Speed except for Meganium, who built a Reflect wall before DRACULA swooped down with Fly. Meganium's Body Slam pressed DRACULA down to 156/169 HP at Level 49, but a final Bite secured the win.


DRACULA Flew around Johto collecting Rare Candies and proving that the Wise Trio and Suicune were not as legendary as they presented themselves.


Clair, like Jasmine, is either very easy or quite difficult depending on which solo Pokemon you're using. For Crobat the 8th badge barely qualified as a test. All three Dragonairs collapsed after DRACULA rushed at them with a Pink Bow powered Return. Kingdra had the Defense and HP to take a Return and Surf the waves. Kingdra later drank a Hyper Potion, though a Bite + Return combo sank the seahorse at 156/194 HP at Level 56.


None of the trainers outside the so-called Victory Road were a problem, but RICHTER came back and had improved his team. RICHTER used the same "Curse and take hits with Meganium's Reflect" tactic that had won the previous battle in Goldenrod after Magneton slowed down Crobat with Thunder Wave.


DEATH COUNT: 9


Naming the Rival after a Castlevania hero was appropriate, since this was the hardest time a solo has had with him in the battles after Azalea Town. Hoiwever, the outcomes of Pokemon fights can be wildly variable. DRACULA equipped the only Przcureberry remaining during Take 2. Without the 10% Normal power of the Pink Bow, Crobat needed to use Bite + Return + Bite to shut down Magneton. Good thing the first Thunder Wave missed! Meganium failed to use Reflect for some reason and was plucked with a single Fly. DRACULA had conquered RICHTER's final mandatory battle perfectly at Level 60.

 

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Pokemon Crystal Solo Crobat Part 6: Only a Vampire is Allowed to Wear a Cape


Will thought his Psychic team would be as effective against DRACULA as garlic. He was wrong. Return struck down both Xatus and Jynx. Slowbro had high enough Defense that CARMILA knew one Return wouldn't knock it out, so she ordered DRACULA to Bite it instead. Slowbro didn't flinch, but wasted its one turn on Curse to increase its Attack and Defense. Or maybe Slowbro thought it was a Haunter. Two Bites chewed up Slowbro, and Fly uprooted Exeggutor for a perfect victory at Level 61.


Koga's Ariados and Venomoth were fragile enough that a neutral Return was good enough. Forretress was smart for an AI Pokemon and blocked Fly with Protect. Forretress only hit itself once when targeted with Confuse Ray, and tried shooting Swift stars. DRACULA's problems were "solved" when Forretress Exploded. Forretress's shrapnel cut DRACULA to exactly half HP at Level 61. Muk tried Minimizing to increase its evasion, while the enemy Crobat tried Double Team. Neither dodging nor a Full Restore could save them from Bite + Return, or repeated Returns in Crobat's case.


Bruno's Hitmontop guarded against Fly in a similar way to Koga's Forretress, but was more susceptible to Confuse Ray. Hitmontop spun multiple Quick Attacks. Onix needed two Bites to kill and dropped a Rock Slide on DRACULA. Hitmonchan, Machamp, and Hitmonlee were earthbound and vulnerable to Fly, resulting in a 152/216 HP win at Level 62.


Karen's Umbreon was as cruel as usual. DRACULA didn't know he had echolocation, as he kept whiffing Returns after Sand Attack blinded him. Crobat's Confuse Ray was almost useless, but not Umbreon's. DRACULA must have been a contortionist if a bat could injure himself 3 times! By the time DRACULA snapped out of his fugue, Umbreon's Faint Attacks had cut him down to 42/216 HP. Karen had studied RICHTER's battles and taught Curse to her Gengar.


DEATH COUNT: 8


Like in many other battles, the second time was the charm. Umbreon was stupid and used Faint Attack. This allowed Crobat to Return it to its Poke Ball. Gengar couldn't Curse DRACULA in midair, and one Fly was sufficient to exorcise it. Murkrow and Houndoom had pitiful Defense and fell to Return. Fly withered Vileplume, and DRACULA won with 203/219 HP at Level 63.


DRACULA and CARMILA thought Lance and Koga were impertinent for daring to wear a cape. Only a vampire lord was allowed to do that! DRACULA knew Lance's Flying types were sturdy enough to survive Returns. Confuse Ray had outlasted its relevance, and there was a convenient Rest TM from Icy Path. The player forgot to swap out the Pink Bow for a Mint Berry, though. . .


Gyarados Rain Danced during the first round as Crobat Bit it. Return smacked Gyarados, though the rain remained for Dragonite #1, who could now cast perfect accuracy Thunders. Dragonite #1 paralyzed DRACULA with Thunder Wave and caused him to lose a turn. Crobat had decent Special Defense for a common Flying type and survived two Thunders to slay Dragonite #1 with Bite + Return. Dragonite #2 whiffed 4 consecutive Blizzards and let DRACULA Rest even though he had lost another turn to paralysis. The final Blizzard connected just before Return killed Dragonite #2.


Aerodactyl was a Rock type and therefore resisted everything but Bite. A critical first Bite was relevant here. DRACULA didn't take much damage from the illegal Rock Slide, and retaliated with another Return. Charizard was another Rest opportunity, though having to take 4 Flamethrowers in a row hurt. Bite + Return destroyed the overhyped Fire type starter.


Dragonite #3 should have been the scariest at Level 50, but it relied on neutral Outrages instead of super effective Thunders or Blizzards. DRACULA Rested once more and endured 3 Outrages. Bite forced Dragonite #3 to flinch, but the next Return didn't finish it off. Outrage like Petal Dance and Thrash had a Confusion side effect, and Dragonite #3 knocked itself out! Crobat became the new Champion with 89/223 HP at Level 64 without having to eat any Rare Candies.


DRACULA still has a grudge against RICHTER, and that will be settled in Mt. Moon. . .

 

[adman2]

Pokemon Crystal Solo Crobat FINALE: In Which Both Combatants Relax During the Final Battle


DRACULA's invasion of Kanto was easier than his conquest of Johto. Sabrina the Psychic Gym Leader was allegedly super effective against his Poison type, but her team collapsed under the pressure of overleveled Pink Bow + Returns. Janine, Lt. Surge (!), Misty, and even RICHTER's Mt. Moon rematch were also flawless victories. Yes, RICHTER's Magneton went down to one Return at half power.


Erika, the second Gym Leader in this competition, had the honor of using Bind once when DRACULA failed to knock out Tangela with a single Return. Brock would have been bad news for a Flying type, but Crobat thought Giga Drain was a vampire-approved replacement for Bite. Blaine's Magcargo was Fire/Rock and neutral at best to all of Crobat's moves, so it shot one Flamethrower before being Giga Drained for the second time. His other Fire types perished after two Returns. Cal in the Viridian City trainer house with the Johto starters was vulnerable to Fly and Return, though Feraligatr withstood the first Return and Slashed DRACULA once.


Blue at Level 80 was simple at first. Pidgeot and Alakazam fainted after two Returns, and Rhydon had an allergy to Giga Drain. Gyarados took a Return, Rain Danced, drank a Full Restore, and died to Giga Drain + Return. It was still raining when Arcanine appeared, which forced it to try Extremespeed. Three Returns total were needed since Blue fed it a Full Restore. Fly uprooted Exeggutor, and DRACULA won his last badge with 262/285 HP.


CARMILA wanted to find out if DRACULA could defeat Red the ultimate trainer without using Rare Candies. So she bonked Crobat on the head to replace Giga Drain with a Curse TM from the Celadon Mansion. DRACULA had plenty of Speed to spare, and the added Attack + Defense boost would be useful.


Pikachu fell down after one Return. Crobat wasn't taking any chances with Thunder super effective damage or Charm's Attack reduction. DRACULA instead set up one Curse versus Espeon, who responded with Reflect. To stall out Reflect, DRACULA Flew twice and had to endure one Psychic.


Snorlax couldn't do much damage with +1 Defense, even with Body Slam. But it rolled the paralysis chance twice. To recover from that, Crobat had to Rest twice, and so did Snorlax. It was strange to see both Pokemon sleeping at the same time! Snorlax's Snore was barely more powerful than Leftovers recovery. DRACULA was awake during Snorlax's second Rest and put it down with two Returns.


Crobat Flew as Blastoise Rain Danced. The tortoise shot a super effective Blizzard when DRACULA landed, only to die to a Return. Rain Dance was still in effect as Charizard singed Crobat with Flamethrower. Why did the best Kanto opponents use both Rain Dance and a Fire type Pokemon? Fly + Return slew Charizard, and a final Fly landed on Venusaur as the Grass type tried Sunny Day. DRACULA won the game with 231/281 HP at Level 81 with a game time of 9:42.


Final Stats and Moves


HP: 289
Attack: 212
Defense: 203
Special Attack: 182
Special Defense: 198
Speed: 283


Curse
Return
Fly
Rest


Crobat mostly plays like a Normal/Flying type, except without the same type attack bonus for Return. It has similar advantages and disadvantages for the most part to Pokemon like Noctowl, Fearow, Pidgeot, etc. This is even more apparent in Crystal when you realize Crobat can't learn Shadow Ball or Sludge Bomb.


The part from Dark Cave to Sprout Tower and the Violet City Gym is the most distinctive. Leech Life is so bad you'll start to envy Tackle. Struggle will have to suffice until Level 12. Bite does make Crobat stand out from other Flying types, since it's neutral to Rock and offers a flinch chance. For a 60 power attack, Bite remains useful through the Elite 4. Giga Drain is a late game gimmick with low PP, but makes for a safer Brock battle than other Flying types who have to use Steel Wing.


Some Flying types have a status condition to help them out when confronting Rock or Steel types. Noctowl is superior in this regard: Hypnosis has low accuracy, but is more reliable than Confuse Ray's coin flip chance of self-inflicted wounds. Confuse Ray is obsolete by the end of the Elite 4.


Crobat is more durable than you might expect, and can take super effective hits and Rest off the damage. Its attacking stats aren't as misplaced as Noctowl's.


This was a fun playthrough since there were some surprises. You never know what to expect until you actually try the Pokemon.

 

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Pokemon Violet Solo Jumpluff (?) Part 1


Isn't it ironic that the censor wouldn't let a girl name her character Violet in Pokemon X and Y? And here we are. One of the main installments is named after an obscene word according to GameFreak now. To spite the developers, I made a female character named REDACTED and gave her Violet colored "Space Buns" hair. She registered at the Uva Academy. Pretty clever of GameFreak here, since the region of Paldea seems to be based on Spain, and grapes can be red or purple.


The intro scene showed the old Director Clavell talking about the region, and a clip showed a black Tauros fighting a Grimer. When I gained control of REDACTED, I had her look at the TV, where it displayed a program called Ciudadventures that promised an episode about Mesagoza, home of Uva Academy. REDACTED walked so slowly at the beginning of the game that bad memories of Phantasy Star 3 were returning. Was she secretly part Orakian royalty? tongue REDACTED would eventually run, much to my relief. Even in real life I walk faster than REDACTED did in the first few minutes.



The three starters were Sprigatito the Grass cat, Fuecoco the Fire crocodile, and Quaxly the Water duck. Instead of picking one right away, the game made REDACTED saunter to Nemona's house and watch the three starters play. Sprigatito frolicked in the flowers, Quaxly bathed itself, and Fuecoco burned a fruit by breathing fire on it. Nemona was the "friendly rival" of Pokemon Violet. Although she was a Champion class trainer, Nemona wanted to be even with REDACTED while battling with her.


I chose Fuecoco as a formality because it had the funniest scene, and fought Nemona's Sprigatito on the beach by casting Ember several times. Clavell and Nemona talked to REDACTED and the Pokedex app was added to her Rotom Phone. Clavell was so ancient that he remembered when researchers made a Pokedex with "ordinary paper and handwritten notes". Who writes the digital Pokedex entries then, and why are they so inaccurate? Maybe Pokemon research has decayed since Clavell's youth?


Paldea really was based on Spain since Nemona had a maid in her house. If there's one constant in telenovelas, it's that there are always maids. Poco Path was the first "route" of the game. There was a mix of old and new Pokemon here: Lechonk the Normal pig, Tarountula the Bug spider, Hoppip, Fletchling, Pawmi the Electric mouse, and Scatterbug. It makes sense that some returning monsters would be from Kalos, since Paldea is also a "European" region. As for Hoppip, its inclusion is justified because it's spread by wind throughout the warmer regions of the world.


I settled on Hoppip because it's annoying and can fly. The perfect Pokemon to irritate my readers and possibly online players with! Hoppip is the same Grass/Flying type as always, as opposed to a regional variant. Paldea's Hoppips are more fortunate than the original Johto Hoppips because they actually start with an attacking move. It's sad when you're glad that your solo monster has Tackle.


The stats at Lv 4 as seen in one of my Switch screenshots:


HP: 17
Attack: 8
Defense: 9
Special Attack: 8
Special Defense: 10
Speed: 9


Ability: Leaf Guard


The first battle was a loss to a Lv 3 Lechonk, after a few rounds of Tail Whip + Tackle. It wouldn't be a good solo challenge without a few defeats. Hoppip persevered and replaced Splash with Fairy Wind at Lv 8. Pokemon Violet doesn't seem to use the harsh diminishing returns for experience as seen in Pokemon Moon, so a solo seems viable.


Pokemon Violet claims to be an open world game, so some features are different from previous installments. All Pokemon are apparently found on the map, and the grass is more like decoration than the source for random encounters. You can throw out a Pokemon with the R button for auto-battles, which can quickly dispatch weaker enemies for experience similar to Earthbound's auto-win. You still have to fight Pokemon the usual way when you're trying to catch them.


REDACTED fell off a cliff close to the local lighthouse and found an injured legendary Pokemon being menaced by Houndour. She had to give it a healing item, and neither a Potion nor a Revive worked. What she really needed to give it was the Sandwich from the Key Items. The legendary Pokemon returned the favor by smashing through rocks and scaring away Houndour in Inlet Grotto. The wild Pokemon here were Yungoos and Diglett. Players have been wondering since Pokemon Moon where Yungoos's native region was, since it was stated to be an invasive species in Alola. Maybe Paldea is the answer?


A Lv 40 Houndoom instantly defeated Hoppip with Crunch, though this was functionally a cutscene rather than a real battle. The legendary Pokemon picked up REDACTED and jumped out of Inlet Grotto to meet Nemona. Nemona thought the Pokemon was similar to Cyclizar, a monster I'd never met. She gave REDACTED a TM for Swift, and warned her that TMs could only be used once. So the infinite TM experiment started in Pokemon White is dead at last. Perhaps the developers thought it would make the story mode too easy?


Arven was set up to be the "jerk rival", which hasn't been seen in a Pokemon game for a long time. He was the son of Professor Turo, but didn't appreciate Nemona bringing up that fact. Arven was on the "humanities track" which makes me wonder how you would study Pokemon History or Pokemon Philosophy. Arven knew the legendary Pokemon was called Miraidon, and the version that REDACTED saw in Inlet Grotto was its battle form.


Before Hoppip battled his Skwovet, Arven said "These memories are leaving a bad taste in my mouth-and I want it gone!" Lv 8 Hoppip defeated the squirrel from Galar with about three Fairy Wind. Skwovet attacked with Bite, but was too weak to be a threat. Arven regretted fighting REDACTED with a Pokemon he had just caught, though he was at least generous enough to give her Miraidon's Poke Ball.


At the top of the lighthouse, Nemona pointed out the city of Mesagoza, and recommended that they stop at the town of Los Platos. Youngster Elian was the only enemy trainer on the next route, and fought against Hoppip with a Lv 5 Tarountula. Tarountula used String Shot and Struggle Bug, but Hoppip's level advantage and Tackle crushed Youngster Elian.


The next wild Pokemon here were Psyduck, Ralts, Igglybuff, and Fidough the Fairy dog. REDACTED couldn't swim when I tried to make her enter a pond to see what Pokemon she could catch. "You managed to scramble back out of the water!" At Lv 10, Hoppip had a major upgrade when I could choose between the three "powders". Sleep Powder was the obvious decision.


The Pokemon Center in Los Platos was a kiosk in the open air rather than a building. A new feature in Pokemon Violet is TM crafting, which can be done with LP and materials gained from wild Pokemon. More TMs will become available over the course of the game, but here are the ones listed so far:


Charm
Mud-Slap
Protect
Fire Fang
Ice Fang
Thunder Fang
Low Kick
Struggle Bug
Psybeam
Disarming Voice
Metal Claw
Swift
Air Cutter
Rest
Helping Hand



Hoppip Lv 10

Ability: Leaf Guard (prevents status ailments when Sun weather is active)
Nature: Relaxed (+Defense, -Speed)
Characteristic: It likes to relax!


HP: 30
Attack: 14
Defense: 16
Special Attack: 14
Special Defense: 18
Speed: 15

 

[adman2]

Pokemon Violet Solo Jumpluff (?) Part 2


The region near Mesagoza felt much more like an open world than the previous areas. The Wild Area in Sword and Shield was probably a rough draft for Violet. REDACTED wasn't as nearsighted as her Galar predecessors, so the Pokemon could appear from farther away. Many of them were small enough that I accidentally bumped into a few that I'd already caught for Pokedex purposes. Each kill still gave some experience.


Trainers had Pokemon that were lower level (5-7) than some of the wild monsters. Pere the Student was the most pathetic of the lot with his pre-fight quote: "I got two whole Pokemon! Am I cool or what?" They were a Lv 4 Azurill and a Lv 5 Houndour. Hoppip was already Lv 11 at that time.


Wild Pokemon making their first appearance: Sunkern, Bonsly, Azurill, Paldea Wooper, Skwovet, Shroodle. Wooper in Violet replaces its Water/Ground type with Poison/Ground. Shroodle is a new Poison/Normal type which almost killed Hoppip. A wild Lv 5 Shroodle cast a super effective Acid Spray and dodged Sleep Powder, so REDACTED had to run away and heal Hoppip with a Potion before returning to catch it. Violet retains the Sword and Shield convenience of sending Pokemon to boxes without having to visit a Pokemon Center.


Winning all those trainer battles in Area One of South Province gave REDACTED a Thunder Wave TM as a prize. Nemona was the only serious trainer threat to Lv 12 Hoppip. She sent out her Lv 8 Sprigatito that took less than 1/4 HP bar damage from Fairy Wind. Tackle scored a lucky critical hit, while Sprigatito retaliated with Scratch and Bite. When Sprigatito finally died, Hoppip was at only 15/36 HP. Lv 9 Pawmi was next, and Nemona Terastallized it. This caused Pawmi to have a shining crystalline appearance and grow a light bulb on top of its head. Hoppip's Sleep Powder and Bullet Seed machine gun destroyed Pawmi before it could try anything, however.


Terastallizing is Paldea's battle gimmick. Kalos had Mega Evolution, Alola had Z Moves, and Galar had Dynamaxing. Terastallizing seems milder than earlier gimmicks on the first impression. It changes your Pokemon's type to whatever the Tera Type is, and gives moves of that type a same type attack bonus. Hoppip's Tera Type is currently Flying, so it could be used to blunt some Grass weaknesses.


In Mesagoza, Hoppip bought a Miracle Seed at Delibird Presents to enhance its Bullet Seed. Two Team Star Grunts were trying to convince a girl wearing an Eevee backpack to join them and meet their quota. The fact that they were wearing silly bicycle helmets probably did not help their recruitment drive. The first Team Star Grunt attacked Hoppip with a Lv 8 Shroodle. Knowing the danger, I tried Sleep Powder right away, but Shroodle woke up soon. It only used Scratch for some reason instead of Acid Spray, so Grunt #1 was an easy foe. Nemona gave REDACTED a Tera Orb so she could try out the transformation against Grunt #2's Lv 9 Yungoos. Bullet Seed perforated the enemy.


In Mesagoza, a woman read my Pokemon Sword or Shield save file as a past life memory. Nemona informed REDACTED that Pokemon battles couldn't occur in the entrance of Uva Academy. Clavell told her the Eevee backpack girl was probably Penny. Mr. Jacq the homeroom teacher asked REDACTED what her favorite thing about Pokemon was: "I like battling with Pokemon". Nemona asked her what her goal was: "I want to be a strong Trainer". In the Cafeteria, Arven revealed he wasn't a bad guy after all. His desire was to create health food for picnics, which could only be made with Herba Mystica. The catch was that Herba Mystica was protected by Titan Pokemon that had resemblances to familiar monsters like Donphan.


The five Titan lairs were added to the map: False Dragon (Dragon), Quaking Earth (Ground), Open Sky (Flying), Lurking Steel (Steel), and Stony Cliff (Rock). All were far away from Uva Academy's position in the south central region. A woman called Cassiopeia hacked REDACTED's Rotom Phone to tell her about the plan to permanently disband Team Star. I'm guessing she's the real villain of the game, and Team Star will just be misunderstood.


"Classes" at Uva Academy were like the trainer school tutorials in older games. Some information is relevant to long time players, such as the role of cheering in Tera Raids and the fact that eggs come from picnics. Besides the "humanities track", there was also a "STEM track". That acronym irritates me. STEM sounds like a marketing term that appeared out of nowhere. Uva Academy was founded 805 years ago, and I have no idea how this specific date will be relevant to the plot.


The most potentially interesting character in Violet so far is unseen: Ryme the MC of RIP. This rapper resurrected her Puppy Pokemon as a Ghost type, and most of her songs are about death. One student had a horrible idea: sending Pachirisu to fetch books from a tall shelf! A squirrel Pokemon would be more likely to chew on the books than retrieve them intact.


Nemona was talking with a woman called La Primera, who has a 99% chance of being Cassiopeia. Nemona told REDACTED to gain the eight Gym Badges, since they were part of the school's Treasure Hunt. Their locations were listed with symbols scattered throughout the map like the Titan Pokemon. Now I'm wondering if there's level scaling after you beat each one. (Don't answer that question! This is a blind playthrough.) Glaseado will probably be saved for last since its symbol looks like Ice, certain death for a Grass/Flying type.


Professor Turo talked to REDACTED via the TV. He specialized in research in Area Zero of the Great Crater. He knew about Miraidon since the Poke Ball was his. Miraidon is too weak to fight now, but can assist with transportation. A montage of days passing played when REDACTED rested in her dorm because there was probably no way to make sitting in class for days interesting enough for a video game. It's funnier to take the scene literally and assume that the Poke-Earth is rotating rapidly like in a Superman movie. The Great Crater was forbidden territory, so of course REDACTED is going to travel there. Her name may even be rubbed out in Paldean declassified documents with a black sharpie by the time her adventure is over.

 

[adman2]

Pokemon Violet Solo Jumpluff (?) Part 3


Cassiopeia called REDACTED to tell her about the five squads of Team Star. Their bases represented five types: Fairy, Fire, Fighting, Poison, and Dark. It seems all antagonist teams require Poison and Dark in their lineup. Arven and Nemona tried to convince REDACTED to leave through the east and west gate respectively. What she did instead was to take a few classes on History and Home Economics.


History was about how the Great Crater was 2 million years old, and how a Paldean emperor tried to search for its treasure 2000 years ago. Raifort the professor was dismissive of spiritual and occult phenomena, despite living in a Pokemon game where Ghosts, Psychics, and Fairies were commonplace. "People back then were far more likely to believe in mysterious legends, magic. . ." None of the emperor's explorers succeeded. Saguaro's Home Economics course was about Meal Powers.


Since the eastern gate sounded more difficult, REDACTED traveled there first and explored South Province Area Three and a bit of Area Five. It was an arid cliff landscape, and Miraidon's jumping ability was essential. REDACTED faced the most dreaded obstacle in any open world game: invisible walls! There was only one in this session, but it prevented her from making what should have been an easy jump to an item. Nintendo sometimes hires Monolith Soft to assist with their Switch games, but in this case I think they gave Bethesda a contract.


Wild Pokemon: Happiny, Spoink, Rookidee, Makuhita, Nacli, Skiddo, Charcadet, Klawf


Nacli was a Rock type Pokemon with the ability Purifying Salt, which granted immunity to status ailment and reduced Ghost damage by half. This Pokemon's evolution may find a place in competitive battles with a passive that good. You'd think Purifying Salt would protect against Fairy moves instead, since fairies are repelled by salt in some stories. Charcadet was a Fire type, and one Lv 13 specimen killed Hoppip with its Fire Spin. Klawf held a funeral Hoppip in a Rock Tomb. This was a Rock type crab with the ability Anger Shell, which functioned as half a Shell Smash when under half HP.


REDACTED participated in two Tera Raid battles against Nymble the Bug type and a Petilil. Nymble's Tera Type worked against it since it was now weak to Bullet Seed. Against Petilil, the best tactic was to cheer "go all out" three times to increase the AI partners' attack power. Tera Raid battles yielded experience candies which could be used as in Sword and Shield. Besides Tera Raids, Hoppip caught a special Lv 14 Jigglypuff by spreading Sleep Powder, then shooting Bullet Seed until its HP dropped below a threshold.


One item was an "ominous black stake driven into the ground". Nothing happened when REDACTED pulled it out, but I suspect it has something to do with catching Spiritomb.


Severino the Office Worker had the honor of slaughtering Hoppip twice. His Lv 17 Jigglypuff could be beaten with Bullet Seed. His Lv 17 Skiddo was sturdy enough to take many hits of Tackle or Fairy Wind, and its Grass type prevented Sleep Powder. If I were using a solo Butterfree, there would be no problem as Bug/Flying is the bane of Grass types. Severino also equipped Skiddo with Leftovers, as if he had been reading Smogon strategy articles. Catching a Klawf raised Hoppip to Lv 18, evolving her into Skiploom. Skiploom's Attack and Special Attack were still too feeble to overpower a Skiddo.


Skiploom Stats Lv 18

Ability: Leaf Guard
Item: Miracle Seed

HP: 53
Attack: 25
Defense: 30
Special Attack: 25
Special Defense: 33
Speed: 35

Bullet Seed
Tackle
Sleep Powder
Fairy Wind

 

[adman2]

Pokemon Violet Solo Jumpluff (?) Part 4


Skiploom was unlikely to even reach the Rock Titan, let alone battle it. Besides Severino the Office Worker stonewalling it with a Skiddo, the wild monsters were up to Lv 21. Even a solo level advantage wasn't enough. Instead, REDACTED took Nemona's advice and returned to Mesagoza's west gate to pursue the Gym challenge.


It should be noted here that route trainers are much less aggressive in Violet than in earlier games. So far they've only battled REDACTED when she talked to them, instead of following the "attack on sight" tradition. They can still be an indicator that an area is too tough for your chosen solo.


Backpacker Alex sent out Growlithe and Sableye, both Lv 12. REDACTED Terastallized her Skiploom to change it into a pure Flying type that would take neutral damage from any Fire moves. Sableye couldn't boast of having "no weaknesses" since Pokemon X introduced a new type. Skiploom took advantage of that by blowing Fairy Winds in its direction.


REDACTED found a Grassy Terrain TM, which was useless for Skiploom because it was Flying rather than grounded. Maschiff was a new pure Dark type dog to compete with the likes of Poochyena. I was expecting it to be a Fairy/Dark evolution of Fidough when I first saw it.


The town of Cortondo was home to the first Gym, which specialized in Bug despite its gimmick revolving around an olive festival. In a game with a Grass/Normal monster called Smoliv. GameFreak's translators missed an opportunity to make a pun based on the Spanish words "aceite" (oil) or "cosecha" (harvest), and must have settled for a name based on "cortar" (to cut). REDACTED picked up a Big Root in town and checked out the Gym tower.


Instead of having the Gym Test inside the building, REDACTED was supposed to visit an obstacle course north of Cortondo in South Province Area Two where she had to push a giant olive to the goal. Two trainers protected shortcuts. Gym Trainer Esmerelda sicced Dantski's favorite Pokemon Kricketune on Skiploom, which wasn't much trouble at all.


Far more annoying was Gym Trainer Antonio's Lv 13 Venonat, which confused Skiploom with Supersonic and Disabled her Tackle for much of the fight. Skiploom was reduced to turning its red eyes black with Sleep Powder, then casting half damage Fairy Winds until Tackle was restored. After Venonat fainted, Skiploom was given a move that was both essential to acquiring the first badge and a potential hindrance later in the game: Leech Seed. Without any better ideas, Skiploom was forced to abandon Bullet Seed.


Gym Leader Katy (from "katydid"?) led with a Lv 14 Nymble. Skiploom Terastallized itself immediately to resist any Bug attacks, and this lasted for the whole fight. Nymble used a decent tactic to make up for its disadvantage by unleashing Struggle Bug repeatedly. Struggle Bug cut Skiploom's Special Attack so much that Fairy Wind was no longer an option. Skiploom Tackled Nymble until a Lv 14 Tarountula came out to avenge it. Tarountula attacked with the Dark move Assurance, and Skiploom responded with Tackles.


Gym Leader Katy's last Pokemon was NOT the Vivillon from the previous cutscene, but a. . .Lv 15 Teddiursa? This seemed almost as random a decision as the lineups of Pokemon Pearl's Gym Leaders and Elite Four, but Katy clarified her intention when she Terastallized Teddiursa into a Bug type. Teddiursa started with a three hit Fury Swipes, and REDACTED was worried that her plant would die of a thousand cuts. The solution was to make Teddiursa inhale Sleep Powder, cover its body with parasitic Leech Seeds, and then Tackle while its HP slowly drained away. Teddiursa awoke just in time and scratched Skiploom with a feeble Fury Cutter. Teddiursa perished and REDACTED was rewarded with a photo "CORTONDO GYM DEFEATED! VICTORY ROAD". Katy's TM was Pounce, a 50 power physical Bug attack that reduced Speed. Skiploom couldn't learn it.


The Pokemon Center recommended pursuing the Rock Titan now, but this was probably a bad idea when Skiploom lacked a Grass attack and would be subject to super effective stones. REDACTED explored some of West Province Area One instead. One new Pokemon was Tadbulb, a pure Electric flying tadpole. It was implied to have an Electric/Water evolution.


After running low on supplies, REDACTED returned to Cortondo and talked to the Pokemon Center reward guy to receive an Aerial Ace TM. Skiploom could actually learn an attack with both same type attack bonus and Terastallizing potential. Terastallizing can't be abused as much as Mega Evolution or Z Moves since you have to return to a Pokemon Center to recharge it. I'll save it for tougher battles. REDACTED finished this session by buying a Sharp Beak to enhance Aerial Ace's power. Move relearning isn't done as casually in Violet as in Sword and Shield as I learned the hard way, so I'm concerned about finding a Grass attack now.


Wild Pokemon Seen: Shinx, Litleo, Stantler, Mareep, Combee, Vespiquen, Pikachu, Maschiff, Smoliv, Kricketot, Gastly, Rockruff, Tadbulb

Tera Raids and random Terastallized monsters: Murkrow, Kanto Meowth, Shroomish, Bounsweet



Skiploom Lv 21 @ Sharp Beak

HP: 61
Attack: 29
Defense: 35
Special Attack: 29
Special Defense: 38
Speed: 40


Leech Seed
Aerial Ace
Sleep Powder
Fairy Wind

 

[adman2]

Pokemon Violet Solo Jumpluff (?) Part 5


REDACTED climbed an old tower and fought a Lv 10 Gimmighoul, a kind of treasure chest Mimic. Unfortunately, I didn't catch it. Capsakid the new Grass type probably evolves into a chili pepper based on the pun. A Sunny Day TM found lying on the ground may be useful if Jumpluff ever needs to use Solarbeam. Flittle was a tiny pure Psychic type. Some wild monsters such as Dunsparce were best avoided because of their super effective Rollout combo. Most in these West Province areas were around Lv 19.


One path to the southwestern region of Paldea was blocked by a river with a waterfall. Hiker Carla even complained of this dead end before challenging Skiploom with a Lv 20 Numel that prompted REDACTED to Terastallize her monster. If anyone is considering a Dragon type solo, look out for the Dragon Claw TM close to Hiker Carla's waterfall.


After REDACTED found the next Pokemon Center kiosk, she flew back to Severino the Office Worker and obliterated both his Jigglypuff and Skiddo with Terastallized Aerial Aces just to humiliate him. Back in West Province, Lv 23 Skiploom defeated Cabbie Oriol's Corvisquire. This raised Skiploom to Lv 24 and taught her Mega Drain. What a relief to have a Grass attack again, even if a mediocre one! Cabbie Oriol's Lv 20 Squawkabilly nearly defeated the Terastallized Skiploom due to its Intimidate ability that weakened Aerial Ace. REDACTED had to rely on Sleep Powder tactics to survive.


Maren the Student had the most advanced tactics of any trainer so far. Her Pikachu paralyzed Skiploom with what must have been Thunder Wave. Skiploom made a point of NOT Terastallizing until she Mega Drained Pikachu to death, as Grass/Flying was neutral to Electric. Her Misdreavus followed up the paralysis with Confuse Ray, Growl debuffs to Attack, and Astonish flinch attempts. Skiploom left the battle victorious with enhanced Aerial Aces.


The sign at one cave entrance said "To Alfornada (You won't make it on foot!)" A better deterrent to would-be travelers was the random wild Lv 38 Meditite at the beginning. Lv 25 Skiploom shrieked in terror and fled the southwestern region of Paldea. The best place to go next seemed like the mountain that was home to the Open Sky Titan who was sending bouncing boulder bowling balls at passerby. Miraidon leaped on top of a Pokemon Center just because REDACTED could. There was no reward.


Another monster that Skiploom had to run away from was a Lv 50 Terastallized wild Jolteon. Alejandra the Dragon Tamer bragged about her Pokemon's type, but her Lv 16 Dreepy fainted with a Fairy Wind breeze. Since REDACTED had already beaten 13 trainers in West Province Area One, she received a Clear Amulet. This was an held item equivalent of the Clear Body ability that prevented stat debuffs. Useful for any physical Pokemon that's annoyed by Intimidate! That alone will probably give it a use in double battles, if those exist in Pokemon Violet.


REDACTED avoided the boulders and their cheap graphics and reached the boss, Bombirdier the Open Sky Titan. This stork did not carry a human baby as in Yoshi's Island, though it held what looked like a diaper in its mouth. Because it was clearly a Flying type, Skiploom Terastallized to make its main attacks neutral. Bombirdier avoided multiple Sleep Powders since Skiploom lacked Compoundeyes for reliable status ailments. And the Sleep Powder that did work had a short duration. Although Pluck was normal power now, Bombirdier still had a double damage Rock Throw. Aerial Ace + Terastallize tore away around 1/3 of Bombirdier's HP bar per use, though one last Pluck sent REDACTED back to the Pokemon Center.


On Take 2, Bombirdier used both Wing Attack and Pluck. Skiploom didn't bother with Sleep Powder and Aerial Ace slashed the stork until its HP dropped below the threshold. What I didn't realize was that Bombirdier had a second phase with a special Meal Power, and Skiploom only had 6/72 HP left. The true heroes were Arven and his Lv 19 Nacli. Skiploom's Sleep Powder succeeded, and Nacli took revenge for Bombirdier's boulders with its own Rock Throw. Bombirdier spent one turn Tormenting Skiploom so she couldn't use Aerial Ace consecutively. When it was at red HP, Bombirdier Plucked Skiploom to death. But it was not technically a defeat because Nacli's Rock Throw took out the last of Bombirdier's HP that round! Tera Battles have a similar quirk where a defeated Terastallized opponent can use a move on the round after its HP reaches 0.


Arven retrieved the Bitter Herba Mystica and made it into a sandwich. He was irritated that Miraidon ate it instead of REDACTED, but this food was meant for Pokemon and so Miraidon gained the ability to cross water. Professor Turo called REDACTED to tell her about the new ability. Meanwhile in the darkness, Arven said "OK. The coast is clear" and sent out an unknown Pokemon. Maybe it's the Pokemon Scarlet legendary?


Skiploom Lv 25 @ Sharp Beak


HP: 72
Attack: 34
Defense: 40
Special Attack: 34
Special Defense: 45
Speed: 47


Mega Drain
Aerial Ace
Sleep Powder
Fairy Wind


Wild Pokemon Seen: Gimmighoul, Phanpy, Misdreavus, Capsakid, Flittle, Chewtle, Toxel, Dunsparce, Deerling, Numel, Marill, Riolu, Meditite, Swablu, Toxel


Tera Raids or random Terastallized monsters: Buizel, Jolteon, Toxel

 

[adman2]

Pokemon Violet Solo Jumpluff Part 6


Riding Miraidon on water replaced both Surf and fishing. At first, REDACTED explored mostly South Province Areas Two and Four. Youngster Julen paralyzed Skiploom with Spark from a Lv 23 Tadbulb and Charged to increase Special Defense. It took many Mega Drains, plus an Aerial Ace once Tadbulb's Special Defense was too high. All his Eevee could do, however, was to use Baby-Doll Eyes to try to weaken a Terastallized Aerial Ace.


Miraidon began to chart the West Paldean Sea. Pokemon weren't usually picky about the distinction between fresh and salt water, but there were some monsters that couldn't be seen in rivers or ponds. It took 9 generations of games for GameFreak to create a dolphin: Finizen the pure Water type. I may have to use one in a future solo! It was clear that Skiploom should not stray too far from the mainland, as wild monsters like Kilowattrel or Bombirdier were in the Lv 39-42 range. Closer to shore, they were about Lv 15.


After catching a Basculin in a river, Skiploom grew to Lv 27 and finally evolved into Jumpluff. The (?) in the post titles came from my suspicion that Hoppip would have some regional variant evolution. Jumpluff is the same Grass/Flying type as always, and its 2 foot 7 inch height and 6.6 pound weight are sure to cow any foe. Its Pokedex entry says "Beware its cotton spores. If you accidentally breathe them in, you'll be racked with coughs and itchiness". Instead of battling the other Pokemon, Jumpluff should aim straight for the enemy trainer and give them allergies.


Jumpluff may have been fully evolved, but she was still vulnerable enough that a Whirlpool casting wild Lv 20 Gyarados was a viable threat when I was trying to catch one. Jumpluff climbed a watchtower and caught a Gimmighoul, which turned out to be pure Ghost rather than something like Ghost/Steel. She Terastallized to beat Adam the Courier's Lv 16 Cufant. The average Grass type struggles with Steel monsters in general since they tend to lack super effective or even neutral attacks. Pokemon such as Torterra or Breloom are the exceptions to the Grass rule.


Tinkatink at West Province Area One Watchtower was a Fairy/Steel creature rather than Ghost/Steel like I'd expected. Falinks was also here. I'm glad GameFreak decided to bring back some of their more unusual designs. Falinks, for those who ignored Sword and Shield, is a Fighting type that looks like a caterpillar from the front, but is really a formation of tiny soldiers.


Cassiopeia called REDACTED as she was approaching the Dark type Team Star base. When Clive showed up to say he was a "pal of our mutual friend", REDACTED shouted "We're not pals!" Cassiopeia's evasive answer about her connections was "Team Star and I. . .share some history". REDACTED wondered if Clive was really Clavell with a ridiculous wave haircut before I did. One Team Star Grunt at the entrance of the base attacked Jumpluff with a Lv 19 Murkrow. After that, Team Star prepared for the invasion.


Team Star bases don't function like the usual onslaught of single battles against weak Pokemon. Instead, the player has to pick three Pokemon, then send them to auto-battle Team Star's monsters within a generous time limit. Tarountula and Scatterbug were the token teammates that were sent to die, though Tarountula at least killed a Stunky before going down, and Scatterbug killed a Zorua. Once Tarountula and Scatterbug had fainted, REDACTED could send out Jumpluff as much as she wanted. Team Star also liked Sableye, Pawniard, and Sandile. Pawniard the Steel/Dark type gave Jumpluff no more trouble than the others.


Giacomo the Boss of Team Star's Dark Crew wasn't as tough as his Baten Kaitos namesake, but he was more than enough for Jumpluff. DJ Vice led with a Lv 21 Pawniard that took about three Aerial Aces to kill. Pawniard gashed Jumpluff with Metal Claw. Giacomo's ace Pokemon was a Lv 20 Revavroom, aka Segin Starmobile. A giant gaudy boombox truck justified the Intimidate passive. Intimidate combined with a Special Attack lowering Snarl attack rendered Jumpluff unable to kill Revavroom. To make the situation even worse, Revavroom was immune to Sleep Powder. Snarl sent Jumpluff to the Pokemon Center after Revavroom had fallen to around 40% HP.


It seemed best to continue with the dry cliffs of South Province Area Three. Catching a Wattrel in a Tera Raid battle revealed both it and its evolution Kilowattrel to have an Electric/Flying type, not that it was much of a surprise. The Rock Titan was a giant Klawf that was underleveled compared to Jumpluff. One Mega Drain sent it to red HP and activated Anger Shell. Titan Klawf wasted an opportunity by using the Normal type Vise Grip instead of a Rock move. In Phase 2, Mega Drain absorbed around 1/3 of Klawf's HP bar. Arven brought his Shellder, and stole the KO with a Water Gun! Is every Titan battle going to come down to Arven taking the glory?


Arven and REDACTED got the Sweet Herba Mystica, which gave Miraidon the ability to dash. Besides going a little faster, dashing is equivalent to Headbutting trees in Johto games. Arven said ". . .And Bob's your uncle!", proving he wasn't a true Poke Spaniard. (Then again, much of what makes Spain Spanish distinctive would not be allowed in a children's game. It mostly involves shouting "Communion Host!" as a swear, or pooping in milk.)


Arven wasn't concealing a legendary Pokemon at all. Instead, the motive for his quest was to heal a Mabosstiff that was injured too severely for Pokemon Center treatment. He thought that feeding Mabosstiff all the Herba Mystica would make it go back to normal.


I looked in the Pokedex to find out what type Bombirdier was, and it was Flying/Dark. Never would have guessed the Dark type from its appearance or moves. Paldea was home to random Alola Pokemon such as the Fire form of Oricorio. Another Pokemon that was clearly meant to help players take on the Grass type Gym in Artazon was the Normal/Flying Squawkabilly. Squawkabilly had no evolution since it was 113 in the regional Pokedex, and Misdreavus was 114. Perhaps it's for double battles because it has Intimidate?


Brassius the Gym Leader was also an artist. Some of his works were Sunflora sculptures, but the rest were abstract works that none of the residents could make any sense of. REDACTED ordered Alfajores not for the food benefits, but because I was reminded of an Argentine telenovela. Rebelde Way has a scene where Felicitas says "A falta de amor, alfajor", which translates roughly as "To the lack of love, an alfajor". She was eating one to ignore her romantic problems.


The Gym Test in Artazon was Sunflora Hide-and-Seek, which consisted of finding 10 Sunfloras throughout town. There weren't any underling trainers to fight, but Jumpluff did have to Aerial Ace a Lv 13 Sunflora to convince it to join REDACTED.


Brassius's team was as trivial an obstacle as you'd expect for a Lv 29 Grass/Flying solo. Lv 16 Petilil and Smoliv both went to pieces from Aerial Ace. Lv 17 Sudowoodo was going to become a real tree at last after over 20 years of waiting! "I will call it. . .'Truleewoodo". Or at least grow a few flowers on its head and Terastallize into a Grass type. Jumpluff anticipated this type change and slashed it down to 1 HP with Aerial Ace. Sudowoodo was allowed to make one move due to its Sturdy ability and picked Trailblaze, a 50 power physical Grass move that increased Speed. It's the Grass equivalent to Flame Charge. Brassius furiously shook his head and scratched his scalp upon being defeated. Jumpluff made use of her new Trailblaze TM since it was 10 base power stronger than Mega Drain.


Inside the Gym tower, Hassel informed REDACTED that he was both an Elite Four member and Uva Academy's art teacher. When asked about her motivations for collecting badges, REDACTED said "For fun, I guess. . .?". In language class, language teacher Salvatore asked what meaning the words "Gracias, merci, xièxie, arigato, danke" all had in common. I knew "gracias" at least! REDACTED answered with a "oui" instead of "yes" to another question. I'd think the students would have more to gain by concentrating on one foreign language instead of learning "thank you" in five, but then again I don't live in a world where shooting children at steel walls in cannons passes safety regulations. (I'll never let that point go, Skyla!)


In Hassel's art class, REDACTED said beauty was in "The eye of the beholder", instead of a more honest answer like "I don't know". "Professor Gible" was introduced as an "assistant lecturer". It Terastallized into a Grass type to teach players how to tell which Tera Type a Pokemon was. Grass type is represented with flowers, while Jumpluff's own Flying type uses balloons.


The next stop will be Cascarrafa Gym because it specializes in Water types, the perfect victim for Jumpluff.


Jumpluff Lv 29 @ Sharp Beak


HP: 94
Attack: 45
Defense: 59
Special Attack: 45
Special Defense: 69
Speed: 71


Trailblaze
Aerial Ace
Sleep Powder
Fairy Wind


-Sleep Powder is more of a last resort than a primary strategy, though it is useful for the Pokedex. I already appreciated Butterfree's Compoundeyes in Moon, but this playthrough is such a contrast that I notice the difference more now. Fairy Wind is only 40 power, and is used for either catching wild Pokemon or maybe finishing off a weakened opponent. Aerial Ace is the go-to move unless the enemy resists Flying.


Wild Pokemon Seen: Magikarp, Arrokuda, Salandit, Gible, Shellder, Qwilfish, Finizen, Bombirdier, Kilowattrel, Tynamo, Basculin, Houndoom, Staravia, Scyther, Hatenna, Goomy, Barboach, Gyarados, Tinkatink, Bronzor, Falinks, Wattrel, Oricorio (Fire), Squawkabilly

Tera Raids or random Terastallized Pokemon: Lechonk, Skiddo, Wattrel, Surskit

 

[adman2]

Pokemon Violet Solo Jumpluff Part 7


REDACTED was barred from entering Cascarrafa until the Dark Crew of Team Star was defeated, as they had set up a checkpoint on the road. The other possibility for Team Star was the Fire Crew in East Province, an threatening name for a Jumpluff. REDACTED instead spent the session exploring the other parts of East Province, mainly catching Pokemon and fighting trainers on the grassy fields and in the sea.


Spidops was the pure Bug evolution of Tarantoula, which I suspected bud didn't know until seeing its position in the Pokedex. It had Insomnia, which I found out by trying Sleep Powder. It seemed overall like a Pinsir that stayed up at night. Oinkologne was the evolution of Lechonk, and was still pure Normal in spite of its dark coloring. Its Lingering Aroma ability functioned like Cofagrigus's Mummy, and overwrote Jumpluff's ability when she struck with Trailblaze.


Paldea's version of Tauros was pure Fighting, and was said to be the Combat Breed in the Pokedex. Catching Paldea Tauros grew Jumpluff to Lv 30 and taught her Acrobatics. A 110 base power Flying move was an excellent tradeoff for giving up held items.


Felix the Student was the most obnoxious route trainer in this session, with the tongue twister "Sunflora flood the floral fiefdom in formation!" catchphrase. His Sunflora was an early victim of Acrobatics. Saul the Waiter said "To be a waiter is to wait". Kefka should have made a cameo just to retort "Wait, he says. Do I look like a waiter?"


Jumpluff managed to catch a Lv 37 Terastallized Toxapex in the wild, but that was probably because it used Body Slam instead of a Poison move. Veluza in the East Paldean Sea was a Water/Psychic type with Mold Breaker. Since Bruxish was mentioned in the Pokedex, that means there are two Water/Psychic physical fish competing for attention. One island in East Paldean Sea had the TMs for both Hyper Beam and Giga Impact, which Jumpluff had no use for, but perhaps some Normal type could use in desperation. Grass Pledge was only for starters, to Jumpluff's irritation. Lokix seemed to be the evolution of Nymble based on its appearance.


REDACTED entered Levincia by seaand made a stop at the Pokemon Center. A Pokemon Center reward guy in East Province gave her Loaded Dice, which could raise the number of hits for multi-hit moves, like an item version of Skill Link. Jumpluff might have use for this. . .


With Acrobatics, Jumpluff returned to Giacomo and defeated him. Due to Intimidate and low offense stats, this wasn't an overwhelming victory. Pawniard took two Terastallized Acrobatics to kill, while Revavroom the Segin Starmobile required four. Revavroom usually used Snarl, though it tried Metal Sound to lower Jumpluff's Special Defense. It still outsped Jumpluff. Was that due to the Relaxed penalty, or was Revavroom just that fast? Trailblaze could have been an option while Pawniard was out, but Jumpluff conquered with 47/103 HP at Lv 32.


When he surrendered, Giacomo gave REDACTED a Foul Play TM. Cassiopeia rewarded her by unlocking more TMs at the Pokemon Center, giving her crafting ingredients, and providing some LP. A flashback scene played a year and a half ago about Giacomo's leadership. Team Star's leader (Cassiopeia?) had abandoned the group at this time, and Giacomo was formerly known as a student council president who enacted excessive rules, like "Male students' hair must stray no further than 1.8 inches below the nape". Giacomo established a more lenient code for Team Star, which meant he had to honorably resign and disband the Dark Crew when defeated. Giacomo taunted Clive's haircut, which I learned was called a pompadour.


Cascarrafa was a shopping town filled with white buildings with blue roofs, and had several elevators. REDACTED purchased and put on the most ridiculous items I could find, such as Fingerless Gloves, a Cool Helmet, and Flip-Flops. All were purple to fit the Violet theme. (Who even came up with the idea of fingerless gloves, anyway?)


Cascarrafa's Gym Leader Kofu ran off to Porto Marinada without his wallet, and REDACTED would have to give it to him. The catch was that Porto Marinada was on the other side of the Asado Desert to the west.



Jumpluff Lv 32 @ Nothing



HP: 103
Attack: 51
Defense: 66
Special Attack: 49
Special Defense: 76
Speed: 78


Trailblaze
Acrobatics
Sleep Powder
Fairy Wind


Wild Pokemon Seen: Venonat, Spidops, Teddiursa, Shuppet, Oinkologne, Mareanie, Veluza, Sandygast, Slowpoke, Lokix

Tera Raids and random Terastallized Pokemon: Bounsweet, Toxapex, Starly

 

[adman2]

Pokemon Violet Solo Jumpluff Part 8


Asado Desert was an appropriate name in Spanish: "grilled" or "roasted". The topography was mostly a large expanse of sand with few obstacles or points of interest. Luis the Student must have been studying at Santa Royale Community College instead of Uva Academy, since he said "I've got twenty years of study at the academy under my belt". So did Dawn Weston, and her number of failed summer romances rivals the amount of Pokemon in existence.


Jumpluff had a challenging battle against a Lv 38 Espathra with Pluck and managed to capture it after making it breathe in Sleep Powder. Espathra was a pure Psychic ostrich that seemed to be the evolution of Flittle. Espathra's ability Opportunist was an automatic Psyche Up. For those who don't remember overly situational Pokemon moves, Psyche Up copies stat boosts that the opponent has. Tinkatuff the hammer wielding Fairy/Steel type was the evolution of Tinkatink.


Rellor the dung beetle (?) was pure Bug and its Pokedex entry said it was preparing for its evolution. It'll probably become the Bug/Ground type that Ninjask and Shedinja never were. Bramblin was a Grass/Ghost tumbleweed with Wind Rider, an ability that blocked and raised Attack when hit by "wind moves", as Jumpluff found out when she tried Fairy Wind. Wind Rider also gains an Attack boost from Tailwind, so be sure to integrate it into your doubles team.


Ironically, a Rain Dance TM was found by the desert's fallen watchtower. That raises the question of whether Rain Dance creates rain clouds, or merely diverts them to the summoner's area. If the former, it's a wonder there are any deserts remaining on Poke Earth.


At first, I took Toedscool for a weird regional variant of Tentacool, but it was actually an unrelated Ground/Grass monster. It was found in a Tera Raid. Looking at the bottom section of the Pokedex gave me many prizes at once for reaching milestones, from different types of Pokeballs to Stardust to evolution stones.


Iron Treads, the Donphan-like Ground Titan, outsped Jumpluff and knocked her down from 105 to 23 HP with a single Iron Head. Trailblaze dealt very little damage, and Acrobatics was equally worthless. Knock Off punted Jumpluff back to her Poke Ball. Iron Treads will have to be saved for much later in the game, and proves Pokemon Violet still has challenge even for evolved solos.


West Province Area Two on the other side of Asado Desert was another grassy region, filled with Girafarigs and Cyclizars. Cyclizar was a Dragon/Normal type that was the usual mount for trainers in Paldea. REDACTED was so special she had to ride a legendary instead. Grimer was also here for some reason, even though the area didn't seem polluted. The local lighthouse had no rewards worth mentioning for Jumpluff.


Poke Lisbon, or Porto Marinada, was home to the Gym Test for Cascarrafa. First, Jumpluff had to beat up Gym Trainer Hugo's Lv 28 Floatzel and Clauncher to even talk to Kofu. Jumpluff had a secret weapon: Loaded Dice + Bullet Seed! Turns out remembering moves is easier in Violet than in Sword and Shield: go to the summary's move page. This also works with forgotten TM moves. Loaded Dice didn't guarantee 5 shots, but Jumpluff got at least 4. Kofu wanted to spend his money on an auction for Hoenn wakame seaweed, and so REDACTED bid 35,000 Poke Dollars to get it. Porto Marinada's non-Gym-related auctions expected passerby to bid 1,200 Poke Dollars for 40 Fresh Waters. Who buys bottled water at an auction, anyway?


One item in Porto Marinada that was irrelevant to Jumpluff but possibly relevant to other solos was the Assault Vest, which granted extra Special Defense but forbade status moves. Poison Jab and Surf TMs were also available. Surf, the once-great HM, was demoted to lying on a random boat at the edge of town. The reward in Cascarrafa for fighting the route trainers in Asado Desert was an Earthquake TM. For Poison, Ground, and Water solos, my advice is "Go west, young Pokemon!"



Cascarrafa's version of Delibird Presents sold different items, including Leftovers, Light Clay, and even Normal Gems. One person offered to trade a Johto Wooper for a Paldea Wooper. The chain named Veracidad specialized in ripping off trainers: the price for a backpack was 50,000 Poke Dollars. Maybe they also own the bike manufacturers.


Nemona insisted on a "pre-Gym warm-up battle" since Cascarrafa would be REDACTED's 3rd badge. She led with a Lv 21 Rockruff that was peppered with Bullet Seeds. Lv 21 Pawmi died the same way. Lv 22 Floragato, the evolution of Sprigatito, was bipedal much to the dismay of Pokemon art enthusiasts. It was a pure Grass type. Floragato Terastallized into its own type, which couldn't save it from Terastallized Acrobatics. (Acrobatics is 55 power with an item equipped.)


Gym Leader Kufo led with the Lv 29 Veluza from his catchphrase. The disparity between his levels and Nemona's made me wonder if I was fighting the bosses out of GameFreak's intended order. Veluza succumbed to Bullet Seed, and a Lv 29 Wugtrio perished in a similar machine gun burst. Wugtrio looked like a sort of Dugtrio variant, but was actually pure Water. Lv 30 Crabominable could have smashed Jumpluff with an Ice move, but instead Terastallized into a Water type and whiffed with Slam. The first Bullet Seed only shot 4 times, but wouldn't have killed even with 5. Jumpluff emerged unscathed at Lv 37 and won the TM for Chilling Water, a move that lowered Attack (?) if it hit.



Geeta, the "chairwoman of the Pokemon League" was my most likely candidate for Cassiopeia's identity. REDACTED took a Flying Taxi back to Levincia to take on Gym Leader Iono immediately. One item in town was Wise Glasses, which would give a minor boost to Special Attack if equipped. Hassel introduced his fellow Elite Four member, a woman named Rika.


Levincia's Gym Test was the most loathsome yet: participating in Iono's livestream! Iono was desperate for attention, and she had the personality of a YouTube who was desperate for subscriptions to please her algorithm god. Iono's personality aside, the Gym Test was an easier version of Where's Waldo where REDACTED had to spot Clavell. These rounds were interspersed with battles. Gym Trainer Marti sent out a Lv 22 Luxio, and Gym Trainer Michael had Lv 22 Tynamo and Flaafy.


Iono's first monster was a Lv 23 Wattrel, and Jumpluff rolled a 5 hit Bullet Seed with her Loaded Dice. Lv 23 Bellibolt was a pure Electric monster I hadn't seen before. Its ability Electromorphosis charged it up with each hit of Bullet Seed, which sounded worrying. Bellibolt attacked with a paralyzing Spark before being perforated with the next Bullet Seed. Lv 23 Luxio was the Intimidate version, and Bullet Seed was physical. -1 Attack was still good enough to KO with one round of Bullet Seed. Lv 24 Mismagius was the last monster, and changed into an Electric type. Its Hex exploited Jumpluff's paralysis, and she conquered Levincia's Gym with only 37/118 HP remaining. Iono's team outperformed its levels, that's for sure. I think the developers intended for players to go to Levincia before Cascarrafa.


When REDACTED jumped down into Team Star's Fire base in East Province, a Grunt acknowledged it: "Back up, kid! You can't just casually waltz in here like you're one of us stars that run the joint! If you want in, ring the bell over by the entrance and storm the base like a decent person!" Clive said Team Star's bullying had caused many students to drop out of Uva Academy, and that its members were always truant.


The Team Star Grunt at the entrance had only a Lv 25 Houndour, which had no Defense against Acrobatics. To honor the Team Star code, REDACTED withdrew the two ceremonial Magikarps from the box and sent them to auto-battle the Fire types with Jumpluff. The Magikarps actually defeated a few enemies by flopping at them, proving the auto-battle system had no resemblance to turn-based combat.


Mela the Boss of the Fire Crew, however, constructed the ultimate anti-Jumpluff team. She led with Lv 27 Torkoal, and not just any Torkoal. It had Drought for 5 turns of sunshine. Torkoal itself wasn't bad as it died to two Acrobatics and dealt mild damage with Flame Wheel. Jumpluff didn't know the meaning of pain until Lv 26 Revavroom drove into the arena. Unlike Giacomo's Revavroom, the Schedar Starmobile Lv 26 version was Fire type and had a move called Blazing Torque. Acrobatics drained less than 1/3 of Revavroom's HP bar even when Terastallized. The worst news was when Revavroom revealed its Speed Boost ability. Even a Jumpluff couldn't outpace this, and Speed was its one decent stat. Revavroom also had to kill the two Magikarps for the battle to end, and it turned out that the truck knew Overheat too.


REDACTED's next plan was to try to reach Alfornada and its Gym via the Alfornada Cavern. The cliffs were too high to reach. The next best option was to go through Casseroya Lake. Catching monsters was out of the question when they were Lv 50. Flamigo the flamingo was a Flying/Fighting type, and Tatsugiri the Dragon/Water monster was in its Stretchy Form. Going south from there into West Province Area Three, however, was safe because the trainers were only Lv 29. Pokemon Violet follows the Dragon Quest 1 rule of "beware of crossing bridges". REDACTED's next stop is Medali, home to the Normal Gym Leader.


Wild Pokemon Seen: Silicobra, Rufflet, Cacnea, Cacturne, Donphan, Espathra, Tinkatuff, Rellor, Bramblin, Chansey, Hippopotas, Hippowdon, Girafarig, Grimer (Kanto), Shellos, Wingull, Crabrawler, Swalot, Gulpin, Flamigo, Tatsugiri


Tera Raids and random Terastallized Pokemon: Barboach, Toedscool, Cyclizar, Drowzee, Gothita, Zorua

 

[adman2]

Pokemon Violet Solo Jumpluff Part 9


Medali's Gym Test was to order the secret item on the menu in Treasure Eatery, as this city was food-themed. REDACTED started with one clue and had to get the others by defeating other challengers. Adara the Student was more than a match for a single Lv 38 Jumpluff. Her Lv 34 Gumshoos used Super Fang to cut Jumpluff's HP in half, then her Greedent Countered an Acrobatics for the kill.


Santiago the Student had a Lv 34 Dunsparce, which Jumpluff put to sleep to avoid Rollout combos and finished off with Acrobatics. Jumpluff learned her lesson from the last encounter with Adara the Student and made sure to spread Sleep Powder on Greedent before attacking the fat squirrel. Gisela the Student had a Lv 34 Ursaring that used Sweet Scent instead of attacking.


The secret menu item was Grilled Rice Balls, Medium Serving, Extra Crispy + Fire Blast Style, and Lemon garnish. Gym Leader Larry turned out to be an ordinary Office Worker, but his team was anything but boring. He started with a Lv 35 Komala that was immune to Sleep Powder due to its Comatose status. Komala Slammed Jumpluff down to 85/124 HP and fell to Acrobatics.


Larry's 2nd Pokemon was the Lv 35 pure Normal Dudunsparce. Maybe GameFreak didn't want to be upstaged by the Pokemon Uranium fangame giving Dunsparce an evolution. Dudunsparce didn't stay asleep for long, and its Glare paralyzed Jumpluff. A move called Hyper Drill pierced Jumpluff down to 36/124 HP. Jumpluff lost one turn to paralysis but re-cast Sleep Powder and defeated Dundunsparce with Acrobatics. The cooks and customers motivated Larry to Terastallize his final monster, a Lv 36 Staraptor. Jumpluff was already wounded and stunned, and Staraptor's Intimidate was the last insult. Staraptor's Facade sent her crashing to the ground.


It was time for an alternate route, as Jumpluff could not win the Normal badge without more levels. I wondered if Iron Treads gave a useful Miraidon ability, and designed a new moveset specifically for the possible Donphan evolution. The first attempt at Lv 39 was promising. Jumpluff launched 5 Bullet Seeds with one move, and Leech Seed parasites slowly reduced the sleeping boss's HP. But Knock Offs plus an improved Rapid Spin sent Jumpluff to the Pokemon Center. A wild Lv 55 Braviary also killed Jumpluff with one Aerial Ace after a failed escape attempt.


Mega Drain replaced Bullet Seed, and Synthesis was added just in case extra healing was necessary. Synthesis was never used. Leech Seed + Mega Drain kept Jumpluff healthy for much of the fight, but an Iron Head upon awakening bludgeoned her down to 58/125 HP. Knock Off was only at moderate power in both attempts since Jumpluff didn't have an item equipped. Phase 2 did not immediately follow Phase 1 because REDACTED had to chase down Iron Treads out of combat. This gave me the opportunity to restore Jumpluff's HP.


Arven joined the fight with a Lv 44 Scovillain, indicating that I should not have fought Iron Treads until later in the game. Jumpluff used the Sleep Powder + Leech Seed combo again, but Arven was the hero as always. Scovillain cut Iron Treads's Speed with Scary Face, and bit the Titan to death with Fire Fang. The Sour Herba Mystica gave Miraidon the power of gliding, though not so well as Spyro the Dragon. Iron Treads turned out to be Ground/Steel as predicted. Youngster Beltran in Asado Desert was the designated "shorts boy" of Pokemon Violet.


REDACTED explored the Paldean Sea to look for items, Pokemon, and a route to another Gym. I looked up Lokix in the Pokedex and found out it was Bug/Dark. Several Ice type monsters like Bergmite and Eiscue were found here at Lv 39-41, since GameFreak wasn't going to break the tradition of "Ice Pokemon only appear late in the game". Someone on the staff loves Lumineon, a monster that probably tops most "bland Pokemon" lists.


South Province Area Six had a long and narrow landbridge leading to the "detour" (i.e. main route) to Alfornada. Trainers here had monsters around Lv 38. A selfie-obsessed trainer had a Beartic that used a new move called Snowscape. Wonder if this is a replacement for Hail, or an entirely separate weather condition. One trainer said Tulip the Gym Leader of Alfornada was a Psychic specialist.



Alfornada Cavern did not have Zubats or even Woobats. Guess GameFreak was finally sick of the usual cave monsters. One opponent had a Rabsca, a new Bug/Psychic which was an obvious anagram for "scarab". Jumpluff learned Giga Drain in a battle against Eloisa the Student, and had to use Sleep Powder + Leech Seed to beat a Calm Mind Gardevoir once her Acrobatics PP ran out. Hiker Daniela had a day form Lycanroc who outpaced Jumpluff and buried her in a Rock Slide. Izan the Courier defeated Jumpluff with an ordinary Revavroom, which was a Steel/Poison type when Team Star wasn't tinkering with it.


Alfornada was inspired by the cities of al-Andalus, and had Arabic sounding music. A Substitute TM in town might be useful, considering the history Grass types have with Substitute + Leech Seed. . .



Jumpluff returned to Mela of Team Star's Fire base and defeated her custom Revavroom this time, but survived with only 42/136 HP. Screech + Blazing Torque nearly flattened Jumpluff under Revavroom's wheels. Her TM was Flame Charge. I may have forgotten to mention this: Iono's TM was Volt Switch. One new TM is Ice Spinner, an 80 power physical move that destroys terrain. Looks like Ice teams in doubles are way to go for anyone sick of the Tapu legendaries.


Close to the Pokemon Center in East Province Area Two was a Psychic Terrain TM. Not any good for Jumpluff, but a future solo might use this. After catching a Kricketune in a Tera Raid, its Pokedex entry said "There is a village that hosts a contest based on the amazingly variable cries of this Pokemon". Probably Dantski's hometown.


Revavroom was an evolution of a Pokemon called Varoom, which I didn't see until a trainer battle in East Province. Wiglett, the first form of Wugtrio, was caught in a Tera Raid. Wiglett's family is unrelated to Diglett's except for the appearance, like Toedscool's relationship with Tentacool. Wiglett's ability is Rattled, which gives +1 Speed if either Intimidated or hit with a Dark, Ghost, or Bug type attack.


Wild Pokemon Seen: Braviary, Bruxish, Bergmite, Eiscue, Finneon, Lumineon, Magnemite, Drednaw

Tera Raids and random Terastallized Pokemon: Litleo, Kricketune, Morgrem, Wiglett

 

[adman2]

Pokemon Violet Solo Jumpluff Part 10


REDACTED rode Miraidon around West Province Area Three to begin the session. There was a new twist to catching Pokemon: some were Zorua or Ditto in disguise, and the only way to find out. The only way to figure out if, say, a Tropius was real was to enter combat. Naclstack was a pure Rock evolution of Nacli. Komala was so difficult to capture that I had to throw a Timer Ball.


Jumpluff tried to fight Larry again at Lv 44. Komala barely survived Acrobatics and Yawned in boredom. Dudunsparce almost knocked out Jumpluff with repeated Hyper Drills, though Jumpluff was able to use Giga Drain and make it snooze with Sleep Powder. Dudunsparce awoke and Glared at Jumpluff for her impudence. Staraptor's Facade gave Larry another victory.


REDACTED went through Dalizapa Passage next and battled the local trainers. The strange-looking Cetoddle was a pure Ice "Terra Whale" species. REDACTED took the road to Zapapico to the east rather than Glaseado Mountain Path to the north. To defeat Andre the Courier's Corviknight, Jumpluff used Sleep Powder + Leech Seed and Terastallized. Can't be too careful when dealing with Steel/Flying monsters as a Grass Pokemon.


Although Dragons were traditionally weak to Ice in the Pokemon series, that didn't stop Bagon from hanging around in a cold area like Dalizapa Passage near Snorunt. Frigibax the Dragon/Ice monster defeated Jumpluff with a combination of Ice Fang, Bite, and Dragon Claw while I was trying to catch one. Scovillain with red and green pepper heads, as seen in the Iron Treads battle was the Grass/Fire evolution of Capsakid. And the obvious choice for the first Grass/Fire Pokemon would have been a burning bush. . .


After reaching a Zapapico Pokemon Center for Flying Taxi purposes, Lv 46 Jumpluff returned to Medali to try her skill against Larry. One Terastallized Acrobatics was sufficient to destroy Komala, so she was making a bit of progress. Jumpluff must have been jinxed while fighting Dudunsparce, since Sleep Powder failed and she was Glared again. Jumpluff barely failed to defeat Staraptor, and Facade prevented her from earning another badge.


REDACTED flew to Alfornada to see what Tulip's Psychic Gym was like. This Gym Test was the Emotional Spectrum Practice (get it?), a sort of very easy rhythm game where I had to press X, Y, B, or A depending on what the instructor said the right emotion was. After each round, Jumpluff fought a trainer. Gym Trainer Emily used a Lv 43 Gothorita and a Lv 43 Kirlia. Gym Trainer Rafael had a Lv 43 Grumpig, a Lv 43 Indeedee, and a Lv 43 Medicham. Jumpluff needed to Terastallize to beat Rafael. (It's surprising that GameFreak reused so many obscure Galar Pokemon in Paldea. . .)


At Lv 47, Jumpluff. . .lost to Larry again. This time REDACTED had the courtesy to use the new Substitute tactic, but Larry wouldn't play along. His Dudunsparce broke the Substitute with Hyper Drill instead of failing a Glare like REDACTED had hoped. Jumpluff was paralyzed and shown the Facade of a Staraptor as always.


Tulip led with Lv 44 Farigiraf, a Girafarig evolution that wasn't the one everyone including myself thought of. No two-headed "push me pull you" monster here. Instead, GameFreak placed the tail head as a sort of hood over the main head. I also appreciate that they preserved the palindrome: my proposed Girafarig evolution would have been called "Okapako". Jumpluff spread Sleep Powder on Farigiraf, though it woke up after surviving a Terastallized Acrobatics and whiffed with Zen Headbutt. Gardevoir was a light sleeper and endured the combo of Leech Seed and Acrobatics to drive Jumpluff mad with Psychic.


After all these failures, REDACTED returned to Zapapico, which got its name from the Spanish word for pickaxe "pico". It was a mining town in the desert, and had the Rocky Helmet lying on the ground. One resident wanted to trade a "curio with a . . .dark past" for 10 Sinistea Chips. Probably one of those stakes REDACTED had been pulling out of the ground throughout the game.


I stopped the session in East Province Area Three. REDACTED will probably look for the Titan in the region next time.


Jumpluff Lv 47 @ Nothing

HP: 151
Attack: 79
Defense: 96
Special Attack: 74
Special Defense: 110
Speed: 116


Giga Drain
Acrobatics
Sleep Powder
Leech Seed


Wild Pokemon Seen: Vigoroth, Sudowoodo, Tropius, Naclstack, Komala, Sawsbuck, Ditto, Persian (Kanto), Cetoddle, Bagon, Snorunt, Frigibax, Scovillain, Gogoat, Pyroar, Sneasel


Tera Raids and random Terastallized Pokemon: Mankey

 

[adman2]

Pokemon Violet Solo Jumpluff Part 11


Varoom's natural habitat was the desert near Zapapico. One item near a fence was the Heat Rock, which would lengthen sunny weather if I ever used a Sunny Day moveset. Tagtree Thicket to the north was home to new wild Pokemon and the Poison Team Star base.


Pokemon Violet had some graphical glitches, as seen in a Tera Raid battle with a Finizen when its HP bar didn't lower in time. It made it seem that one Acrobatics did much less damage than it actually inflicted. Grafaiai seemed to be the evolved form of Shroodle, and would make a good candidate for a solo due to how ugly it looked.


Pokemon Trainer Youssef was a kid who admired Atticus the Poison type Boss, and took the place of a Team Star Grunt. His Gulpin and Shroodle were easy to defeat. Atticus talked as if he wanted to be an actor in Romeo and Juliet: "Naught but punishment awaits thee, wretch! A plague on your house!" His declamation was more true than he realized.


Atticus's Lv 32 Skuntank was fragile enough to kill with one Acrobatics. Lv 32 Muk (Kanto), however, survived one Acrobatics and poisoned Jumpluff with Sludge Wave. This was probably not the deciding factor in the battle considering how strong Atticus's team was. Next was a Lv 33 regular Revavroom, who crashed into Jumpluff with an Iron Head before wrecking after two Acrobatics. The first Acrobatics being a critical hit likely mattered. Last was the specialty Lv 32 Revavroom, the Navi Starmobile. Noxious Torque was its signature attack, and its ability spread Toxic Spikes, irrelevant to a solo challenge. Jumpluff could only reduce Navi Starmobile's HP by 1/3 before fainting.


After exploring Tagtree Thicket and part of the desert for a while, Arven called REDACTED to tell her about the Lurking Steel Titan. This turned out to be an Orthworm with a silly face. Jumpluff tried both Sleep Powder and Leech Seed, though she didn't need to. Headbutt dealt a pathetic 11 damage, and Iron Tail missed. Giga Drain dropped Orthworm's HP from about 2/3 to 1/4 with a single cast, and that was with a type disadvantage!



Arven showed up for Phase 2 with a Lv 28 Toedscool. Toedscool's Supersonic failed, and Iron Tail connected with Jumpluff's body after Orthworm woke up. Toedscool cast Hex as Jumpluff sapped Orthworm's health with Giga Drain, and for once, my Pokemon killed the Titan. The Salty Herba Mystica gave Miraidon the power to jump higher.


Jumpluff Lv 48 @ Nothing


HP: 154
Attack: 82
Defense: 99
Special Attack: 75
Special Defense: 113
Speed: 118


Giga Drain
Acrobatics
Sleep Powder
Leech Seed


Wild Pokemon Seen: Varoom, Cufant, Voltorb, Grafaiai, Shroodle, Floette, Passimian, Impidimp

Tera Raids and random Terastallized Pokemon: Finizen, Dunsparce, Arrokuda

 

[adman2]

Pokemon Violet Solo Jumpluff Part 12


REDACTED's next session began with combing the Zapapico desert. A non-Titan Orthworm was available, and it turned out to be pure Steel rather than Steel/Ground like I'd expected. Orthworm did not evolve, and had a new ability called Earth Eater that healed it when hit with Ground attacks. Changing a weakness into an immunity is the best passive a Pokemon could hope for.


Glimmet in a mine tunnel was Rock/Poison, and looked like a flower. Lea the Student sent out a Snover against Jumpluff, and confirmed my suspicion that snow had replaced hail. A Crunch TM was found inside another mine tunnel. Useless for Jumpluff, but good for any solo that needs a physical Dark move. Returning to a Pokemon Center close to the desert after beating enough local trainers gave REDACTED a Punching Glove, an item that increased the power of punches and prevented "contact with enemy" penalties from activating. Hitmonchan must be salivating right now.


While exploring the arid East Province Area Three, it started. . .raining? Anything was possible when I was crazy enough to try a solo Jumpluff challenge. Efren the Worker had a Stonjourner, a previously Sword-exclusive Pokemon I never thought would appear again.


Next, I went south of REDACTED's house and rode on Miraidon the jet ski over the southern ocean. One sandy island had a Surf TM, a high priority for any aquatic solos. The far southeast of Paldea was a swampy area with Lv 23 Pokemon, as if GameFreak expected me to go there sooner. Any Legends Arceus fans were sure to be disappointed with Stantler's Pokedex entry: "It's said that this Pokemon used to be stronger long ago when it had many enemies, and that it was even able to evolve under its own power". Does that mean turning one into Wyrdeer is impossible in Violet?


The swamp was Dreepy's habitat, in case anyone wanted a Dragapult. Dreepy's Pokedex entry raised questions about its species in life: "It has a habit of biting at Clauncher even though it doesn't feed on them. This is said to be vestigial behavior from when Dreepy was alive". So were Dreepys originally Bagons or Dratinis?


A purple sigil on a cliff wall had this to say when I clicked on it: "HEREIN LIE SEALED THE RUINOUS TABLETS". Closer to Mesagoza, I encountered a Lv 5 Flamigo. Which means a flamingo monster is early enough in the game to be solo eligible. An Eviolite was the prize for defeating trainers in southeastern Paldea, which will be necessary for any unevolved solos.


Back in Tagtree Thicket, REDACTED met some Team Star dropouts. Catching a Mimikyu raised yet more questions about Pokemon metaphysics: "Mimikyu was only recently identified as a Pokemon. Previously, people thought it was just a ghost wearing a cloth". So there's a distinction between non-Pokemon ghosts and Ghost types?



At Lv 50, Jumpluff barged into Treasure Eatery and displayed her Tera Type balloons menacingly at Larry. She equipped a Lum Berry that was meant to guard against Glare, but instead was used up on a Yawn from Komala. Two Giga Drains made Komala go from Comatose to flatline. Dudunsparce woke up early and stared with its signature Glare, though it failed to do any other harm before dying to two Acrobatics flips. Jumpluff survived the exchange of Acrobatics and Staraptor Facades with 74/162 HP, and claimed the Facade TM for herself.


Geeta healed Jumpluff just before she had to fight Nemona again. Her Lv 36 day Lycanroc lead dashed with Accelerock for minor damage before Giga Drain vampirism restored Jumpluff to full HP. A Terastallized Acrobatics tore apart Goomy with one hit. Lv 36 Pawmo whiffed with Thunder Wave as if I were playing Crystal again, and succumbed to two Giga Drains. Nemona's last Pokemon was her fully evolved starter, a Lv 37 Meowcarada. One Acrobatics made it lose all nine lives.


As a reward for beating Nemona, Geeta gave REDACTED the TM for Tera Blast. Tera Blast was a move that was ordinarily an 80 power Normal special attack, but would change to the Pokemon's Tera Type upon Terastallizing. It also used either Attack or Special Attack depending on what was higher. Checking the Pokedex revealed Meowscarada to be Grass/Dark, and Pawmo to be Electric/Fighting.


REDACTED returned to Uva Academy and took many classes and midterms. The reward for passing midterms was experience candies. Some of the classes gave new information, or at least provided a needed refresher on the vagaries of Pokemon mechanics. Primeape had a new evolution called Annihilape that was based on having some specific move. The likelihood for Shiny Pokemon was now 1 in 4000. Criticals only had a 1.5 damage multiplier. Criticals had been weakened in some earlier installment, though I don't remember which. The critical chance in Violet was slightly above 4%.


Tyme the math teacher referenced the never-ending debate over the merits of Surf vs. Hydro Pump, though she was more interested in Rock Slide vs. Stone Edge. (The answer, of course, is that both Rock Slide and Stone Edge will disappoint you because GameFreak thinks it's a good idea to give Rock attacks abysmal accuracy. My nickname for the latter move is "Stoned Edge" because the Pokemon must be high when trying to aim it.)


According to Raifort the history teacher, the Paldean empire and the surrounding nations merged 800 years ago. Even though empires tend to break apart rather than consolidate when they decline. Uva Academy was founded 805 years ago, and has remained mostly the same since except for the Poke Ball design that even Raifort thought was tacky. She told a fairy tale about a king who bought four treasures from a merchant: "a vessel, a sword, a set of tablets, and a set of beads". A "terrible disaster" destroyed the king's castle overnight. Maybe these were the RUINOUS TABLETS that the sigil was warning about?


Heath explored the crater in the center of Paldea in the Area Zero Expedition and wrote an account of his exploits called the Violet Book. After a while, everyone thought Heath was lying, and so his work lay neglected in used bookstores. (Another difference Pokemon humans have from real humans: no one is interested in the supernatural in Pokemon land. Despite all the Channelers, there seem to be no occultists.)


Salvatore the language teacher asked the common meaning of several phrases that translated as "I love you". My eye actually drifted to "Ich liebe dich" first because I knew it from a Mary Worth comic. That's how Zak proclaimed his love for Iris. (And now, Zak only seems to "love" Iris because she resembles his former babysitter, but that's soap opera comics for you.) Couldn't distinguish between Pikachu's angry voice and happy voice.


Dendra the teacher informed everyone that the way to break a Tera Shield in a Tera Raid was to use a Terastallized attack. However, in Tera Raids, you have to use three moves before being able to Terastallize if I'm not mistaken. Don't think I've ever had to deal with Tera Shields, but maybe those appear in 4* and up. Brassius came as a guest to Hassel's art class.


When REDACTED returned to Alfornada, she received a Lucky Egg in the Gym tower. Due to the plentiful experience candies in Violet, it won't be nearly as much of a staple hold item as it was in White. Jumpluff stared down Gym Leader Tulip's Farigiraf and failed to KO it with Giga Drain after the initial Terastallized Acrobatics. Farigarif's Zen Headbutts bashed Jumpluff down to 108/163 HP. A second Giga Drain sent Farigiraf crashing to the ground and raised Jumpluff to Lv 51. Gardevoir was killed with a lucky critical Acrobatics. Third was the Lv 44 Espathra, who cast Psychic against Jumpluff to bring her down to 79 HP. A Giga Drain finisher restored her to 89 HP just in time for Lv 45 Florges. I think it used Moonblast against Jumpluff shortly before the fatal Acrobatics gave REDACTED a victory at 40 HP. Florges definitely didn't take advantage of its Terastallized status. Tulip's reward TM was Psychic.


Hassel was excessively enthusiastic about my solo Pokemon: "Hardly had you sent out Jumpluff before you launched into your strategy! That unrelenting offensive! That flurry of attacks! What an efficient way to corner the opponent!" As if using Acrobatics over and over was an unprecedented tactic.


Daniela's Lycanroc once more entombed Jumpluff in a Rock Slide. She can beat Gym Leaders, but regular trainers are out of her reach. Dachsbun the pure Fairy evolution of Fidough was a wild Pokemon in the Alfornada area, as well as Sylveon. Eevee and its evolutions are not so rare in Paldea. A Pokedex check proved Farigiraf was still Normal/Psychic.


Jumpluff barely defeated Eric the Worker who had Electric Terrain, making his monsters immune to Sleep Powder for a few rounds. To go from Guatemala to Guatepeor, he had an Ice Fang Luxray with Intimidate and a Thunderbolt casting Eelektross. Giga Drain, Sleep Powder, and Leech Seed were all necessary for Jumpluff to ignore the odds.


Bellibolt from Iono's Gym turned out to be the evolution of Tadbulb. Rabsca was the evolution of Rellor. REDACTED and Jumpluff's next destination was Glaseado Mountain Path, as there was nowhere left to go but north.


Jumpluff Lv 53 @ Nothing


HP: 172
Attack: 94
Defense: 110
Special Attack: 83
Special Defense: 125
Speed: 130


Giga Drain
Acrobatics
Sleep Powder
Leech Seed


Wild Pokemon: Orthworm, Glimmet, Rolycoly, Carkol, Masquerain, Stantler, Croagunk, Dreepy, Zangoose, Pawniard, Mimikyu, Dachsbun, Sinistea, Bronzong, Bellibolt, Dratini


Tera Raids and Random Terastallized Pokemon: Clauncher, Crabrawler, Tinkatink, Growlithe, Finneon, Luvdisc, Nacli

 

[adman2]

Pokemon Violet Solo Jumpluff Part 13


West Province Area Three was the base of Glaseado Mountain, the Ice type region of Violet. Snow was in fact the replacement for Hail. The difference was that Snow didn't damage Pokemon like Sandstorm or Hail. Blizzard still had the accuracy boost, and Ice types now gained Defense from the weather. Bad news for a Jumpluff, even if she could Terastallize to make her double weakness disappear.


One trainer had a Toedscruel. I'll admit to being surprised to see it because I misread the Pokedex numbers and assumed Toedscool was a one-off monster. Backtracking and fighting trainers in the Dalizapa Passage cave leading to Glaseado Mountain got REDACTED an Expert Belt which Jumpluff would never use. Examining Dachsbun in the box taught me about its ability Well-Baked Body, which gave it immunity to Fire and a +2 Defense boost when hit by that type.


Greavard was a common Ghost type dog with a candle on top. "This friendly Pokemon doesn't like being alone. Pay it even the slightest bit of attention, and it will follow you forever". That's how it felt within the game, since REDACTED constantly had to run away from wild battles. Greavard was sometimes hard to see since it was much smaller than Miraidon.


Paldea Wooper's evolution was called Clodsire instead of Quagsire, and had a different moveset which included Megahorn. Xabier the Courier nearly defeated Jumpluff with an Endeavor using Staraptor. If only it knew Quick Attack! The spelling of "Xabier" made me think of all those Spanish Internet comments that misused the letters "b" and "v".


REDACTED found both the 7th and 8th Gyms on Glaseado Mountain, but did not take on the Ice and Ghost Gym Leaders. The Ice Gym Leader must have felt insulted when he didn't even get a town to go along with his tower. Instead, Miraidon jumped down to the river delta of North Province Area Three. REDACTED backtracked to a Glaseado Mountain Pokemon Center to get a Blizzard TM reward for fighting the trainers, then took a Flying Taxi to Atticus and his Poison base.


Both Skuntank and Muk fell to one Acrobatics flip. Atticus's regular Revavroom survived the first Acrobatics due to its Steel typing and struck back with Iron Head. It took three Acrobatics to kill the Lv 32 Navi Starmobile Revavroom, and that was when Jumpluff was both Terastallized and 23 levels higher. Noxious Torque poisoned Jumpluff, and she only survived with 77/178 HP. Atticus surrendered a Gunk Shot TM upon being defeated.


While examining the updated TM crafting list at a Pokemon Center, I learned that Jumpluff could use Thief. Never got that TM, but it was trivia worth knowing in case one of the Elite Four members was Steel type or something. North Province Area Three was home to Team Star's Fairy base. I actually forgot to heal after the Atticus battle, so Jumpluff had to fight Harrington the guard's Lv 48-49 Morgrem and Hattrem while poisoned and at low HP. Harrington was still so weak that it was an easy victory.


The Fairy base was the funniest of them all. Team Star's second line of defense was a horde of auto-battling Jigglypuffs! Since none of them were OG PUFF from the Fire Red playthrough, Jumpluff thrashed them. Ortega the boss, however, was much more competent. He led with a Lv 50 Azumarill that took a little more than 50% from Acrobatics and whiffed a Bounce. Jumpluff Giga Drained Azumarill and stared down a Lv 50 Wigglytuff. Wigglytuff Played Rough with Jumpluff, and my solo monster returned the favor with Acrobatics + Giga Drain.


Lv 51 Dachsbun took around slightly under half from Acrobatics, and Jumpluff tried to recover some HP with Giga Drain after a Play Rough. Ortega's Lv 50 Fairy version of Revavroom had Misty Surge to summon Misty Terrain. It was immune to Leech Seed and took only mild damage from Acrobatics. Revavroom steamrolled Jumpluff under its Magical Torque.


After that defeat, REDACTED searched the northern coast of Paldea. A Pollen Puff TM was eligible for Jumpluff, and was a 90 power Bug special attack. An Ice Beam TM was on a small sandbar, and Brick Break was close by. Leaf Storm was a Pokemon Center reward for defeating trainers. Miraidon glided over to North Province Area One and bought many Ultra Balls and Quick Balls at the Pokemon Center. Jumpluff was delighted to find TMs for both Seed Bomb and Swords Dance and finally ditched Sleep Powder and Giga Drain. No chance for a Rain Dance + Terastallized Hurricane combo, since Jumpluff couldn't generate tropical storms by TM.


Three sisters in a marshy region with watchtowers claimed the title of dragon's tail, dragon's wings, and dragon's breath. Jumpluff defeated them all, but had to Terastallize and use Swords Dance against their Noivern. North Province Area Two was a bamboo forest, which was NOT home to Pangoro. One trainer there had a Lv 50 Arboliva, the evolution of Smoliv. Arboliva generated Grassy Terrain when killed with Acrobatics. Another trainer had a Lv 49 Talonflame, but this was not the Gale Wings priority Brave Bird version feared on Smogon during the Kalos era.


Jumpluff actually used Pollen Puff against Ana Maria the Student's Bronzong because it insisted on using Iron Defense. She had some strange dialogue about kids thinking professional wrestling was trendy. It certainly was in the 1990s, but it's probably not as popular today.


Eri wanted to guard the Fighting base herself, but Carmen of Team Star convinced her that she needed to rest. Carmen's Croagunk and Lv 55 Primeape were maimed by Acrobatics. The Fighting base itself was more creatively designed than the others, and so REDACTED had to climb a slope during her auto-battles. There was a chance that Jumpluff could actually lose, since one of the auto-battles was against a Crabominable that reduced her HP to about half. Yet somehow one of the ceremonial Magikarps defeated a Crabominable at the beginning. The mechanics behind auto-battles in Violet must be weird. Level doesn't seem to matter much, and Speed may be irrelevant. In any normal battle, Jumpluff would be much faster than Crabominable and slaughter it with Acrobatics.


Eri theoretically had a type disadvantage against Jumpluff. In practice she was prepared for a mediocre Grass/Flying monster. On the first attempt, her Lv 55 Toxicroak had the best possible roll for Poison Jab: both poison status and a critical hit! Lv 56 Annihilape, the final Fighting/Ghost evolution of Mankey, had a chance to barely survive a Lv 58 +0 Terastallized Acrobatics and knew Ice Punch. Lv 55 Passimian had about the same HP and Defense as Annihilape, and could cut Jumpluff's Speed by placing her in a Rock Tomb sepulcher.


It may sound strange to anyone who remembers Lucario's reign in the Sinnoh era, but Eri's Lucario seemed like the best setup bait for Swords Dance. The only move I saw it use was Dragon Pulse. Eri's Lv 56 Revavroom survived a +2 Terastallized Acrobatics on the first attempt and ran over Jumpluff with Spin Out. Spin Out was probably a Steel move and definitely gave its user a -2 Speed penalty. Combat Torque was the Fighting version of the Torque moves.


No matter how hard Jumpluff tried, she lost to Eri again and again. Maybe it's better for REDACTED to try gaining the last two badges, or visiting the Dragon Titan in the unexplored northwestern area of Paldea. I'll have to give Team Star credit for being the strongest antagonists in any Pokemon game save perhaps N and Ghetsis at the end of White.


Jumpluff Lv 58 @ Nothing


HP: 187
Attack: 102
Defense: 119
Special Attack: 91
Special Defense: 137
Speed: 143


Seed Bomb
Acrobatics
Swords Dance
Pollen Puff


Wild Pokemon Seen: Axew, Cubchoo, Snom, Froslass, Greavard, Cryogonal, Clodsire, Hawlucha, Heracross, Luxray

Tera Raids and random Terastallized Pokemon: Varoom, Skiploom

 

[adman2]

Pokemon Violet Solo Jumpluff Part 14


In the town of Montenevera ("Mt. Refrigerator"), REDACTED found a new held item called a Covert Cloak. This prevented side effects of enemy moves from activating. One resident told REDACTED that Tyme the Uva Academy math teacher was the former Gym Leader, and she gave her position to her sister Ryme 1.5 years ago. The date was suspicious considering how many of the Team Star flashbacks occurred at that time.


Inside the Gym, Nemona told REDACTED that less than 10% of trainers earned six badges. Nemona's team was weak for this point in the game, and either the Fairy or Fighting Team Star bosses would have clobbered her. Day form Lycanroc, Sliggoo, Pawmot, and Meowscarada were all Lv 42-43 and perished to one hit of Seed Bomb or Terastallized Acrobatics. It was a flawless victory at Lv 58 without so much as an Accelerock.


The Gym Test for Nevera was to win several double battles as an "opening act" for Ryme. MC Sledge the host looked like the least likely rapper ever. I can't do him justice by describing his appearance, so look up a picture of him, readers. First was Gym Trainer Tas with Lv 40 Greavard and Shuppet. Second was Gym Trainer Lani with Lv 40 Misdreavus and Haunter. Haunter killed the ceremonial Magikarp companion with Hex. MC Sledge himself was third, with Lv 40 Drifblim and Sableye. Acrobatics knocked out Sableye, and Drifblim decided to Self-Destruct rather than follow MC Sledge's orders.


One boy lost a rap battle with Ryme: "Listen up, Ryme-your reign ends here! You're gonna get rung up by this pro cashier!" Ryme's rejoinder? "Pro cashier? Well, I'm about to check out. Musta got your rhymes on deep discount!"


Ryme led with Lv 41 Mimikyu and Banette. Since Mimikyu's Disguise would have to be broken in order to deal any direct damage, it was saved for last. Mimikyu's Shadow Sneak murdered Magikarp, and Banette also used Shadow Sneak against Jumpluff. Acrobatics felled Banette, and the audience praised REDACTED's Terastallize timing. Throughout all the Montenevera Gym Battles, lasting for more than one turn granted automatic stat buffs.


With an Attack gain, Jumpluff's next Acrobatics eliminated Houndstone, the evolution of Greavard. Toxtricity's Poison/Electric typing would have resisted all of Jumpluff's attacks if Ryme refused to Terastallize. Instead, Toxtricity died to one Acrobatics. Meanwhile, Mimikyu was gashing Jumpluff with weak Slashes. One Acrobatics broke the Disguise and caused Mimikyu's head to slump, and the second won REDACTED her 7th badge with 137/190 HP. Ryme's TM reward was Shadow Ball.



Poppy the little girl turned out to be an Elite Four member when introduced to REDACTED. New classes were unlocked, and REDACTED passed all the final exams except for Languages. Why Languages? Several questions were based on subtle differences between Pikachu's cries, and no, these weren't the shouts from the cartoon. They were more like the cries from the original games. The reward for passing the classes was more experience candy. Raifort the history professor told her class that Professor Turo was responsible for inventing Terastallizing technology 10 years ago.



Glaseado's Gym Test was the easiest of them all: complete the slalom Snow Slope Run in less than 1:30.00. REDACTED's time was 00:39.86. No enemy trainers. Gym Leader Grusha was an anticlimax for what should have been the worst type for Jumpluff to fight against. Jumpluff Terastallized immediately against Frosmoth to shed the double weakness and set up Swords Dance. Frosmoth botched a Blizzard, which was the only attack Grusha used in the entire battle. Lv 47 Frosmoth, Beartic, Cetitan, and Lv 48 Altaria all blacked out after a single +2 Terastallized Acrobatics. Grusha the ex-snowboarder gave REDACTED the TM for Ice Spinner, and Geeta suggested taking the Champion Assessment at the Pokemon League.


The last major unexplored region other than the central crater was Casseroya Lake in the northwest of Paldea. Dragonair was the first 4* Tera Raid, and the first to set up a Tera Shield which Jumpluff had to break with Terastallized Acrobatics. The AI companions took this battle more serious than previous Tera Raids and brought evolved Pokemon like Hypno, day Lycanrock, and Greedent.


One trainer had a Lv 53 Garganacl, the final form of Nacli. REDACTED took a detour to the nearby Socorrat Trail, an autumnal meadow. Anyone wanting to evolve their Sinistea would have to find a Cracked Pot, and there was one here. A sigil for one of the cursed tablets was located here too. REDACTED caught a wild Mabosstiff and found out it was essentially a Dark version of Stoutland.


REDACTED returned to Casseroya Lake and caught a Dondozo, a large pure Water catfish that was supposed to be the dupe of Tatsugiri. Its ability of Oblivious matched its theme, and in Violet, Oblivious gave immunity to Intimidate. There must have been many complaints in doubles tournaments about Intimidate in general and Landorus Therian in particular for GameFreak to include this many countermeasures in Violet.


To find the False Dragon Titan, REDACTED had to fight many Tatsugiri before finding the right one. They had several variations but all of them were Dragon/Water. The Titan fight began with a Donzozo that was easily dispatched with Swords Dance + Terastallized Acrobatics. Dondozo's best move was Body Slam. Phase 2 was also against Dondozo, and this time Arven came to help with a Lv 55 Greedent that used Take Down. But Tatsugiri was the monster that ate some Herba Mystica, and dealt enough damage with Dragon Pulse to reduce Jumpluff to 64/202 HP at Lv 63.


Spicy Herba Mystica was the final flavor, which allowed Miraidon to climb walls. It also cured Mabosstiff, who was grateful enough to fetch its Poke Ball for Arven. Professor Turo called and ordered Arven to open his laboratory near the first lighthouse that REDACTED visited on Poco Path. Arven was furious, as Turo had been a neglectful father and this was the first conversation he had in years with his son.


Jumpluff Lv 63 @ Nothing


HP: 202
Attack: 110
Defense: 130
Special Attack: 98
Special Defense: 148
Speed: 154


Seed Bomb
Acrobatics
Swords Dance
Powder Puff


Wild Pokemon Seen: Swalot, Staraptor, Forretress, Toedscruel, Mabosstiff, Glalie, Dondozo

Tera Raids and random Terastallized Pokemon: Dragonair

 

[adman2]

Pokemon Violet Solo Jumpluff Part 15


REDACTED glided around the Casseroya Lake region until Jumpluff reached Lv 64, and then returned to the Fairy base to have a rematch with Ortega. Azumarill Bounced on the first turn, giving Jumpluff the opportunity for two Swords Dances instead of one. Acrobatics kicked Azumarill, Wigglytuff, and Dachsbun in the face, though it took two to wreck Revavroom. Revavroom ran over Jumpluff with Steel Roller before dying, resulting in a 131/205 HP victory. Eri was even easier at Lv 64. Toxicroak failed its critical and poisoning rolls for Poison Jab, and +2 Terastallized Acrobatics were sufficient to trash her entire team. Even the Fighting type Revavroom collapsed after one hit.


After defeating each Team Star base, more of the truth about what happened 18 months ago was revealed. Ortega had designed the Starmobile modifications for the Revavroom, but it was Mela who figured out that Charcadet's evolution was needed to power one. Ortega was the heir to "a major apparel company", though his status didn't prevent him from being bullied at Uva Academy. Team Star formed to rout the bullies, causing them to drop out of school.


Harrington was once the director of Uva Academy, and apparently not a good one. Clavell's tenure was "rainbows and butterflies" in comparison to what happened in the past. Harrington "assigned 18 months of overseas study" to the head of Team Star so they could return home to Galar. Violet takes place after Sword and Shield, since there's a reference to the destruction of the Stow-on-Side mural.


To the surprise of no one, Cassiopeia told Clive and REDACTED that she was the true boss of Team Star. To finish Operation Starfall, REDACTED would have to fight her in the schoolyard at night. Pokemon Violet has a day/night cycle, but it isn't based on real time like in earlier games. So this condition isn't as much of a hassle as it sounds.


Jumpluff's three options are to go with Arven to the lighthouse lab, pass the Champion Assessment, or defeat Cassiopeia. Now I'm beginning to suspect that Team Star's leader is Penny rather than Geeta.


Jumpluff Lv 64 @ Nothing


HP: 205
Attack: 112
Defense: 132
Special Attack: 100
Special Defense: 150
Speed: 157


Seed Bomb
Acrobatics
Swords Dance
Pollen Puff


Tera Raids and random Terastallized Pokemon: Pichu, Gastly

 

[adman2]

Pokemon Violet Solo Jumpluff Part 16


Lv 64 Jumpluff decided to try her skill against Arven first at the Poco Path Lighthouse. What Professor Turo needed from the laboratory was a copy of the Violet Book. Arven and REDACTED sparred to see if they were ready to fight the toughest Pokemon in Paldea.


Arven led with his Lv 58 Greedent who paralyzed Jumpluff with Body Slam after she Swords Danced. A +2 Acrobatics hunted the squirrel, though Jumpluff was stiff with paralysis when Lv 62 Garganacl appeared. Even with Swords Dance, super effective damage, and a same type attack bonus, Seed Bomb failed to knock out Garganacl. The first Stone Edge missed, but the second impaled Jumpluff. She was not ready for the Great Crater of Paldea if she couldn't even defeat two of Arven's Pokemon!


Did Jumpluff have any better luck against Team Star? To no one's surprise, Clive was really Clavell. What did surprise me was that he was also Cassiopeia. The female voice on the phone calls was only a recording he had arranged. Clavell led with a Lv 60 Oranguru that had two counters for a Swords Dancing Jumpluff. First was Foul Play, a Dark type move that used her own boosted Attack stat against her. On Take 2, Oranguru increased its team's Defense with Reflect.


Take 1 was actually more successful since Jumpluff at least saw the final Pokemon on Clavell's team instead of just his lead. In that attempt, Lv 60 Abomasnow, Houndoom, Polteageist, and Amoongus all fell to one Acrobatics. Lv 61 Quaquaval, the Water/Fighting final evolution of Quaxlet, was hardier than it looked and survived an Acrobatics. Its Terastallized Aqua Step sent Jumpluff from 133 HP to 0. Should have used Seed Bomb.


The Elite Four was no more successful in the end. Rika conducted an interview with REDACTED before the battles, asking how she came (by Flying Taxi), and which Gym Leader was hardest (Larry). Rika herself was a Ground specialist with Lv 57-58 monsters, indicating that the developers intended for the player to visit the Pokemon League first. Whiscash knew Blizzard but missed before the fatal Seed Bomb. Donphan had Sturdy to prevent one-hit kills and used Stone Edge. After that was Camerupt and Dugtrio, who both fell to Swords Dance Acrobatics. Rika's final Pokemon was a Terastallized Clodsire, who also died to Acrobatics.


What killed the Elite Four session was Poppy the Steel master. Even her Copperajah was too resilient for Jumpluff. Copperajah exploited Jumpluff's featherweight status with Heavy Slam, and neither Thief nor Acrobatics dealt much damage. Thief was worthless in retrospect since even a resisted Acrobatics would have been stronger.


Jumpluff's experience candy sugar rush grew her to Lv 71. I could have gone much higher, but that would have made the rest of the game too easy. Arven's Greedent failed to paralyze with Body Slam. Two Swords Dances later, and Jumpluff felled his monsters one by one with Seed Bomb or Acrobatics. Arven's other Pokemon were Lv 60 Scovillain, Lv 61 Toedscruel, Lv 59 Cloyster, and his signature Terastallized Mabosstiff with Intimidate.


After REDACTED's victory, Arven said that to stand a chance in Area Zero, they would need to bring along a Champion and "somebody who can deal with crazy tech". That meant Nemona and probably Penny from the other two storylines.


Jumpluff Lv 72 @ Nothing


HP: 230
Attack: 125
Defense: 148
Special Attack: 112
Special Defense: 169
Speed: 176


Seed Bomb
Acrobatics
Swords Dance
Sleep Powder

 

[adman2]

Pokemon Violet Solo Jumpluff Part 17


REDACTED had planned on using a clever Loaded Dice + Bullet Seed strategy against Rika to get around her Donphan's Sturdy, but her player forgot to swap out Seed Bomb. Donphan withstood a regular Seed Bomb, but missed with Stone Edge. Dugtrio and Camerupt were easy to kill, and Seed Bomb made Rika regret Terastallizing her Clodsire.


Only Poppy's nonsensical decisions saved Jumpluff from defeat. Copperajah woke up early from Sleep Powder, which only allowed Jumpluff two Swords Dances instead of three. Lv 58 Magnezone was one of the worst Pokemon a Jumpluff could fight against, as it resisted both of her main attacks and could use super effective Electric shocks. However, Penny saw a solo physical attacker, and thought Light Screen was the way to go. Lv 58 Corviknight survived the first Acrobatics yet failed to finish off the 46/230 HP Jumpluff and set up Iron Defense instead. Bronzong barely withstood the first Acrobatics and pounded Jumpluff with Iron Head. . .but she lived with 3 HP! Acrobatics struck down the Lv 59 Tinkaton in one hit.


Remember the interview question about the hardest Gym Leader? It became relevant when Larry became the third Elite Four member! He had changed his specialty from Normal to Flying in the meantime. Jumpluff set up Swords Dance against Lv 59 Tropius, who summoned Sunny Day. The second Acrobatics killed Lv 59 Altaria, though Larry's returning Staraptor forced Jumpluff to Swords Dance again after Intimidate. Jumpluff took a Brave Bird at 143/233 HP, and Acrobatics flipped around Staraptor and the Lv 59 Electric version of Oricorio. Lv 60 Flamigo was last, and one Acrobatics avenged Jumpluff's defeats at Larry's Gym.


Hassel the art teacher was the Dragon master of the Elite Four. His Lv 60 Noivern bit with Super Fang to reduce Jumpluff's HP to half on the Swords Dance turn. Acrobatics at +2 Attack ravaged Noivern, Lv 60 Dragalge, Lv 60 Haxorus, and Lv 60 Flapple. But Hassel's Lv 61 Baxcalibur, the final stage of Frigibax, endured an Acrobatics and flash-froze Jumpluff with Icicle Crash.


Take 2 against Hassel involved setting up Swords Dance twice against Noivern. Noivern started with Super Fang as usual and followed it up with Dragon Pulse to cut Jumpluff to 72/233 HP. After that, all of Hassel's monsters were slain in one hit each.


Geeta as the Top Champion was the final opponent in the Pokemon League gauntlet. She began with a Lv 61 Espathra that benefited from Swords Dance via Opportunist, but its Lumina Crash must have been a special attack since it only knocked Jumpluff down to 188/236 HP. It did cut her Special Defense by two stages, though. Acrobatics turned the peacock into a feather pillow. Geeta sent out a Kingambit which was part Steel type, and had a special ability called Supreme Overlord that generated this message: "The opposing Kingambit gained strength from the fallen!" Acrobatics couldn't even reduce Kingambit's health bar by half, so Jumpluff had to use another Swords Dance. Kingambit whiffed two Stone Edges in a row, so AI trainers were betrayed by Rock inaccuracy as well.


Lv 61 Veluza fell to Seed Bomb. It was a strange choice for a Top Champion team considering it was a mediocre mid-game fish. I was afraid when Lv 61 Avalugg appeared, as it was an Ice type with extreme Defense. Jumpluff still crushed it in one hit with Acrobatics. Lv 61 Gogoat's only contribution to Geeta was making Jumpluff spend one Acrobatics PP. Lv 62 Glimmora was an unknown Pokemon to me, so I tried Acrobatics. When Geeta Terastallized it into a Rock type, I knew I made a mistake. Geeta threw away her chance of victory when Glimmora cast Sludge Wave instead of a Terastallized Rock attack. One more Seed Bomb, and Jumpluff became a certified Champion with 31/236 HP!

 

[adman2]

Pokemon Violet Solo Jumpluff Part 18


Forgot to mention this in the last post, but Jumpluff was Lv 74 when she conquered the Pokemon League. It looked like Director Clavell was going to be an easy victory, but he had one last trick to use against REDACTED: Effect Spore. Clavell's Amoonguss had a chance of activating Effect Spore when hit with a "contact move" like Acrobatics, and the victim would suffer a status ailment. This time, Effect Spore selected paralysis. Jumpluff was numb when Quaquaval practiced its Ice Spinner + Aqua interpretive dance routine on her. Effect Spore failed its roll on the next take, and Jumpluff was the victor at Lv 75 with 153/239 HP.


Clavell confessed to not being the real Cassiopeia, who was actually Penny. Penny had a full team of Eevee evolutions, and began with Lv 62 Umbreon. Jumpluff Swords Danced twice to play around the Attack drop from Umbreon's Baby-Doll Eyes. Umbreon attacked with a minor Dark Pulse before falling to Acrobatics. Jolteon also displayed its Baby-Doll Eyes, but Jumpluff had no sympathy for emotional manipulation and launched Seed Bomb. Vaporeon, Flareon, Leafeon, and the final Sylveon all perished from Seed Bomb or Acrobatics. Operation Starfall was complete at Lv 76.



Clavell scolded the Team Star members for violating school rules, but was supportive of their efforts to rid Uva Academy of bullies. Their "punishment" was to be allowed to keep their organization and set up Star Training Centers. All the LP Penny had given to REDACTED after base conquests came from hacking the Pokemon League.


Champion Nemona in Mesagoza was so difficult that Jumpluff had to eat candies to grow to Lv 80. An unboosted Seed Bomb at lower levels could fail to kill even day Lycanroc. And Lycanroc was not safe to set up Swords Dance against due to Stone Edge. Pawmot had both Double Shock and Ice Punch to worry about if not killed immediately. Dudunsparce was free experience. Orthworm was the real obstacle on Nemona's team. Its pure Steel type and high HP and Defense meant a +2 Acrobatics hit for less than half HP. Iron Tail was a decent attack too. It took many attempts to win, and Jumpluff finally succeeded by keeping Orthworm asleep for long enough. Lv 66 Meowscarada was an easy target for Jumpluff the Acrobat.


Penny's last gift for REDACTED was a Draco Meteor TM that Jumpluff couldn't use. Arven called to gather the team for Area Zero, which will probably be Jumpluff's last adventure.


Jumpluff Lv 80 @ Nothing


HP: 254
Attack: 139
Defense: 163
Special Attack: 124
Special Defense: 187
Speed: 195


Seed Bomb
Acrobatics
Swords Dance
Sleep Powder

 

[adman2]

Pokemon Violet Solo Jumpluff FINALE


Great Crater of Paldea was a disappointing final "dungeon". It was mostly a meadow that sloped downwards, with the occasional waterfall. The wild Pokemon at the beginning were reused from other areas of Paldea. There were a surprising amount of Girafarig for some reason, and other Jumpluffs could be seen flying around.


The research stations were guarded by Pokemon, and REDACTED's companions assisted her. Nemona used Lycanroc, Arven used Mabosstiff, and Penny used Umbreon. First was the ordinary Glimmora at Lv 62. Second was Iron Bundle, an Ice/Water robo-Delibird. Third was a non-Titan Iron Treads.


Along the way to Area Zero, REDACTED caught an Iron Bundle and an Iron Jugulis. Iron Jugulis was a Dark/Flying robo-Hydreigon. Professor Turo revealed that each Iron [NAME] was a Pokemon from the future sent to the present via his time machine. Miraidon itself was what Cyclizar would become.


The lower levels of Great Crater of Paldea were a crystal cavern, though not nearly as impressive as the one level from Donkey Kong Country. Miraidon refused to fight or ride around at first because it was traumatized by the other Miraidon, who had defeated REDACTED's in a battle for territory. Opening Area Zero's gates unleashed a horde of future Pokemon, which Jumpluff and her AI partners defeated. The new one was Iron Hands, a Fighting/Electric robo-Hariyama. All Iron [NAME] monsters had the Quark Drive ability, which increased their highest stat in Electric Terrain, or if they were holding Booster Energy.


In case you haven't guessed it yet, GameFreak recycled their Ultra Beast plot from Moon and changed the circumstances from alternate worlds to time travel. And Violet would have happened if Lusamine were a posthumous jerk rather than a present-day villain.


"Professor Turo" was only a robot with his memories. He had died when Research Station No. 4 was destroyed. AI Turo wanted REDACTED to shut down the time machine to prevent future Pokemon such as Iron Treads from ruining Paldea's ecology. REDACTED got a Booster Energy here.


The catch was that Professor Turo had programmed his AI counterpart to fight against anyone trying to shut down the time machine with his copy of the Violet Book. When the brainwashing activated, AI Turo started talking with distorted text, such as upside-down "e" or numbers in place of letters. He opened with Lv 66 Iron Moth, a robo-Volcarona. Jumpluff Swords Danced as Iron Moth cast Sludge Wave. Next was Lv 66 Iron Thorns, a robo-Tyranitar that was weak to Seed Bomb.


Lv 66 Iron Hands was guaranteed one attack with its Fake Out flinch. It could also survive a +2 Attack Acrobatics and retaliate with Thunder Punch. Lv 66 Iron Bundle may have looked like a Delibird, but it was a far superior Pokemon that outpaced Lv 81 Jumpluff (!) and killed her with Freeze-Dry. To triumph, Jumpluff was going to have to eat more candy. Iron Moth was Fire/Poison, and Iron Thorns was Rock/Electric.


At Lv 86, Jumpluff's +2 Acrobatics was still too weak to take out Iron Hands. She survived a Thunder Punch with only 14 HP remaining. Jumpluff finally outran Iron Bundle and knocked its spring out of joint with Seed Bomb. Last was Lv 67 Iron Valiant, a robo-Gallade that shut down after one Acrobatics.


Jumpluff's role in the story was now over, as the official final battle was a scripted showdown between the two Miraidons. REDACTED's Miraidon was Lv 68 and had the moves Power Gem, Electro Drift, Endure, and Tera Blast. Miraidon simply had to Tera Blast until it could Terastallize and win the fight. AI Turo regained his senses and sent himself to the future to stop the time machine for good. REDACTED and friends returned to Uva Academy, and it was apparent the entire voice budget was spent on the credits song.


Jumpluff Final Stats


Lv 86 @ Nothing


HP: 273
Attack: 149
Defense: 176
Special Attack: 133
Special Defense: 201
Speed: 209


Seed Bomb
Acrobatics
Swords Dance
Sleep Powder


Jumpluff was a true hybrid Pokemon. Like many other Grass types, she had to make up for her weak offensive matchups with status ailments and HP draining. Where Jumpluff differed from other Grass monsters was that it had both the strengths and weaknesses of a Flying type. Flying had neutral coverage against many types, and was super effective against a few. Regular Grass types would not have to worry about Electric or Rock attacks, but Jumpluff did. Both types were vulnerable to Ice, and neither had an answer for Steel other than power leveling.


Swords Dance came late in the game but was essential to victory. Sleep Powder was unreliable due to fast awakenings and 75% accuracy, but still necessary for Jumpluff to win difficult fights. Pokemon Violet was one of the hardest installments to try a "no healing or X items in battle" challenge due to its strong trainers and Titans. And that was with a fully evolved monster, if a mediocre one. For that reason I wouldn't recommend most unevolved Pokemon for a Violet solo.


Pokemon Violet overall felt like the game that the Alola and Galar games wanted to be. The Titans were a reworking of Totem Pokemon, and the Iron [NAME] monsters were a remake of Ultra Beasts. Galar's Wild Area was an early prototype for Paldea, and navigating the world was the real innovation that Violet brought to the series. It was certainly better than the last few main installments!


Violet does have a postgame featuring rematches against Gym Leaders, so I may try that tomorrow.

 

[adman2]

NOTE: Everything from the Jumpluff BONUS posts to the Flamigo playthrough was already posted on Realms Beyond. I've had technical difficulties preventing me from logging onto Smogon until now.


Pokemon Violet Solo Jumpluff BONUS 1


You'd better enjoy this postscript, as my desktop would freeze all day today and I had to type this on a laptop. And when I first started typing on the laptop, the text was invisible!


All the Gym rematches were in the mid 60s range, and Larry deserved the honor of being first to be humiliated by a Jumpluff. He opened with Oinkologne, who attacked with Body Slam on the Swords Dance turn. Jumpluff dispatched Oinkologne, Dudunsparce, Braviary, Komala, and Staraptor with her Acrobatics flips. Her victory was at Lv 87 with 228/276 HP.


Grusha was second. Weather in Violet follows the "changes every 15 minutes" joke, and it happened to be Snowing during this battle. Frosmoth shaped it into a Blizzard as Jumpluff Swords Danced, and Beartic must have had a Snow-based evasion ability. It dodged Acrobatics and impaled Jumpluff with Icicle Crash. On Take 2, Jumpluff used Acrobatics right away against Frosmoth to avoid Blizzard, but had to Swords Dance in front of Beartic. Jumpluff survived Icicle Crash and wiped out Beartic, Cetitan, Weavile, and Altaria with Acrobatics to win with 138/276 HP at Lv 87.


Ryme was easily the worst rematch for Jumpluff. Her Mimikyu now actually had a decent attacking move in Play Rough, and Houndstone disappeared one turn and attacked on the next with Phantom Force. Spiritomb and Toxtricity were only a waste of a turn and PP, though they did give more time for Mimikyu to attack. To win, Jumpluff would have to survive several rounds of Play Rough because Mimikyu was immune to one hit kills. The successful attempt at Lv 92 started differently since Mimikyu killed the token Magikarp with Play Rough instead of Shadow Sneak, and Banette cut Jumpluff's Speed with Icy Wind. Acrobatics exorcised Banette and also leaped around Play Rough's low accuracy. Houndstone was the next round's target as leaving it undead would make it a Phantom Force nuisance. Spiritomb and Toxtricity were next to go. Jumpluff endured Mimikyu's Fairy type idea of playing at only 42/291 HP at Lv 92.



Iono came after Ryme. Her Kilowattrel started with the team Speed buff Tailwind and spun in a Hurricane. Jumpluff waited until after Swords Dancing to Terastallize in case of an early Electric attack. Acrobatics jumped on Kilowattrel, but Seed Bomb failed to kill Bellibolt even at +2 Attack. Bellibolt defibrillated Jumpluff with Thunder and sent her back to the Poke Ball. On Take 2, Jumpluff was forced to use Sleep Powder to buy enough time for two Swords Dances. She then proceeded to destroy Iono's team with Acrobatics and Seed Bomb. Luxray, Electrode, and Mismagius perished after Bellibolt.


Brassius of all Gym Leaders was a challenge for Jumpluff for one reason: Breloom's Effect Spore picked Sleep. The starting Lilligant was a pushover, and Breloom fell in one hit as well. Tsareena alternated between the Attack-reducing Trop Kick and Play Rough, so Jumpluff had to Swords Dance again after waking up. Once her Attack was high again, Tsareena and Arboliva were easy to kill. Sudowood wasted its Sturdy turn on Trailblaze instead of a Rock move, so Jumpluff conquered at Lv 92 with 89/291 HP.


Katy's team was Lokix, Forretress, Heracross, Spidops, and Ursaring. Spidops was irritating because it kept cutting Jumpluff's Speed with its signature move Silk Trap that worked like Protect. Forretress survived an Acrobatics but spent its turn on Curse, so it was a flawless victory at Lv 93.


Kofu wasn't much better. The only attack he used during the entire battle was a Psycho Cut from his starting Veluza. After Swords Dance, Seed Bombknocked out Veluza, the Pelipper with Drizzle, Clawitzer, Wugtrio, and Crabominable.


Tulip was the final Gym rematch. Farigiraf set up Reflect, and to run out the +Defense turns, Jumpluff set up three Swords Dances. Farigiraf attacked with Zen Headbutt. Farigiraf and Gardevoir fell while Reflect was still up, but Acrobatics hit for full power against Espathra, Gallade, and Florges. The last victory was at 205/294 HP at Lv 93.