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

[adman2]

Pokemon Shield Solo Wooloo Part 11


Opal liked Bede's pink clothes so much that she reinstated him into the Gym Challenge. Yes, it was only then that I realized Bede was a boy. His "grandma hair" gave him a feminine appearance.


What seemed to be an earthquake happened in Hammerlocke near the power plant. Some worried that Pokemon would then be able to Dynamax in the city proper rather than just the stadium where it would be safe. They said to "leave the quaking to the adults", but we all know how competent authority figures are in Pokemon games. rolleye


A Pokemon Center in eastern Hammerlocke sold elemental fang and terrain TMs, which I may want to keep in mind for future solos. One NPC inside said Champions were too strong, and recommended letting challengers use 10 Pokemon against them. But isn't it better to humiliate them with a Pokemon so weak I sometimes wish I were using Magikarp? (With Hydro Pump, the joke fish may actually be viable once enough Watts are acquired. . .)


Forgetting to swap out EWE's moveset was punished in the Route 7 Hop battle. He led with a Level 34 Trevenant that was immune to Headbutt and resisted Wild Charge due to being Ghost/Grass. Ten Wild Charges along with Rest were necessary to win that round. Trevenant restored some HP with Horn Leech attacks, and wasted at least one of EWE's turns when it shone a Confuse Ray on her.


Hop's next monster was a Level 35 Snorlax, and EWE had to Rest to recover on the first turn. Snorlax took the opportunity to Stockpile more Defense and Special Defense in the meantime, while occasionally Heavy Slamming. A Body Slam paralyzed EWE, creating a possibility of losing the battle. Headbutts slowly eroded Snorlax's HP. Level 34 Heatmor had Fire Lash which always debuffed Defense. Not favorable conditions for Resting, but both Sleep Talks rolled Headbutt and finished off the anteater. Level 35 Boltund fell to 2 Headbutts after it Crunched Wooloo twice.


Finally, Level 37 Inteleon loved to decrease EWE's Attack and irrelevant Special Attack with Tearful Look. Sleep Talk Wild Charge and Headbutt gradually defeated the Water starter, though EWE had to watch out for its signature Water move Snipe Shot. EWE won with 70/128 HP at Level 61. I made sure to replace Wild Charge with Payback in case Wooloo encountered any more pesky Ghosts.


Model Mila was another potential death. Her Level 35 Ribombee flew faster than EWE could walk and attacked with Dazzling Gleam and Pollen Puff. Level 36 Vespiquen was slow, but sturdy enough to take several Headbutts. It used Attack Order, a physical Bug move that bypassed Fluffy.


Route 8 involved climbing up and down ladders through some ruins. Musician Charles's Level 37 Togedemaru was part Steel and had to be attacked with Payback instead of the stronger Headbutt. Since this was a contact move, it activated the passive Iron Barbs ability that damaged EWE each time. Its signature Zing Zap attack combined with Iron Barbs hurt EWE enough that she left the arena at 31/131 HP.


Attempting Headbutt against Backpacker Barbara's Dreepy was useless because it turned out to be a Ghost type. A single Payback sent it back to the graveyard, however, and Headbutts broke through even Vullaby's Iron Defense buffs. A Terrain Extender item was available at the end of these ruins, and was worth noting for other potential solos.


The snow area of Route 8 had Pokemon like Snom the Bug/Ice monster, Sneasel, Snorunt, and Vanillish. The only trainer battle here was against Police Officer Bobby (get it?) and his Intimidate Arcanine and Level 37 Boltund. Headbutt couldn't make Arcanine flinch because it repeatedly used Extreme Speed priority. Hail damage finished off the Electric dog after more rounds of Headbutting.


Circhester was a snowy town with a Roman bath. Or whatever Rome's equivalent was called. Its Gym did not have ice sliding puzzles like you'd expect, but rather a puzzle where SOLEDAD had to use a Trap Detector to avoid pitfalls. In practice, I fell down most of the pitfalls, which only sent SOLEDAD back to the previous safe platform. The traps did not reset. Trainer battles ranged from 38-39. Lewis's Snom died to a single Headbutt, a rare event in this playthrough! Micah's Avalugg required around 6 Headbutts due to its massive Defense stat. Its Ice Fang was weak, however.


Her subordinates may have been easy, but Melony the Gym Leader rivaled Kabu and Allister. She led with Snom's evolved form Frosmoth at Level 40. It knew several nasty moves to use against a solo Wooloo, such as Icy Wind to debuff Speed and attack, Hail to cause 1/16 max HP damage per round for 5 turns, Bug Buzz to deal more significant damage, and the rarely seen Feather Dance, a -2 Attack debuff. It was simple to kill with about 2 Headbutts, however.


Galar's Ice version of Darmanitan appeared at Level 40. It started with Taunt to disable Rest and Sleep Talk for several rounds, then made Icicle Crash fall on EWE. Icicle Crash had a flinch chance too. A couple of attempts ended there, especially when Darmanitan lost more than half HP and turned into a snarling snowman with higher Attack in Zen Mode. It must have been one of the "snow demons" that Calvin prayed to in Calvin and Hobbes.


Eiscue the Level 41 pure Ice penguin came next. Its gimmick was that it wore an Ice Face ability that nullified one physical attack before breaking. This proved once again that GameFreak hated Pokemon that relied on the Attack stat, as if Intimidate, Burn status, contact move abilities like Iron Barbs, and common debuffs like Growl weren't enough. Ice Face could be regenerated if Eiscue set up Hail again, which was usually the case. It liked to attack with either Icy Wind or Freeze Dry, a move super effective against Water types. On rare occasions it would waste turns increasing its Special Defense with Amnesia.


Melony saved her Gigantamax Lapras for last. Its specialty was G-Max Resonance, an enhanced Ice Beam that generated a combination Reflect and Light Screen in the form of Aurora Veil. But this was a relief in comparison to a Surf powered Max Geyser that summoned Rain to boost future Water attacks.


It took 9 tries to win the 6th badge. Sometimes EWE held out until Lapras and couldn't Rest again in time. Darmanitan's Icicle Crash flinches sometimes did Wooloo in. And even Eiscue once got a KO with Freeze Dry after I clicked Reversal instead of flinch. (Don't remember whether Taunt was still active at the time.)


Success did not come until Level 70 with the help of more Wild Area candies. Reversal occupied the 4th move slot for the strongest possible Max Knuckle. Frosmoth slowed down EWE with Icy Wind before dying, and the first Headbutt sent Darmanitan into Zen Mode. Stupid AI helped when Eiscue used Amnesia, giving a chance to Rest. Headbutts combined with a Sleep Talk Reversal marched the penguin back into its Poke Ball. Lapras wasted all 3 of its turns on G-Max Resonance, when it probably could have won with Max Geyser. Two Rests outlasted the enemy's Dynamax time, and EWE grew to hundreds of times her natural size to Max Knuckle the plesiosaur to death.


Once again, I couldn't record the exact HP count, but EWE was roughly in the middle of her life bar. SOLEDAD got the Icy Wind TM as a reward, probably as a reference to the easier Gym Leader Pryce from Crystal. It was a relief to save and turn the game off after this slog. Playing a no Battle Item challenge with Wooloo is one step above the Kanto caterpillars. If the Wild Area candies didn't exist or were harder to obtain, you'd have to look at ugly Dubwool instead. At least Dubwool has Body Press, Zen Headbutt, Bounce, and most importantly the Swords Dance for +2 Attack. And decent Attack and Speed to begin with.


DEATH COUNT: 36


EWE the Wooloo Stats

Level 70 @ Eviolite


Ability: Fluffy
Nature: Relaxed
Characteristic: Alert to Sounds


HP: 147
Attack: 72
Defense: 111
Sp. Atk: 90
Sp. Def: 82
Speed: 94


Headbutt
Rest
Sleep Talk
Reversal

 

[adman2]

Pokemon Shield Solo Wooloo Part 12


Hop's battle in the ancient Circhester baths was another slim victory in spite of EWE being 30 levels higher than her opponents. Wooloo's abysmal performance in Shield cannot be overstated. This sheep is the bottom of the barrel unless you count joke runs like solo Weedle, and at least with Weedle no one will criticize you for chugging Full Restores and X Attacks.


Hop had the sense to actually evolve his Wooloo into a Level 40 Dubwool. Its moveset was still subpar, relying on Take Down and Defense Curl. Growl was a legitimate threat to a solo with base 40 Attack and a bad IV in that stat, however. Several rounds of Headbutts made Hop decide to heal his sheep with his only Hyper Potion.


Next came Level 39 Snorlax, which was more dangerous because of its defenses wasting EWE's PP rather than its Body Slam or Heavy Slam damage output. Rest and Sleep Talk provided much-needed recovery. Level 41 Inteleon decreased Wooloo's marginal Attack further with several Tearful Looks, and once scored a critical hit with Snipe Shot water. Paybacks and Headbutts slowly wore down the Water starter.


Level 40 Corviknight was effectively a Skarmory replacement. It was Steel/Flying with high Defense, though it was interesting mainly because it was the final form of a "Route 1 bird". Corviknight liked to use Scary Face to lower Wooloo's Speed, but this was mostly irrelevant. Paybacks were neutral against Steel in this game, so EWE used it over and over. Hail probably dealt more damage in the end. Corviknight's Drill Pecks were useless against EWE's Eviolite and Fluffy ability bonuses.


Hop's last Pokemon was a Level 39 Pincurchin, which I initially mistook for a Pyukumuku evolution. I found out later that it was actually pure Electric, which explained why it used Spark so often. Spark caused paralysis, forcing Wooloo to Rest once again to cure the status. Hail conked Pincurchin on the head and EWE won by default. It was sad to see that 1/16 max HP damage was essential for an "overleveled" Pokemon to win. EWE emerged from the baths at 48/147 HP.


Failing to go to the Pokemon Center immediately resulted in another casualty against Fisher Harriet and her Water type Barraskewda. Pokemon Shield sometimes likes to autoheal you, but sometimes doesn't.


DEATH COUNT: 37


Another embarrassing defeat happened when a random Team Yell Grunt happened to carry a Galar Linoone with Counter. One Headbutt was returned with double power. Next time I made sure to relearn Double Kick to exploit its 4X weakness to Fighting.


DEATH COUNT: 38


Route 9 was a water area filled with ice floes. This was unusually large for a Pokemon Shield Route, leading some players to believe that it was made early in development, while the others were rushed. Saving the bike guy from the Team Yell Grunts enabled the bike to ride on water as a substitute for Surf. Enemy trainers tended to use Water or Fighting types like Qwilfish, Pyukumuku, Cloyster, Toxapex, Throh, Sawk, and Grapploct in the low 40s level range. I was forced to redo some of this part when an unwanted wild Pokemon encounter on the map caused my Switch's screen to have a "white out" crash. To escape this trap, I had to hold down the power button until the game hard reset.


Notable TMs here included Avalanche, Dive, and most importantly Rock Slide. So many good moves are Wild Area TRs that it's odd to see Rock Slide come so late. Not that Wooloo could use it, of course.


On the eastern side of Route 7, EWE unwittingly ran into an impossible situation. Gentleman Caden sent out a Level 44 Doublade first, and of course Wooloo didn't have Payback at the time. Wooloo's move selection is so bad that if you don't have Payback, you have to dread every encounter that might have a Ghost. And if you are using Payback, you run into someone who resists Dark. EWE avenged her loss, but there was still a chance of losing to Gentleman Caden. His Passimian knew Bulk Up, and Polteageist was another Ghost, this time with the advantage of Giga Drain healing. Two lucky Sleep Talks in a row won the battle.



UNWINNABLE BATTLE COUNT: 1


Marnie awaited EWE outside the town of Spikemuth. Her Level 42 Liepard used one of the worst moves possible against a solo Pokemon: Torment. Half of all attacks throughout the battle were wasted on Payback. Liepard was otherwise weak, and Wooloo's attacks defeated it even when Marnie healed it with a Hyper Potion. Level 43 Scrafty loved to use Scary Face and Swagger. A couple of turns lost to confusion were worth it when Swagger wore off and EWE kept the +2 Attack. Rest and Sleep Talk helped to survive this phase.


Marnie's Level 43 Toxicroak cast Venoshock and whiffed with Swagger before dying to an enhanced Payback and Headbutt. Her final monster was a Level 44 Morpeko that managed to paralyze EWE with Spark. Payback and Headbutt allowed EWE to triumph.


The Dark type had been snubbed in the Gym lineup in every Pokemon game until Shield finally decided to give it one. Then again, it was in a city filled exclusively with back alleys, and its Gym Trainers were Team Yell Grunts. Its "challenge" was nothing but battles, no traps or minigames. SOLEDAD was required to bring a 2nd Pokemon for a Double Battle, so a Ralts using only the useless move Teleport was there to fill a "dummy slot". Payback was kept because I feared that one trainer would pull out a Dark/Ghost Sableye or something.


(This session was played away from home.)


Team Yell Grunts used Galar Linoone, Thievul, Scrafty, Weavile, Liepard, and Drapion in the 42-43 range. These were mostly simple battles. The cutscene where Gym Leader Piers made his entrance was an obvious sign of budget limitations. He rocked out while making lip movements, but there was no voice acting at all. He said that Dynamaxing was impossible in his arena, but hoped we would have a good battle. And Piers delivered that.


EDIT: Piers didn't even have the budget to have a guitar. I only realized this when I watched the cutscene again for the next attempt.


Piers opened with a Level 44 Scrafty with the perpetually annoying Intimidate ability. Its Fake Out and Payback dealt only minor damage because they were contact moves affected by Fluffy. Headbutts made it flinch several times before it died.


Level 46 Obstagoon, a Galar exclusive evolution of Linoone, was Piers's star Pokemon. Its signature Obstruct move blocked all attacks, with a -2 Defense penalty to those who hit it with contact moves. Guess what kind of moves Wooloo was forced to use. Like Linoones before it, Obstagoon knew Counter. And it could take advantage of Obstruct's Defense debuffs with an 80 power Dark attack called Throat Chop. Somehow EWE managed to outlast it, but she was in poor shape for Level 45 Malamar and its Night Slash. Piers announced it had the Contrary ability, which would turn any debuffs into buffs and vice versa. Good thing it didn't have Superpower, or it would have received a free Bulk Up for a super effective attack!


DEATH COUNT: 39


I'll have to rethink the moveset before trying again. Perhaps there may be a way for EWE to win at her current level. If not, there's always candies.



EWE the Wooloo Stats

Level 72 @ Eviolite


Ability: Fluffy
Nature: Relaxed
Characteristic: Alert to Sounds


HP: 152
Attack: 77
Defense: 117
Sp. Atk: 93
Sp. Def: 87
Speed: 99


Headbutt
Rest
Sleep Talk
Wild Charge

 

[adman2]

Pokemon Shield Solo Wooloo Part 13


It took an unorthodox moveset to do it, but EWE won the 7th badge at her current level of 72. . .which was still higher than the Champion's team. Dark types in Pokemon, with a few exceptions like Hyreigon and Zoroark, tend to be physical fighters. In fact, every Dark move created before the Sinnoh games became physical, if my knowledge of Pokemon is correct.


Piers's Scrafty opened with the obligatory Fake Out flinch because it would have failed if it weren't used on the 1st turn. A Payback and a critical Brick Break dealt additional damage while EWE Headbutted Scrafty to death. One of these Normal attacks made the Dark/Fighting Pokemon flinch.


Cotton Guard was the unusual move for this set. Its +3 Defense boost was both a good way to waste Obstruct turns, and to act as insurance in case I mispredicted the AI pattern and suffered the debuff. Obstagoon's Throat Chop was pitiful with the combined powers of Fluffy, Eviolite, and Cotton Guard, and Double Kick slowly subtracted HP from the Dark/Normal type. One Obstruct landed, leaving EWE at +4 Defense when Malamar appeared.


Malamar alternated between Psycho Cut, Night Slash, and Payback, all of which dealt minor damage. EWE Rested during this phase of the Piers battle for safety between Headbutts. Last came Skuntank at Level 45. Piers announced that it had both Sucker Punch and Toxic. Without Rest to sleep off the poison, EWE would have lost for sure. Instead of Sucker Punch, Skuntank preferred to cast Snarl, the only special attack Piers's team had. With only 55 base power coming from 71 base Special Attack, Snarl's ability to ignore Fluffy and Cotton Guard still wasn't enough to shear Wooloo.


Skuntank's final surprise was Aftermath recoil damage from Headbutt being a contact move. EWE had more than enough HP to survive that, and she gained the useless Snarl TM from a Team Yell Grunt. Piers happened to be Marnie's brother, and he wanted her to succeed him as the Gym Leader. But she had the ambition of becoming the Champion instead, and Piers and Team Yell cheered her on.


A loud growling sound was heard from Route 9's tunnel, and Leon ordered SOLEDAD to continue her quest while he tried to handle the situation. You'd think by now the adults would realize they have to rely on gifted minors to solve all their problems.


No stats section is needed this time.

 

[adman2]

Pokemon Shield Solo Wooloo Part 14


Galar's 8th Gym in Hammerlocke came immediately after finishing the 7th. When the gatekeeper wouldn't let SOLEDAD into the trial without a 2nd Pokemon, I knew Wooloo would be in trouble. In fact, all the battles here were Double Battles. To maintain the ideal of the solo run, SOLEDAD brought her useless Teleporting Ralts to meet the quota.


Although this was nominally a Dragon Gym, the AI trainers had no objections to using non-Dragon Pokemon to set up automatic weather. Sebastian's Pelipper and Sliggoo duo based on Rain were simple to defeat, but Camilla's Kanto Ninetales and Turtonator required special tactics. Turtonator repeatedly used its signature Shell Trap move, a counterattack that didn't protect from damage but made up for it with massive physical Fire power, especially under Sun. Ninetales itself cast boosted Flamethrowers that not only exploited Fluffy's drawback but hit Wooloo's weaker defensive stat.


DEATH COUNT: 41


To stand any chance against two Pokemon with a passive ability induced weakness, EWE ate enough candies to rise to Level 80. Ralts made a good distraction for Will o Wisp and a single Flamethrower while EWE Headbutted Ninetales. To avoid Turtonator's Shell Trap bait and wait out the weather, EWE relied on her Cotton Guard trick. More Headbutts cracked the Fire/Dragon type's shell. Abomasnow and Hakamo-o's Hail team led by Aria were a relief. Abomasnow didn't even set up Aurora Veil defensive screens until its partner was already dead. All Gym Trainer Pokemon were at Level 45.


Gym Leader Raihan sent out Level 47 Flygon and Level 46 Gigalith first. Gigalith was only concerning at all because of its passive Sandstorm ability, but was otherwise dead weight except for Sand Tomb gradual damage. Flygon, however, loved to decrease EWE's meager Attack with the new Dragon attack Breaking Swipe. EWE could never have enough PP to outlast Raihan's team without rolling an unrealistically high amount of criticals.


DEATH COUNT: 42


On Take 2, I had the idea of using Dynamax early to take out Flygon with a Max Strike and Max Knuckles in order to increase Attack. Sandaconda took Flygon's place and acted more as a support teammate by blocking attacks with Protect, paralyzing with Glare, or casting Earth Power. When Gigalith died, a Steel/Dragon named Duraludon appeared. It grew into the shape of a skyscraper when Raihan used Gigantamax, and liked to buff its Attack with its own Max Knuckles. Without Defense boosts, EWE succumbed to repeated physical moves.


DEATH COUNT: 43


On the successful attempt, EWE was unlucky when Flygon liked to negate Max Knuckle buffs with Breaking Swipe debuffs. Obviously it was the top priority to kill while Dynamaxed. Headbutting Sandaconda made me learn that it had the Sand Spit ability that summoned a Sandstorm whenever an attack hit the snake. So EWE concentrated on Gigalith and hammered the Rock type with Double Kick. Cotton Guard ensured survival when Duraludon appeared, and Double Kicks were as effective against Steel as they were against Rock. Sandaconda was the last to die, and EWE left the stadium at around half HP while paralyzed.


Route 10 was another Ice themed area, but was smaller and more linear than Route 9. Fighting its local trainers was a miserable experience for EWE, and she had to rely on Hail and Rest stalling to beat enemies like Hiker Douglas's Level 45 Steelix. In frustration, I swapped out Headbutt for Wild Charge just to speed up the combat. It was satisfying to take out Postman Harper's Pelipper and Noctowl in one hit!


EWE would have sacrificed some of her Attack stat if she were able to learn Toxic, which wasn't a TM or TR at all in Galar. Double Team was out of reach too.



EWE the Wooloo Stats


Level 81 @ Eviolite


Ability: Fluffy
Nature: Relaxed
Characteristic: Alert to Sounds


HP: 171
Attack: 90
Defense: 136
Sp. Atk: 106
Sp. Def: 98
Speed: 113


Payback
Rest
Cotton Guard
Wild Charge

 

[adman2]

Pokemon Shield Solo Wooloo Part 15


It came to my attention that a Facade TM was hidden in the Wild Area, and it was one of the rare moves that Wooloo could actually learn. It had the same base power as Headbutt, but would double to 140 when EWE was poisoned, burned, or paralyzed. So status ailments could sometimes be beneficial to the sheep now.


SOLEDAD used some Hondew Berries to lower EWE's Special Attack "effort values", which is why the stat is lower than in previous updates. Proteins were sold in one of Wyndon's Pokemon Centers which finally boosted EWE's Attack into the triple digits.


Another Wyndon Pokemon Center sold elemental punch, Drain Punch, and "stat swap" moves. Wooloo couldn't use them, but it might be worth noting for future playthroughs.


At some point before I bought the Proteins, EWE had to fight for her life against. . .3 Level 34 Rotoms controlled by League Staff Isaac. Granted, one of them was the Electric/Fire version, and it got a critical with Overheat, but still, come on! She limped out of the battle with 31/171 HP.


Pokemon Shield had no Elite 4 gauntlet, but rather a Champion's Cup. Marnie was the first opponent with a Level 47-49 team. Her Liepard must have been prepared to use special moves because it buffed its power with Nasty Plot. EWE set up a Cotton Guard on the first turn not knowing about Marnie's strategy, though the Team Yell favorite got greedy and used a 2nd Nasty Plot, leaving Liepard open to a one hit Facade KO.


Two Facades killed Level 47 Scrafty, who unintentionally helped EWE with a +2 Attack Swagger. Level 47 Toxicroak dropped after 1 Facade. EWE grew to Dynamax size against Level 48 Morpeko, who failed to use Torment. Confusion damage from Swagger delayed victory by a turn, and Marnie hoped to hinder EWE further with Spark paralysis. But a Max Strike destroyed the Dark/Electric Pikachu clone.


Last came Level 49 Grimmsnarl, the final form of Impidimp. This Pokemon dealt minor damage with 2 Fairy type Max Starfalls during its Gigantamax phase, and full paralysis wasted one of EWE's turns. One Facade took down the Dark/Fairy type. I should have taken a picture of tiny Wooloo vs. Gigantamax Grimmsnarl, but I didn't do so.



EWE was healed between matches, but couldn't leave to alter her moveset against Hop. He opened with Level 48 Dubwool, who Body Slammed EWE in hopes of paralyzing her. Dubwool succeeded, only to boost Facade's power. Two hits sheared the evolved Wooloo. Level 47 Snorlax attacked with a super effective Hammer Arm. Hop decided to use his Full Restore here, so it took 3 Facades to put Snorlax back to sleep.


EWE sent Level 47 Pincurchin back to the Pyukumuku evolution drawing board with a single Facade. Three Paybacks rusted Level 48 Corviknight, who attacked EWE with Drill Pecks. Level 49 Inteleon was the designated Dynamax user, but the AI must have been drunk and decided to use a weak Ground type Max Quake on every turn instead of Max Geyser. Two Max Strikes based on Facade brought Inteleon down to size. EWE won the semifinals at "low mid" HP at Level 82.


Before EWE could challenge the finals, SOLEDAD, Hop, and Team Yell had to confront strange events at Rose Tower and the fountain area of Wyndon. Macro Cosmos served as an evil team of sorts like the Aether Foundation from Alola, though the music was rather cheerful for bad guys. Their specialty was the Steel type, featuring the following monsters: Galar Meowth, Durant, Excadrill, Mawile, Galar Stunfisk, Steelix, Ferroseed, Cufant, Klang, and Bronzong.


Hop assisted in some of the battles with his Dubwool. The only annoying part was one match where Stunfisk kept Bouncing into the air like a Final Fantasy Dragoon.


Oleana the boss was not a type specialist. Her Level 50 Froslass opened with Will o Wisp. EWE was forced to use Payback due to it being part Ghost, though its low Defense ensured a 2 hit KO even with half Attack from being burned. Two ailment powered Facades killed Level 51 Milotic, who only used Aqua Ring to try to heal itself at the end of the turn. Level 50 Salazzle was fast and dealt heavy damage with an Incinerate, but couldn't handle a Facade. Before attacking Level 50 Tsareena, EWE took a Rest. This physical Grass type only used Acrobatics for mild damage. Tsareena was a good opportunity for EWE to Dynamax and increase her Attack with Double Kick based Max Knuckles.


Oleanna's final monster was a Level 52 Garbodor with Gigantamax who used G-Max Malodor to attack and poison EWE. The first Facade activated Garbodor's Weak Armor ability and let it go first on the next round. A final G-Max Malodor left EWE at about 19/175 HP at Level 83 when the battle ended. Another close match!


Tomorrow we'll see if EWE can make a mockery of the Pokemon League by defeating the Champion.



EWE the Wooloo Stats


Level 83 @ Eviolite


Ability: Fluffy
Nature: Relaxed
Characteristic: Alert to Sounds


HP: 175
Attack: 109
Defense: 139
Sp. Atk: 104
Sp. Def: 101
Speed: 117


Facade
Payback
Double Kick
Rest

 

[adman2]

Pokemon Shield Solo Wooloo Part 16


The "venerable" Bede returned for an unofficial match before the finals began. He had become a Gym Leader now that Opal had retired, after enduring the "boot camp on Fairy type Pokemon". Bede obviously hated the "old lady", so my characterization of Opal as a "biddy" is still apt. Bede's clothes were pinker than ever thanks to Opal's obsession with the color. Yet "purple" was the correct answer to her favorite color question in the quiz!


Bede began with a Level 51 Mawile with Intimidate. The futakuchi-onna must be popular in Galar. Three Max Knuckles weren't enough to beat Mawile, though raising to +2 Attack made the rest of the battle easier. Bede fed the Steel/Fairy type a Full Restore after the 2nd Max Knuckle. A Double Kick finished off Mawile once EWE returned to normal size.


Good thing Level 51 Gardevoir didn't have Trace, or it would have copied Fluffy and made it harder to kill. One Facade defeated the retconned Psychic/Fairy type. Level 52 Galar Rapidash lived up to its name and outsped EWE. Its Dazzling Gleam was weak, however, and a single Facade sent it back to the My Little Pony toy line.


Bede's Level 53 Hatterene expanded to Gigantamax size and used Max Mindstorm to attack and create Psychic Terrain. But 2 Facades shrank Hatterne back to normal, and EWE triumphed with about 41/175 HP at Level 83.


Nessa the Water Gym Leader was the first opponent in the official final matches. She had a different team this time, and began with a Level 51 Bug/Water Golisopod, Guzma's signature Pokemon in Moon. Its Sword Dance would have been concerning if it didn't have the detrimental Emergency Exit ability that forced it to switch out after 2 Facades took it below half HP. Level 52 Seaking appeared 2nd, providing a good opportunity to set up Attack boosts with Double Kick powered Max Knuckles. All Seaking did was try to use Aqua Ring passive gradual healing.


Golisopod returned after Seaking died, only for its First Impression priority Bug attack to deal minor damage. A 3rd Max Knuckle raised EWE's Attack to +3, and Golisopod drank a Full Restore. Facade triggered Emergency Exit once again. Level 52 Barraskewda's Liquidation was a contact physical move that was blunted by Fluffy, and one Facade broke the fragile fish.


Golisopod Round 3 was an exchange of First Impression and a final Facade to finally make it Emergeny Exit to a Pokemon Center instead of a Poke Ball. Level 51 Pelipper had only enough time to activate its passive Rain before Facade conked it in the beak. Last came Level 53 Drednaw, the designated Gigantamax Pokemon. The AI dumbed itself down again and used Max Rockfall (?!), changing the weather to Sandstorm instead of trying enhanced Water moves in the Rain. Two Double Kicks exploited Drednaw's Fighting weakness and won the battle at 65/175 HP at Level 83.


Allister came back from the grave like a vengeful Ghost ought to for the 3rd finals match. He made up for the relative easiness of earlier battles with his new team. Level 52 Dusknoir had Defense too high for a Level 83 Wooloo to take out in one hit, even with Max Darkness. Its Pressure made every move cost double the normal PP, and Rock Tomb debuffed EWE's Speed. Level 52 Chandelure alternated between inflicting Burn with Will o Wisp and casting Mystical Fire against EWE's Fluffy weakness.


Allister's Level 53 Polteageist sometimes wasted PP with Protect blocking. Its Giga Drain was fairly weak, and Weak Armor prevented it from stalling for too long. Level 53 Cursola was more troublesome because it sometimes reduced EWE's Attack with the healing move Strength Sap. Ancient Power could not even break a Substitute with one hit, though. If EWE survived the previous Ghosts, Gigantamax Gengar at Level 54 was sure to finish her off with Max Ooze, or Sludge Bomb if EWE outlasted the first 3 rounds.


DEATH COUNT: 49


The only way to win was to knock out Dusknoir and Chandelure quickly before EWE either took too much damage or got Burned. EWE had to rise to Level 95 with candies before she defeated the Ghost master!


It felt great to finally kill Dusknoir with one Max Darkness, and Chandelure suffered the same fate. Polteageist survived the final Dynamax attack because it reduced the damage with Protect. Its Giga Drain was laughable, and the Max Darkness managed to get both a critical hit and a Weak Armor defense debuff. One Payback exorcised the short and stout teacup. Cursola cast one Ancient Power because Payback got a low damage roll, but Weak Armor again helped EWE's damage output. Not even an enemy Full Restore could save the bleached coral. Gengar's passive Cursed Body ability Disabled Payback after the first use, but EWE had Wild Charge in reserve to win with about 70/199 HP.


EWE swapped out her moveset to Facade, Double Kick, Rest, and Substitute for the Raihan rematch. He started with a Torkoal that had the automatic Sun ability Drought. Raihan's AI flubbed the move selection and picked Solarbeam instead of Lava Plume. Even if he didn't know EWE had Fluffy, he should at least have been aware that Fire is 50% more powerful in Sun and that Torkoal had a same type attack bonus! Three Max Knuckles cracked Torkoal's shell.


Raihan's Level 54 Turtonator set a Shell Trap, which did not protect against a +3 Attack Facade at all. Level 54 Goodra could only sit in place when another EWE Facade slaughtered it. Level 54 Flygon was faster than EWE and summoned a Sandstorm before dying. Level 55 Duraludon was the Gigantamax Pokemon as in Raihan's first battle. Its Max Knuckle tickled EWE, and two Double Kicks demolished the skyscraper. EWE won her last finals match with 103/199 HP at Level 95. Raihan was a breather after Allister.


SOLEDAD and EWE were not allowed to take Champion Leon's title yet. Chairman Rose appeared on the giant screen in the stadium and announced he was reviving the Darkest Day to solve an energy crisis that he believed would happen 1000 years in the future. This was the calamity the two heroes and the sword and shield Pokemon had stopped long ago. I liked legendary Pokemon better when they were just bonuses for dedicated explorers rather than being part of the plot. . .



EWE the Wooloo Stats


Level 95 @ Eviolite


Ability: Fluffy
Nature: Relaxed
Characteristic: Alert to Sounds


HP: 199
Attack: 124
Defense: 158
Sp. Atk: 119
Sp. Def: 115
Speed: 133


Facade
Payback
Double Kick
Rest

 

[adman2]

Pokemon Shield Solo Wooloo Part 17


Hop and SOLEDAD ventured through the Slumbering Weald again, but there were no enemy trainers, and EWE could run away from any wild Pokemon she bumped into. It was more like a cutscene than exploration. At the end of this "dungeon" were a rusty sword and shield. Hop grabbed the sword when SOLEDAD took the shield.


Since most of Macro Cosmos had already been defeated in the Rose Tower elevator, only Rose himself remained. He fought like a Steel Gym Leader instead of an "evil team" boss since all of his Pokemon were of that type. His vanguard was a Level 55 Escavalier whose Megahorn was ineffective against Fluffy. Three Max Knuckles raised EWE's Attack to +3 as usual and felled the armored snail. Level 55 Ferrothorn was too slow to act before a critical Double Kick took it out, but the durian inflicted passive damage with its Iron Barbs ability. Level 56 Klinklang was completely useless to Rose when another Double Kick ground its gears to a halt.


Rose's next Pokemon was Level 55 Perrserker, an evolution of Galar Meowth. GameFreak must have decided it was too ugly to dignify with the "Persian" name, which even the bobblehead Alola Dark type form got. A critical Double Kick rusted the Steel cat. Rose's Gigantamax monster was a Level 57 pure Steel elephant named Copperajah. Yes, the same one that Bede used to destroy the mural in Stow-on-Side. It was so big that most of it was obscured by the trunk, but it was as vulnerable to Double Kick as the rest of Rose's team. Two uses won EWE the battle at 78/199 HP at Level 95, and the elephant only retaliated once with Max Quake.


What Rose had done to bring back the Darkest Day was to awaken Eternatus, a Level 60 Poison/Dragon legendary. It was immune to Poke Balls until its HP dropped to 0, so EWE had to legitimately fight it instead of hoping for good luck. Initially I thought it was a Ghost type for some reason until I looked up Eternatus on Serebii after the first attempt. Thus Wooloo used Payback for modest damage. Eternatus often cast Flamethrower, and EWE died in about 3 hits at Level 95 even when she opted for Facade instead of Payback.


DEATH COUNT: 51


The only solution was to use the last of the Rare Candies to raise EWE to the level cap of 100. Even Eviolite couldn't diminish the power of Flamethrower against Fluffy. On Take 3, Eternatus decided to go easy on EWE and occasionally attacked with Cross Poison. It only breathed a Flamethrower once.


EWE was autohealed after the battle, only to prepare for a Gigantamax Eternatus battle. The first 3 rounds or so were a cutscene when all attacks failed. This was a Raid, so Hop's Dubwool was there to take some hits as well. Hop got the idea to use the sword and shield, which summoned the wolf legendaries Zacian and Zamazenta as Raid partners and allowed EWE and Dubwool to attack Eternatus.


Zacian and Zamazenta carried the team with their signature moves Behemoth Blade and Behemoth Bash. Dubwool's Double Edge and EWE's Facade reduced Eternatus's life bar by such a small amount that scientific instruments would be required to measure it. Eternatus alternated between scorching Zamazenta and EWE with Max Flares, which also summoned harsh Sun. Good thing Zamazenta had Light Screen to blunt these special attacks! Zamazenta finished off Eternatus with a Behemoth Bash, giving SOLEDAD the opportunity to capture it with a Level Ball.


Wooloo is truly one of the worst Pokemon if it has to be at Level 100 to have a chance of defeating a wild legendary 40 levels lower! EWE's final test will be the Champion Leon battle. His team caps at Level 65 and has no legendary monsters, so EWE should be able to win. . .


EWE the Wooloo Stats


Level 100 @ Eviolite


Ability: Fluffy
Nature: Relaxed
Characteristic: Alert to Sounds


HP: 209
Attack: 131
Defense: 167
Sp. Atk: 125
Sp. Def: 121
Speed: 140


Facade
Payback
Double Kick
Rest


To give some perspective, Wooloo's Attack at Level 100 is worse than TOPPERCENT the Crystal version Rattata at Level 89. The stat systems of the 2nd generation and the later games have different types of "effort values", but the comparison still makes Wooloo look bad.

 

[adman2]

Pokemon Shield Solo Wooloo "Victory"


Champion Leon led with an effective counter to Wooloo, a Level 62 Aegislash. Games called Pokemon Sword and Shield would not be complete without a Ghost/Steel Pokemon that is literally a haunted sword and shield. Its extreme base Defense in its Shield form was already bad enough, but its King's Shield move could either completely block Payback and reduce Attack to -1, or reduce the damage of Max Darkness. On the first try, EWE didn't even make it past this monster and its Flash Cannon special attacks.


DEATH COUNT: 52


On Take 2, Wooloo made it much farther. When Aegislash died, Seismitoad the Water/Ground amphibian took its place. This one knew Toxic, increasing Facade's power but forcing EWE to Rest later in the battle. Haxorus took advantage of the downtime to shake the ground with Earthquake. Since I had picked Grookey at the beginning of the game without knowing who the Chosen One was going to be, I was punished with the fully evolved form of the Fire starter. Cinderace the rabbit kicked Pyro Balls, which happened to miss on this attempt. Dragapult succeeded where Cinderace failed. It was a Ghost/Dragon like its earlier form Dreepy, and liked to cast Flamethrower.


DEATH COUNT: 53


The last chance to win without Battle Items was to max out Friendship by playing with EWE in the camp minigame and feeding it curry. Friendship and Affection from Kalos and Alola had been combined into one stat, though the upper 3 "heart levels" acted more like Affection, while the bottom 2 satisfied for the old Friendship.


Affection bonuses didn't seem to activate as often as they did for the X and Moon solos. The only notable event on Take 3 was a critical hit Facade against Cinderace that still failed to KO. A Quick Attack poked EWE for what little HP she had left. Another try had more hope when EWE cured itself of Seismitoad's Toxic, though that was for nothing when a Pyro Ball slammed EWE into the goal.


FINAL DEATH COUNT: 54


Is it possible to beat Pokemon Shield with only a Wooloo, without using Battle Items? Maybe, if qualified with the word "theoretically". You'd need optimized "effort values" and innate stats, and a more favorable nature than Relaxed.


Just to get some closure for this playthrough, EWE tried foul means when fair means failed. While Aegislash was alive, EWE consumed 2 X Attacks and 1 Speed. These "steroids" buffed her stats to the point where she was outspeeding all the enemies and killing them with one Payback or Facade. The only damage she took was from an Aegislash Flash Cannon, and that's after she dodged the first with Affection. When Level 65 Charizard grew to Gigantamax size, EWE activated her own Dynamax and slew it with a Max Strike.


It was disappointing to rely on Battle Items to win, hence the "victory" in finger quotes. Even getting this far with Wooloo's natural abilities was the toughest Pokemon challenge I've ever tried. This is a Pokemon that wishes it were as good as Rattata. Normal types in general suffer in Sword and Shield due to the removal of their staple move Return.


Wooloo in particular has such a shallow move selection that it's forced to use Payback and Double Kick until the end of the game. That's what makes Wooloo bad, more so than its subpar stats. If Wooloo had Swords Dance, Bulk Up, or Dragon Dance, this playthrough might have been a breeze in comparison. Remember JITTERBUG the Volbeat and its Tail Glow? Even general use TMs that were the last refuge of weak Pokemon in older games are absent here. No Double Team, no Toxic, no Hidden Power.


No Battle Item solos can be viable in Shield even accounting for Wooloo's failure. TRs from the Wild Area and experience point candies are powerful tools for monsters that actually have decent stats. My next solo will be in Sword since I received the Double Pack. When I get around to it, that is. I hope you enjoyed reading about SOLEDAD the shepherd and her EWE.

 

[adman2]

Pokemon Sword Solo Galvantula Part 1


My Christmas present was the Sword and Shield Double Pack, so this next playthrough will be in Sword. Spanish was chosen as the language because I wanted some practice. So far, it hasn't been like Pokemon X with its "bored like an oyster" and "My saint is leaving me for heaven" expressions. Mostly just standard Spain Spanish. They must not have figured out a way to do a Harry Potter English dialect, but in Spanish. "Mum" is "Mamá" here.


The playthrough didn't really begin until the first trip to the Wild Area, so I'll skip everything before that. The weather in the Rolling Fields was a Thunderstorm. I was originally planning on making this a Claydol solo, but the daily weather made that impossible without messing with the Switch's clock.


Joltik, however, was available. Joltik is a Unova Pokemon, but it is only obtainable after the 5th badge in White, making it impossible to use it as a solo without trading or cheating. It's a Bug/Electric type mostly designed for special attacks. The first Joltik that didn't have a terrible nature was "Tímida", or Bashful in the English version. The nature called "Timid" in English is "Miedosa" (Fearful) in Spanish.


The Spanish translators included a Pokemon Let's Go pun by naming a minor NPC Aquiles Gómez. The bold print is from the game, and isn't my addition. Cara Liss the fossil combiner is named Carmen Babia after the expression "estar en Babia" used to refer to someone who is daydreaming or distracted.


Joltik's first real battle was against Hop in Motostoke, who was now called Paul for some reason. The first action against Wooloo was a String Shot misclick because I picked up the Switch in a way that automatically selected the first move. Wooloo was even weaker than EWE from the Shield playthrough, so it didn't matter much.


Joltik's Electroweb had moderate power that was still usable this early in the game, and could decrease enemy Speed if it didn't KO. Sobble Pounded Joltik before an Electroweb critical made it feel like someone dropped a toaster in the bathtub. Hop's Rookidee wasn't allowed to act before it was caught in an Electoweb. Joltik easily won at Level 14.


Fighting some early Raids got Joltik some Dynamax Candies, the X-Scissor TR, and enough Watts to buy a Thunderbolt TR. If you're not manipulating the Switch clock, solo playthroughs can vary even with the same species based on what TRs are available at the time.


Even with these endgame moves, Joltik still almost lost to a Galar Mine 1 trainer with 3 Timburrs. Two of them used Rock Throw, crushing Joltik for super effective damage. The Bug only survived thanks to the AI being stupid and using Low Kick with the final Timburr, which Joltik resisted.


Bede, now named Berto, challenged Joltik at the end of Galar Mine 1. His Psychic types Solosis, Gothita, and Hatenna were all weak to X-Scissor, but only Solosis died in one hit. Gothita survived what must have been a low damage roll and Tickled Joltik to reduce Attack and Speed. A Thunderbolt shocked the tiny goth girl. Hatenna cast Confusion before falling to 2 X-Scissors. Joltik won the battle at Level 18 with 31/46 HP.


Gym Leader Milo was called Percy in Spanish for reasons unknown. Joltik prepared for the Grass master by equipping the Silver Powder to enhance her Bug attack power by 20%. Gossifleur cast the Normal type Round before two X-Scissors trimmed it. Joltik saved her Dynamax powers until Eldegoss appeared. Even with Max Flutterby, Joltik failed to reduce Eldegoss's high max HP to 0 in one move. Eldegoss debuffed Joltik's Speed with Max Strike, then used Max Overgrowth on Round 2 just before a 2nd Max Flutterby plucked the plant. Joltik leveled to 21 after killing Eldegoss and winning her 1st badge.


On Route 5, Hop's Wooloo did not have insulating wool, which let Joltik shock it with one Thunderbolt. Corvisquire and Drizzile died the same way, though at least Drizzile was faster and Growled first. A no damage victory in a Galar solo is rare indeed.


Joltik found the Magnet in Hulbury to increase her Electric power by 20% just in time for the 2nd Gym. Who knows why "magnet" and "imam" are the same word in Spanish (el imán). Nessa the Water Gym Leader became Cathy in this translation. A single Thunderbolt electrocuted her Goldeen, though Arrokuda took advantage of its priority Aqua Jet to deal some damage before a Dynamax powered Max Lightning jolted it. Max Lightning also had the bonus of setting up Electric Terrain for a 50% damage boost when Nessa's Drednaw appeared. Drednaw was faster than Joltik and attacked with Max Darkness before a Max Lightning defibrillated it. Joltik won at Level 25 with about 2/3 of her HP, just one level higher than Drednaw.



Bede returned in Galar Mine 2 with his Psychic team, though Solosis was as weak as ever to X-Scissor. Gothita cast a Psybeam after surviving an X-Scissor, though Joltik had a new trick for enduring longer battles: Leech Life. (Chupavidas or "Life Sucker" in Spanish) Players accustomed to older games will laugh at this, because Leech Life was only 20 power then. But the Alola games boosted it to 80 power, making it a viable physical Bug attack for the late game. Bede healed Gothita with a Super Potion, letting Joltik restore its HP for free with its attacks. X-Scissor hacked Hatenna apart, though Galar Ponyta was unusually tough and required 2 Leech Life turns to kill while it was casting Confusion. Joltik conquered at Level 25 with 47/60 HP.



Where Gym Leaders and rivals failed, a random Galar Mine 2 trainer succeeded. This person had a Rapid Spin Drilbur to soften up Joltik before an Onix with Rock Slide, Smack Down, and Curse buffs caused a cave in.


DEATH COUNT: 1


This seemed to be a mandatory trainer too, so Joltik couldn't sneak around him. Take 2 only succeeded because Onix had unlucky damage rolls with its Rock attacks, leaving Joltik at single digit HP. Joltik held out with Leech Life. If Joltik died again, there was a backup plan involving relearning Absorb to hit Onix for 4X damage.


Marnie in the Motostoke hotel became Roxy in the Spanish translation. I wonder what they call the Poison type Gym Leader from Black/White 2 who's called Roxie in English. Her Croagunk was too slow to attack and too frail to survive a Thunderbolt. Scraggy was bulkier and required 2 hits to kill no matter what Joltik did. This time it was an X-Scissor and a Thunderbolt. Scraggy attacked Joltik with Wooloo's signature Headbutt. Morpeko was swift and Bit Joltik so hard that she flinched. Leech Life was super effective, but still not enough to outlast enemy Super Potion healing. Morpeko took one more Bite out of Joltik, causing the 2nd defeat of the playthrough.


DEATH COUNT: 2


Morpeko still managed to make Joltik flinch during Take 2, but perhaps some low enemy damage rolls saved her this time, and she survived with 18/66 HP. (The character level somehow didn't make it into my notes.)


In one of the strangest translation choices in the Spanish version, Kabu the Fire Gym Leader became Naboru. Were they playing too much Zelda 2 or Ocarina of Time while working on Sword and Shield? During the Fire Pokemon catching challenge, a wild Sizzlipede scorched Joltik, probably with Flame Wheel.


DEATH COUNT: 3


At Level 28, Joltik had no chance against Kabu. She couldn't even survive Ninetales, whose Fire Spin and Ember baked the Bug.


DEATH COUNT: 4


Joltik leveled to 35 with candies just to see if she could win in her unevolved form. The beginning of the rematch went well when Ninetales used its irrelevant Will o Wisp, giving Joltik enough time to cast Thunderbolt twice for the KO. What attacks would be weakened under Burn status, Kabu? X-Scissor, which was already ineffective against Fire types? Arcanine Intimidated Joltik, but since there was no Special Attack variant of this ability, Joltik Dynamaxed and killed Arcanine with 2 Max Lightnings. Arcanine was still faster, making me wonder what was the point of using Agility. Arcanine still dealt significant Flame Wheel damage on the 2nd turn. Gigantamax Centiskorch survived a Max Lightning and retaliated with a G-Max Centiferno as hot as a star.


DEATH COUNT: 5


The only option to win at a reasonable point was to evolve into Galvantula at Level 36. The increase in power was dramatic when the giant spider zapped Ninetales with a single Thunderbolt in spite of its high Special Defense. Galvantula skittered around Arcanine and shocked it with Max Lightning before it could move. Centiskorch at Gigantamax size still had enough HP to survive an Electric Terrain dynamo for Max Lightning, though it made the baffling choice of attacking with Max Flutterby instead of G-Max Centiferno. A 2nd Max Lightning secured victory. Winning at Level 36 may have been mildly disappointing, but it sure beat having to wait until 50 like EWE the Wooloo did. Kabu is cruel to physical attackers in general, to be fair.


Galvantula beat most of Route 6 with ease, except for the wild-eyed artist trainer. His Sudowoodo came close to adding to the DEATH COUNT, and would have succeeded if its Rock Slide got a critical hit. The sessions from yesterday ended when I saved in Stow-on-Side just before the 4th Gym. Galvantula didn't have a nickname until this morning, when I thought of the giant spider from Lord of the Rings.



SHELOB the Galvantula Stats


Level 38 @ Magnet


Ability: Compound Eyes
Nature: Bashful
Characteristic: Se caracteriza por su cuerpo resistente (English "Sturdy Body"?)


HP: 102
Attack: 69
Defense: 63
Sp. Atk: 91
Sp. Def: 52
Speed: 99


Rain Dance
X-Scissor
Thunderbolt
Leech Life

 

[adman2]

Pokemon Sword Solo Galvantula Part 2


Much of this session was spent gathering Watts in the Wild Area because the merchants sold several TRs that SHELOB wanted. The player character accomplished this by going to Raid spots and replaying the Rotom Rally bike minigame repeatedly. He must have been the sort of nearsighted person who was too proud to wear glasses or contacts, because wild Pokemon often popped up in front of him and made his bike spin out! How can you not see a Steelix or Garbodor 2 inches from your face, trainer?!


Fortunately, one of the Raids was against an Applin that dropped an Energy Ball TM. Now Galvantula could kill pesky Ground types quickly if the special attack Bug Buzz wasn't enough. Thunder wouldn't ordinarily be used for a solo, but SHELOB's passive ability gave it more accuracy than usual.


After gathering all the necessary moves, SHELOB took a Corviknight taxi to Stow-on-Side to challenge the Gym. EWE the Wooloo fought Allister the Ghost specialist because she lived in Shield. But SHELOB was in the Sword dimension, so her next opponent was Bea the Fighting specialist. The joystick rotating pinball game was effectively the same, just with the haunted house graphics being replaced by a boxing theme.


SHELOB the Galvantula nearly lost a battle with Nicolás when she flubbed Thunder 2 times in a row against a Hitmonlee that used Revenge. I didn't know what its Spanish name "Desquite" meant, so I had to look it up. It turned out to be a faithful translation: "revenge, payback". Compound Eyes may have made Thunder viable, but not reliable. Two Thunderbolts KOd Hitmonlee after Thunder failed, though the stronger Electric move succeeded against Hitmonchan and killed the boxer in one hit. SHELOB emerged from the battle with 12/104 HP.


Bea was named Judith here, following the trend of merely using another unrelated name spelled in English rather than something in Spanish. Her lead was a Level 34 Hitmontop, which surprisingly did not have Intimidate. Its method of dealing with would-be physical attackers was Counter instead. Thunder failed to knock out the capoeira dancer in one hit, but did manage to paralyze it. It struck with a Revenge that only dealt half damage thanks to SHELOB's Bug type. A Thunderbolt struck down Hitmontop and leveled SHELOB to 40.


Level 34 Pangoro was the next opponent. The panda had enough endurance to survive a Thunder, requiring a Thunderbolt finisher on the 2nd round. Pangoro opted to increase its Attack and Special Attack with Work Up instead of attacking, so it was a free kill.


Level 35 Sirfetch'd was Bea's 3rd Pokemon. This was a Sword exclusive monster, and an evolution of the pure Fighting local variant of Farfetch'd. This bird blocked some Max Lightning damage with Detect and its shield when SHELOB Dynamaxed, but it took the full force of the attack on the 2nd round.


Last came a Level 36 Gigantamax Machamp that survived an Electric Terrain powered Max Lightning on the first turn. Its best effort was a fairly weak Max Darkness, and a Thunderbolt from a regular sized Galvantula was enough to pin Machamp. SHELOB won with 49/107 HP at Level 40. Bea surrendered the Revenge TM, which would be available in Ballonlea in Shield.



SHELOB the Galvantula Stats


Level 40 @ Magnet


Ability: Compound Eyes
Nature: Bashful
Characteristic: Se caracteriza por su cuerpo resistente (English "Sturdy Body"?)


HP: 107
Attack: 74
Defense: 66
Sp. Atk: 96
Sp. Def: 56
Speed: 104


Rain Dance
Bug Buzz
Thunderbolt
Thunder

 

[adman2]

Pokemon Sword Solo Galvantula Part 3


Bede's battle in Stow-on-Side was barely worth writing down. His Duosion, Gothorita, Hattrem, and Galar Ponyta were all weak to Bug Buzz and died in one hit. SHELOB's Silver Powder probably helped, and the spider won at Level 41.


Opal was renamed Sally in the Spanish version, though the questions in her Gym were about the same. One trainer's favorite food "Omelet" was altered to "Scrambled Eggs" (huevos revueltos). SHELOB had some difficulty with the short trainer gauntlet because Fairy types had high Special Defense. Aromatisse messed with her mind by means of Psychic, and when combined with Gardevoir's Dazzling Gleam, Galvantula's HP was down to 31/112.


Opal's Galar Weezing may have been well-dressed, but that didn't give it enough HP and Special Defense to survive Thunder with the Magnet equipped. When Togekiss appeared, I finally found a funny line in the Spanish dialogue. Opal asked me if her nickname was La Hechicera (Sorceress), or the incorrect answer La Bruja Maruja, which means something like Housewife Witch in Spain. Or Homemaker Hag, if you prefer alliteration.


As much as I joke about Opal, she's my favorite Gym Leader in the game because she has an interesting personality. One Thunder zapped the retconned Fairy/Flying type, and fellow retcon Mawile didn't last any longer when SHELOB Dynamaxed and increased the voltage with Max Lightning.


Alcremie in its Gigantamax wedding cake form was high on calories and could therefore survive one Electric Terrain Max Lightning. It attacked once with G-Max Finale. Given how the life bar worked after the first one, it was possible a 2 hit knockout would have failed if not for both the Magnet and previous Electric Terrain. Opal had enough time to ask me her favorite color (El Violeta), but not her age. SHELOB claimed her 5th badge at Level 43, at around 2/3 of max HP or so.


Hop on Route 7 opened with a Trevenant, a Ghost/Grass tree that wasn't weak to any of SHELOB's moves. So she cast Bug Buzz twice for neutral damage instead. It gashed the spider with Shadow Claw once before returning to the afterlife. Heatmor fell to Thunder, but Snorlax's fat provided excellent Special Defense and prevented a KO.


It took 3 Thunders and 2 Thunderbolts to get through Snorlax's Stockpile buffs and an enemy Hyper Potion. Boltund had sensitive ears and SHELOB overwhelmed them with Bug Buzz. One Thunderbolt zapped Inteleon. SHELOB beat her rival again with 84/117 HP at Level 44.


The Togedemaru guy on Route 7 was still annoying even when I was using a far superior Pokemon. Mostly because Thunder missed more than once, letting the Electric/Steel type Zing Zap for free.


Helping an incompetent detective in Circhester's hotel gave SHELOB a Wide Lens as a reward. This could increase Thunder's accuracy, but I decided that she needed extra damage from the Magnet more. Gordie's Rock type Gym in Sword had the same puzzle as Melony's Ice Gym from Shield, but with the ice and blizzards palette swapped to rocks and sandstorms.


Gordie was called Morris in Spanish. He began with a Level 40 Barbaracle that was Rock/Water and easy prey for Energy Ball. Level 40 Shuckle required 2 Thunders to kill thanks to its lopsided base 230 Special Defense. It used Power Split, a gimmick move that averaged SHELOB's attacking stats with Shuckle's much lower ones.


Power Split seemed to have no effect when the pure Rock Stonehenge lookalike Level 41 Stonjourner appeared. One Max Lightning made it inert. Last was the Level 42 Rock/Fire Coalossal, a Gigantamax furnace. Two Electric Max Lightnings were a more efficient power source, though a G-Max Volcalith crushed SHELOB for more than half her HP. SHELOB got her 6th badge at Level 47.


Hop in Circhester was a surprisingly competent opponent. SHELOB may have been a reliable special attacker, but her defenses were subpar, and taking Hail damage after every turn made matters worse. Dubwool endured one Thunder only to kill itself with Take Down recoil. Thunder missed multiple times against Snorlax, leading to an eventual loss to Body Slam.


DEATH COUNT: 6


On Take 2, Galvantula defeated Dubwool, Snorlax, and Inteleon, but she had taken so much damage that Corviknight Drill Pecked a hole inside her. Rain Dance helped mitigate Hail damage by changing the weather, but was not enough for victory.


DEATH COUNT: 7


For the next round, I had an unusual plan. SHELOB equipped the Big Root, a hold item that increased the healing she received from HP draining attacks. This was more successful than I expected. Snorlax's Defense was lower than its Special Defense, and Leech Life healing kept up with Body Slam damage. Inteleon and Corviknight didn't dodge Thunder this time. A Leech Life critical bit Pincurchin with the force of vampire fangs, and all it could do was to Curse SHELOB's success. Galvantula rose to Level 49 with 120/130 HP, to show you how good Leech Life with Big Root could be.



SHELOB the Galvantula Stats


Level 49 @ Big Root


Ability: Compound Eyes
Nature: Bashful
Characteristic: Se caracteriza por su cuerpo resistente (English "Sturdy Body"?)


HP: 130
Attack: 91
Defense: 83
Sp. Atk: 119
Sp. Def: 68
Speed: 128


Rain Dance
Leech Life
Energy Ball
Thunder

 

[adman2]

Pokemon Sword Solo Galvantula Part 4


Route 9's Fighting and Water trainers did not stand a chance against Galvantula and were not worth recording here. Or Piers's underlings in the Spikemuth Gym.


Piers was called Nerio in this translation. I failed to remember the exact area that triggered the fight, so Galvantula entered the battle poisoned in an attempt to watch the cutscene, then leave to go to the Pokemon Center.


Scrafty used a move it hadn't tried in the EWE the Wooloo playthrough: Sand Attack. Maybe it took pity on EWE for being a weak Pokemon, and didn't want to subject her to accuracy debuffs. Soon, SHELOB's attacks started missing, but a Thunder and Bug Buzz managed to kill Pier's true best Pokemon. Leech Life drained Malamar dry even with -1 Attack from Intimidate because it was Psychic/Dark. Obstagoon's Obstruct delayed SHELOB for a turn so she would take more poison damage, and two Throat Chops choked her when a Bug Buzz missed.


DEATH COUNT: 8


SHELOB didn't have to re-enter the arena with a status ailment after being healed at the Pokemon Center. This time, I actually bothered to prepare. It was embarrassing to lose to a Gym Leader that was weak to Bug! SHELOB equipped the Wide Lens in case of Sand Attack.


Scrafty attacked with Payback after the first Thunder, and was at low enough HP that I falsely believed a Leech Life could finish it off and heal SHELOB a bit. It didn't work, allowing Scrafty to Sand Attack before SHELOB shattered its eardrums with Bug Buzz. Malamar was as susceptible to Leech Life as it was in Take 1. Obstagoon blocked once with Obstruct, though one Bug Buzz destroyed the regional variant.


Piers's Skuntank was part Poison meaning Bug Buzz was only neutral damage, and it had the clever strategy of reducing Defense with Screech, then hitting hard with priority Sucker Punch. SHELOB staggered out of the improvised stadium with less than half HP at Level 53, but it was still a victory.


Some tactics were required to defeat the subordinates of Raihan, or Roy as he was called in Spanish. Rain Dance canceled out Ninetales's automatic Sun and gave Thunder perfect accuracy. One critical Thunder struck down Ninetales while Turtonator was trying to bait SHELOB with Shell Trap. The ceremonial Double Battle Magikarp took a Rock Tomb for SHELOB, giving the spider enough turns to wear the Fire/Dragon with half damage Thunders. Abomasnow on the Hail trainer's team was the 1st target because it could set up Aurora Veil to boost the team's defenses. Hakamo-O was paralyzed by the 1stThunder and killed by the 2nd.



Raihan was the toughest opponent in the game so far, mostly because he was attacking SHELOB with 2 Pokemon at a time. "No Battle Items" Solos can't get through Pokemon Sword and Shield with force and Speed alone, and require some defensive stats to win fights like this. Attempts usually began with immediate Dynamaxing and sending Max Overgrowth at Gigalith. One try without Dynamaxing on Turn 1 resulted in Gigalith surviving Energy Ball due to the hidden Sandstorm Special Defense boost for Rock types. What happened next was Gigalith bruising SHELOB's mandibles with Rock Blast.


Gigalith's partner was a Flygon who almost always attacked Magikarp with a Thunder Punch on Turn 1. Afterwards, it liked to use Breaking Swipe to decrease SHELOB's irrelevant Attack. When Sandaconda appeared, it either tried to stall for a turn with Protect or chomp SHELOB with Fire Fang. If Burn from Fire Fang's side effect occurred, it stacked with Sandstorm damage to make the "survival clock" tick faster.


But Sandaconda was weak compared to Gigantamax Duraludon, who crushed Galvantula with super effective Max Rockfalls. SHELOB had only 1 Dynamax turn left when the skyscraper showed up, so she lost her extra HP and perished quickly.


DEATH COUNT: 12


SHELOB's grew stronger with candies after various attempts until she hit the magic level of 65. She equipped the Miracle Seed for extra Max Overgrowth damage if necessary, though the Magnet might have been a better option. Max Overgrowth eroded Gigalith, and a Max Flutterby on Turn 2 made Flygon crash to the ground.


Galvantula spent her final Dynamax turn on a Max Lightning to deal damage to Duraludon and set up Electric Terrain. One boosted Thunder on the next round must have had a good damage roll, and toppled the skyscraper even though its Dragon type resisted Electric. One final Energy Ball broke Siliconda's back and ended the battle at Level 66 with low HP.


SHELOB will probably still have to be at a noticeably higher level than Champion Leon's team in order to win, though not at 100, I hope!




SHELOB the Galvantula Stats


Level 66 @ Miracle Seed


Ability: Compound Eyes
Nature: Bashful
Characteristic: Se caracteriza por su cuerpo resistente (English "Sturdy Body"?)


HP: 173
Attack: 127
Defense: 115
Sp. Atk: 160
Sp. Def: 93
Speed: 175


Bug Buzz
Energy Ball
Rain Dance
Thunder

 

[adman2]

Pokemon Sword Solo Galvantula Finale


Once Galvantula arrived in Wyndon, she consumed Calciums to increase her Special Attack "effort values". Sword and Shield have much fewer route trainers and Gym underlings compared to previous games, so not many effort values are acquired naturally. The focus in Galar is on fighting difficult bosses, rather than hordes of weaker opponents.


With the Magnet equipped, Marnie was so easy that SHELOB didn't take any damage at all. Liepard, Scrafty, Toxicroak, Morpeko, and Grimsnarl all died to Bug Buzz, Thunder, or Max Lightning at Level 67. This may seem to be overpowered until you remember how much trouble SHELOB had with Raihan.


SHELOB confronted Hop while wearing the Magnet as well. His Dubwool, Corviknight, Pincurchin, and Inteleon were weak, and all retreated to their Poke Balls when hit by Thunder, Max Lightning, or Bug Buzz. Snorlax was the 2nd monster to appear, however, and it was too tough to faint to one Max Lightning. Its only attack before Hop healed it with a Full Restore was the Ground attack High Horsepower. SHELOB beat her rival for the last time with 163/178 HP at Level 68.


Oleana became Olivia in the Spanish version. SHELOB tried the Wide Lens instead of the Magnet to sacrifice power in favor of accuracy. Thunder without the Magnet still shocked Froslass, Salazzle, and Milotic in one hit each. Tsareena was a pure Grass type and therefore susceptible to Bug Buzz. SHELOB saved Dynamax for Gigantamax Garbodor, who endured one Max Lightning and retaliated with Max Rockfall. A 2nd Max Lightning took the trash to the dump, and SHELOB survived with about 2/3 of her HP at Level 69.


Bede was no better a rival than Marnie in the Champion's Cup. Mawile, Rapidash, and Hatterene did not resist Electric attacks and succumbed to Thunder or Max Lightning. Gardevoir had just enough Special Defense to take one Thunder, but ended up with Paralysis. It was nice to see its Synchronize ability fail when that happened, because Electric types have been immune to Paralysis since Generation 6. SHELOB won the battle unscathed at Level 69.


The only reason SHELOB took any damage at all in the Nessa rematch was because Golisopod had the unavoidable priority attack First Impression, called Escaramuza or "Skirmish" in Spanish. But SHELOB threw Thunder and Max Lightning into the bathtub and electrocuted Golisopod, Seaking, Barraskewda, Pelipper, and Drednaw in one hit. You'd think she would have brought a Water/Ground type to the Champion's Cup, but no! Gastrodon, Whiscash, Seismitoad, and Quagsire are available in Galar, so she had no excuse.


Bea returned for another Sword exclusive battle. SHELOB made sure to wear the Magnet in case 20% more Electric power was needed. Thunder jolted Hawlucha, Falinx, and Grapploct in one hit. Electric Terrain was activated at Sirfetch'd's expense. The 1st Max Lightning against Gigantamax Machamp must have rolled low, because the 2nd killed it in one hit after Bea healed her monster with a Full Restore. As punishment, SHELOB took a direct hit from Max Flare and ended the battle at Level 70 with a little above half HP.


Raihan did not force SHELOB into a Double Battle for his rematch, though he was still the most difficult of the finals Gym Leaders. Rain Dance nullified Torkoal's automatic Sun, though SHELOB was forced to take it out with Max Lightning early in order for Electric Terrain to keep her awake. The turtle had Yawned on the first turn, and there was no way SHELOB could survive a few turns sleeping. Turtonator's Dragon type resistance did not save it from an Electric Terrain Magnet Max Lightning.



One last turn of Dynamax was used to send Max Flutterby at Flygon. But Goodra had impressive Special Defense and could survive Thunders. It turned SHELOB's Rain against her with a Surf. SHELOB limped into a one-on-one fight with Duraludon, though she was crushed under a Max Rockfall. Sandstorm passive damage stung SHELOB into unconsciousness.


DEATH COUNT: 13


On Take 2, SHELOB picked Max Lightning as her first action. Thunder would have been too inaccurate because of the Sun. Turtonator and Flygon died as they did on Take 1. For Goodra, SHELOB revived her old Leech Life trick. 70 base Defense was far lower than 150 base Special Defense, so even with her lower Attack stat Leech Life was a 2 hit KO. SHELOB survived one Max Rockfall and zapped Duraludon with 2 Thunders, winning the battle at Level 71 with less than half HP.



Rose the unofficial Steel Gym Leader had the same name in the Spanish version. Escavalier and Perrserker were good conductors for Magnet powered Thunder. Ferrothorn, being a standard defensive Pokemon in competitive play, required 2 Leech Lifes and Max Lightning. (Bug Buzz was not equipped then.) Two more Max Lightnings struck down Klinklang and dealt heavy damage to Gigantamax Copperajah. A Max Quake may have enhanced the elephant's Special Defense, but it was not enough to save it from a Thunder when Dynamax expired. SHELOB defeated the game's unnecessary villain at Level 71 with high HP.


I forgot to heal Galvantula after Rose, because it was one of those major battles that didn't heal the player's team afterwards. Eternatus charred SHELOB with a Flamethrower after an initial Dragon Pulse.


DEATH COUNT: 14


Three Thunders with the Magnet were enough to end the first phase of the Eternatus fight, but two Max Flares targeted at SHELOB in the Gigantamax phase sent her back to the Pokemon Center. Sword and Shield are much more difficult for Pokemon that are weak to Fire. . .


DEATH COUNT: 15


Fortunately, returning to Eternatus began the Gigantamax battle rather than forcing me to start over with the 1st form. SHELOB had a plan for surviving without having to level up: Protect like a coward and force Zacian and Zamazenta to do most of the work! To be fair, SHELOB summoned Rain to weaken Max Flare for the whole team, and she did have the honor of the final blow with Thunder.


Leon, or Lionel in Spanish, deserved his Champion title more than perhaps any other AI trainer in the series. Yes, that includes Red. Aegislash was difficult to predict. Once, it wasted 2 of SHELOB's Dynamax turns by guarding itself with King's Shield. The haunted sword and shield could also fire slow moving Shadow Balls that drained more than half of Galvantula's HP. Eventually I discovered that the way around it was to Protect on the first turn to bait it into switching into its offensive sword form, then cast Thunder on the next round to take it out on one hit.


Leon's Pokemon order was different for SHELOB than for EWE. Cinderace appeared 2nd instead of being reserved for later. The Fire rabbit starter was not a notable factor in any attempt, because SHELOB always outsped it and killed it in one hit with either Max Lightning or Thunder. Then came Dragapult, a Ghost/Dragon Pokemon that resisted all of SHELOB's moves and had an exceptional base 142 Speed. On the first try, Dragapult outran SHELOB and roasted her with Flamethrower.


If Dragapult failed to stop SHELOB, then Haxorus succeeded. It had just enough Special Defense to survive either Bug Buzz or a resisted Electric Terrain Thunder, then rip SHELOB to pieces with Outrage. Galvantula could not achieve the goal of winning the game at less than 10 levels than Leon's team. SHELOB ate Kelpsy Berries to get rid of her now useless Attack "effort values" and replaced them with Speed from Carbos to go first against Dragapult. SHELOB gradually increased in levels throughout failed attempts and candy meals.


FINAL DEATH COUNT: 23




At Level 82, the battle was strangely anticlimactic. Before then, Dragapult and Haxorus would always survive at least one attack, but now they collapsed after one Max Lightning or Max Flutterby. Maybe it was because SHELOB was vindictive enough to critically hit Dragapult after so many defeats. Energy Ball was on the move list specifically to eliminate Seismitoad, and one last Thunder toppled the Gigantamax Charizard. SHELOB won the final battle without taking a single hit.


Playing with Galvantula was fun and a relief after Wooloo, but was still more difficult than I thought it would be. This is partially because Galvantula has disappointing defensive stats in a game where you can't expect to outspeed and kill everything in one move. Galvantula has no moves like Calm Mind or Nasty Plot to enhance its moderate 97 Special Attack. The closest thing it has to that is Electric Terrain, and even that can only be done through Dynamax because Galvantula can't use the Electric Terrain TM.


The Fire and Rock weaknesses from the Bug type are a major liability in Sword/Shield, especially in Sword where Gordie is a Gym Leader. Galvantula also wishes it could have had moves to deal with Dragon or Ghost types, like Dark Pulse, Shadow Ball, Ice Beam, or even Dragon Pulse.


But Galvantula has just enough tricks to beat the game. Compound Eyes makes Thunder a viable move, though it still fails on occasion. Thunder is often necessary when Thunderbolt isn't enough to knock out an opponent in one move. Bug Buzz kills Grass types that would otherwise give an Electric type a hard time. Leech Life provides healing in some longer battles, or a physical option for high Special Defense opponents. Energy Ball is insurance for Rock or Ground monsters. And Protect and Rain Dance can help an otherwise vulnerable Pokemon survive Eternatus's Max Flares.



SHELOB the Galvantula Final Stats


Level 82 @ Magnet

Ability: Compound Eyes
Characteristic: Se caracteriza por su cuerpo resistente (Sturdy Body?)



HP: 213
Attack: 146
Defense: 144
Special Attack: 214
Special Defense: 114
Speed: 232



Energy Ball
Bug Buzz
Protect
Thunder

 

[adman2]

Pokemon Sword Solo Sinistea Part 1


This solo playthrough could have gone in a much different direction. It was snowing in the Dappled Grove in the Wild Area today, which meant that most of its encounters were Ice types like Snover, Vanillish, Delibird, and Snorunt. Galar is one of very few regions where an Ice type solo is possible without trading. Previous regions tended to restrict them to late game areas, with the notable section of Amaura's fossil in Kalos.


So I caught a Snorunt, evolved her into Froslass with a guaranteed Dawn Stone, and started fighting Raids for TRs since the Watt Traders sold nothing compatible. One of them turned out to be Sinistea, a pure Ghost teacup that looked like it belonged in a Disney cartoon. I knew I had to have it when I saw how ridiculous it looked when it was blown up to Dynamax size, and a Poke Ball caught it at the end of the battle. As if I needed any more justification, Sinistea is otherwise only available in the Glimwood Tangle right before the 5th Gym.



Sinistea came at a respectable Level 20, with the "somewhat vain" characteristic giving it the maximum bonus of 31 to Special Defense if it rose to Level 100. A convenient Shadow Ball TR that came from the same Raid provided its staple attack move for the rest of the game. Sinistea had Mega Drain naturally in case Normal types appeared, or HP was necessary. Sinistea was genderless, but I named it CHIP after the Beauty and the Beast teacup.


Sinistea's base stats look like this:


HP: 40
Attack: 45
Defense: 45
Special Attack: 74
Special Defense: 54
Speed: 50


It seems like a weak Pokemon, at first. Then you realize it learns buffs like Nasty Plot (+2 Special Attack) and Shell Smash (+2 Attack, Special Attack, Speed, and -1 to Defense and Special Defense). Sinistea's passive ability Weak Armor decreases Defense by 1 stage, and increases Speed by 2 when hit by a physical attack, which makes up for its low Speed sometimes. Since Sinistea can evolve into Polteageist, it can equip the Eviolite, giving it +50% to both defenses. Mega Drain can be upgraded to Giga Drain through leveling, and Psychic and Psyshock provide more type coverage if necessary. Aromatherapy cures status ailments without an item.


At Level 20, nobody up to the 1st Gym stood a chance against CHIP except for Pokemon Breeder Jaime and his confusion-inducing Butterfree. CHIP took no damage at all in the Galar Mine Bede battle when it cast Shadow Ball on all his Psychic types without taking a hit. Chairman Rose should have given him a pity Normal/Psychic Oranguru. Hop in Motostoke wasn't much stronger, and the only "danger" in that fight was his faster Scorbunny that cast Ember for 6 damage.


Gym Leader Milo's Gossifleur survived one Shadow Ball and shot a Magical Leaf in return. Dynamax Eldegoss was the 1st difficult opponent CHIP faced apart from Jaime's Butterfree. Three Max Phantasms threw poltergeist furniture at Eldegoss and decreased its. . .Defense. Even though Ghost Pokemon are more often special attackers, making the debuff often useless. Why did GameFreak have to remind us that Ghost and Dark were "backwards" in the older games, and make the Dynamax moves change stats accordingly?


Eldegoss responded with Max Overgrowths. I could tell the 1st was based on the physical move Leafage when it activated Weak Armor. With Grassy Terrain increasing Eldegoss's Grass power by 50% and the potential for more Weak Armor Defense decreases, Sinistea had to win fast. CHIP barely survived with 16/106 HP in Dynamax form at Level 23.


Nessa's Gym should be fine for CHIP thanks to Mega Drain being super effective, and by extension Max Overgrowth and its Grassy Terrain for Drednaw.



CHIP the Sinistea Stats


Level 23 @ Lum Berry


Nature: Quiet (+10% Special Attack, -10% Speed)
Characteristic: It’s somewhat vain (Special Defense is highest IV)
Ability: Weak Armor (-1 Defense, +2 Speed when hit with physical attack)


HP: 53
Attack: 28
Defense: 27
Special Attack: 48
Special Defense: 37
Speed: 30


Moves

Mega Drain
Shadow Ball
Protect
Aromatic Mist

 

[adman2]

Pokemon Sword Solo Sinistea Part 2


Most of this playing session was spent unsuccessfully trying to find a Nasty Plot TR in the Wild Area. Watt Traders refused to sell it today, and not even the Dark type monsters like Nickit, Scraggy, and Stunky would drop it. They decided I wanted more Throat Chop TRs instead. At least I'll have more candies than I'll ever need if CHIP the Sinistea wants to level quickly.


Hop on Route 5 was more difficult than expected. His Wooloo was easy to defeat because it did nothing but Growl and Defense Curl, mistaking CHIP for a physical attacker. It still took 5 Mega Drains to slaughter the sheep because Hop insisted on healing it with a Super Potion. Corvisquire's Peck was beneficial when it activated Weak Armor, and since this was a pure Flying type rather than the usual Normal/Flying Route 1 bird, it could die to Shadow Ball.


Hop's final Pokemon was Raboot, the middle form of the Scorbunny/Cinderace line that I hadn't seen before. Weak Armor ensured that CHIP was faster, though it endured one Shadow Ball that got the Special Defense decrease side effect. Its Flame Charge hit harder than normal because Weak Armor could be harmful as well. CHIP floated out of the arena with 16/57 HP at Level 25.


No Miracle Seed was available to boost Mega Drain because I picked Sobble at the beginning for variety's sake. So CHIP equipped the Shell Bell in Hulbury instead. Gym Leader Nessa's Goldeen was unusually competent for a Super Smash Bros. joke monster, and managed to confuse CHIP with Water Pulse. CHIP hit itself once in its fugue and was forced to take more Water Pulses. Weak Armor was useless if the enemy opened with a pure special attacker.


Once a Shadow Ball and Mega Drain combo finally made Goldeen go belly up, Arrokuda obliged CHIP with a Bite, activating Weak Armor. This was the perfect opening to Dynamax and use Max Overgrowth to prepare Grassy Terrain before Dynamax Drednaw appeared. Sinistea's next Max Overgrowth was 50% stronger with the help of the local vegetation, and mauled the Water/Rock type immediately. CHIP won its 2nd badge with 61/116 HP at Level 26 while in Dynamax.


Bede in Galar Mine 2 still had an all-Psychic team, and no answer to Shadow Ball. Solosis, Gothita, and Hatenna fell before they could act. Galar Ponyta's superior Speed let it cast one Confusion before Shadow Ball sent it to the Pokemon Center too. With the Shell Bell, CHIP won at Level 27 with 55/60 HP.


The Team Yell Double Battle in Galar Mine 2 was worth mentioning for a change. Sinistea couldn't fight 2 Dark types at once with its type disadvantage, even with Mega Drain and Shell Bell healing. CHIP spent much of the fight Protecting itself while Hop's Raboot did much of the work with Flame Charge . This tactic worked against Thievul, Galar Linoone, Pancham, and Liepard. Weak Armor's Defense debuff will be a liability in the mostly physical Raihan Double Battle. . .


It seemed best to wait until tomorrow before fighting Marnie and her team of Dark monsters in the Budew Drop Inn. Maybe CHIP will finally find its Nasty Plot TR?


CHIP the Sinistea Stats


Level 29 @ Shell Bell

Nature: Quiet (+10% Special Attack, -10% Speed)
Characteristic: It’s somewhat vain (Special Defense is highest IV)
Ability: Weak Armor (-1 Defense, +2 Speed when hit with physical attack)


HP: 64
Attack: 35
Defense: 33
Special Attack: 59
Special Defense: 46
Speed: 38

Moves

Mega Drain
Shadow Ball
Protect
Sucker Punch


Sucker Punch is only on the move list so CHIP can use Max Darkness in Raids if necessary.

 

[adman2]

Pokemon Sword Solo Sinistea Part 3


Sometimes waiting a day can make a playthrough easier. The Watt Traders in the Wild Area showed mercy to CHIP the Sinistea and sold Psychic, Psyshock, and Nasty Plot. Psychic was coverage for the majority of Poison and Fighting types, Psyshock was a rare special move that targeted enemy Defense, and I've already mentioned the importance of Nasty Plot.


CHIP still had few answers to Dark type specialists, such as Marnie in the Budew Drop Hotel. Sucker Punch was probably the teacup's most hated move. It was a base 80 physical Dark move with priority, and the only hope CHIP had when Croagunk used it was that Sucker Punch failed unless its target used an attack. This meant free Nasty Plots, but major damage when CHIP needed to act. Croagunk was Poison/Fighting and had a fatal allergy to Psyshock.


Scraggy the Dark/Fighting type left Shadow Ball as the best attacking option, since even at half power it was still better than Mega Drain. Not that it stopped me from trying to heal with Mega Drain. CHIP lasted until Morpeko, who survived a Shadow Ball and somehow Bit a Ghost.


DEATH COUNT: 1


On Take 2, Sinistea set up 3 Nasty Plots to max out its Special Attack, only to still take heavy damage from Sucker Punch. Scraggy endured a +6 Mega Drain and scored a critical hit with Beat Up, a rarely seen physical Dark move that increased in power based on the number of surviving teammates.


DEATH COUNT: 2


On Take 3, CHIP once again set up 3 Nasty Plots as Croagunk failed to use Sucker Punch. I wasted no time with Mega Drain healing and instead tried to go for the higher base power Shadow Ball. CHIP avenged its previous losses by shooting a critical Shadow Ball at Morpeko. CHIP made its enemies sip its tea at Level 29 with 50/64 HP while wielding the Shell Bell.


CHIP was the 3rd Galar solo to fail to defeat Kabu on the first try. Ninetales inflicted Burn with Will O Wisp and whiffed a Fire Spin. Two Embers, one of them critical, dealt major damage. A +4 Psyshock left Ninetales alive even though I expected it to deal more damage thanks to its lower Defense relative to Special Defense. A Shadow Ball finished off the kitsune, only for Arcanine to move first and Bite a piece off of the teacup.


DEATH COUNT: 3


Sinistea equipped a Rawst Berry on the 2nd try to autocure Burn if Ninetales aimed true with Will o Wisp. Which it never managed to do. Two Will o Wisps flew off to the side of the arena as CHIP fortified its Special Attack with 2 Nasty Plots. Ninetales at least singed CHIP with an Ember, so the fox wasn't completely useless. Arcanine's Bite activated Weak Armor, ensuring CHIP would go first on all turns after that. Max Phantasm scared Arcanine to death, and another shrank Gigantamax Centiskorch back to normal. CHIP won with about half of its maximum HP at Level 31.


The most dangerous part of the game for Sinistea was not a Gym Leader, or even a rival. Instead, the obstacle was 2 anonymous Team Yell Grunts. No, I'm not kidding. All of their Pokemon were Dark types with several threatening moves. The 1st Grunt opened with a Stunky that shot Poison Gas from its tail and inflicted an ailment.


Galar Linoone was immune to all of CHIP's moves except for the base 40 Mega Drain, though once I clicked Shadow Ball when I briefly forgot it was part Normal. Linoone rarely attacked and preferred Baby Doll Eyes and Hone Claws, but Night Slash was trouble. If Sinistea survived the 1st Grunt, the 2nd Grunt finished the job with a Liepard that struck with a fast Assurance.


DEATH COUNT: 8


Imagine losing 5 times to Team Rocket Grunts and their Raticates and Golbats, and you'll get an idea of how absurd the situation was to witness. CHIP had to eat enough candies to reach Level 37, both to replace Mega Drain with the base 75 power Giga Drain, and to take a hit from Assurance and gain higher Speed from Weak Armor.


The wild-eyed Artist on Route 6 exorcised CHIP twice with Sudowoodo Sucker Punches. One of them was even a critical hit, killing Sinistea before it could act once.


DEATH COUNT: 9


It was then that I figured out what every reader has already thought of by now. CHIP Nasty Plotted 5 times in a row to exhaust Sucker Punch's PP before Giga Draining the life out of Sudowoodo. This seems obvious, given how questionable the AI is in Pokemon games, but consider that Aegislash in Leon's battle can't reliably be baited into King's Shield. How do the algorithms work?


Hop in Stow-on-Side showed off his Cramorant's unique ability for a change. It was faster than CHIP on the 1st turn and Dove into the water while the teacup Nasty Plotted. Dive activated Weak Armor when Cramorant surfaced. The Water/Flying cormorant spat out a fish that dealt additional damage because it used Dive. Giga Drain failed to KO when the bird rose above the water even at +2 Special Attack, but a 2nd one got a critical hit and increased CHIP's level to 39.


Hop's Silicobra was pure Ground and vulnerable to Giga Drain. The speedy Raboot wasn't faster than a Weak Armored Sinistea and its Shadow Ball. Toxel had the same cause of death. With the help of the Shell Bell, CHIP emerged with full HP.


Bea's Fighting Gym was not as simple as you'd expect for a Ghost type. Sure, it was easy when Hitmontop used no moves that affected Sinistea at all. At the time, I wasn't looking at the move lists, so I assumed it at least had a Dark attack and abstained from Nasty Plotting 3 times in a row. But no, it tried Revenge.


Pangoro was 2nd, and CHIP had no better way to deal with a Dark monster in a boss fight than to Dynamax and cast Max Overgrowth. This defeated the panda in one hit, but Sirfetch'd spoiled Sinistea's plans when it blocked a Max Mindstorm with Protect. The bird's Brutal Swing activated Weak Armor and inflicted noticeable damage. Another Max Mindstorm butchered the duck, but Sirfetch'd did its job. Even with Psychic Terrain from the Max Mindstorms, a Psychic without Dynamax wasn't enough to conquer Gigantamax Machamp. Its Max Darkness probably would have shattered Sinistea even without the earlier Weak Armor Defense penalty.


DEATH COUNT: 10


For the comeback, CHIP equipped the Wise Glasses to slightly increase Special Attack power. One Nasty Plot and a Psychic damaged Hitmontop's brain. Max Overgrowth crept over Pangoro and yielded enough experience for CHIP to gain a level. Sirfetch'd attacked with Brutal Swing right away instead of Detecting a Max Mindstorm, allowing CHIP to remain in Dynamax form while confronting Machamp. Max Mindstorm pinned the wrestler, and Sinistea won its 4th badge at Level 41 with 86/174 Dynamax enhanced HP.


Bede in Stow-on-Side was as pathetic as always despite his boasting. Duosion, Hattrem, and Gothorita all crumpled after CHIP pelted them with Shadow Balls, and Galar Ponyta was no tougher. Ponyta at least prevented a perfect victory at Level 42 when it cast Psybeam. CHIP won with 67/89 HP.


Ballonlea had the Eviolite, always a useful item for unevolved solos in games starting with Black/White 1. I'm debating on whether to evolve CHIP into Polteageist or not, which may happen if CHIP requires an embarrassingly high level to defeat Leon. Whatever may happen, I learned that the necessary Cracked Pot was in Stow-on-Side, restricting evolution to just before the 4th badge at earliest.


(Yes, that means CHIP the Sinistea is not the "authentic" form and prefers forged teacups, but that's purely cosmetic.)


For now, CHIP continued the playthrough in its base form. Opal's Weezing was decent Nasty Plot bait, since its best attack was a Fairy Wind breeze. Opal's quiz question increased CHIP's Speed by 2 stages and avoided the need to take a Weak Armor hit. One +2 cast of Shadow Ball sent Mawile back to its Poke Ball, though Togekiss was tough and could survive one. Togekiss cut with an Air Slash, only to die to a Max Phantasm from Dynamax. Opal's 2nd quiz question about her favorite color increased CHIP's defensive stats by 2 stages.


CHIP needed 2 Max Phantasms to eat "Wedding Cake" Alcremie, though the Fairy type's G-Max Finale dealt minor damage thanks to telling Opal what she wanted to hear. Sinistea acquired the 5th badge at Level 44 with 76/188 Dynamax HP.


CHIP the Sinistea Stats


Level 44 @ Eviolite

Nature: Quiet (+10% Special Attack, -10% Speed)
Characteristic: It’s somewhat vain (Special Defense is highest IV)
Ability: Weak Armor (-1 Defense, +2 Speed when hit with physical attack)


HP: 94
Attack: 54
Defense: 50
Special Attack: 90
Special Defense: 70
Speed: 58



Moves

Giga Drain
Shadow Ball
Psyshock
Nasty Plot

 

[adman2]

Pokemon Sword Solo Sinistea Part 4


Hop challenged CHIP the Sinistea on Route 7, and his new team seemed to be designed to counter Ghosts. CHIP Nasty Plotted on the 1st turn when Trevenant the haunted tree appeared, partially in hopes of getting a Weak Armor activation. Trevenant did not take the bait and instead shone a Confuse Ray on the teacup. CHIP was focused enough not to hit itself and turned Trevenant into ectoplasm with a Shadow Ball.


Boltund was faster than Sinistea and came with a Crunch, which bit off 50% more of CHIP's life bar than normal because of the Strong Jaw ability. Boltund wasn't swift enough to outrun a +2 Speed Sinistea after Weak Armor, making it easy prey for Shadow Ball. Cinderace and Heatmor were no more resilient. Psyshock was on CHIP's movelist specifically for opponents like Snorlax with lower Defense than Special Defense, but even at +2 Special Attack, it failed to KO. Snorlax pounced on CHIP with a Heavy Slam, a physical Steel attack that becomes stronger based on how much the attacker outweighs the defender. Guess what the lightest Ghost Pokemon species is?


DEATH COUNT: 11


A freak critical hit from Boltund's Crunch cut the 2nd attempt short. If any of you try to convince me to do a permadeath solo, this evidence should show you that's a bad idea for all but the strongest monsters.


DEATH COUNT: 12


On Take 3, CHIP didn't bother to Nasty Plot against Trevenant and killed it with one Shadow Ball. The buffing turn was saved for Boltund since Sinistea would have to take a hit anyway. Boltund's low base Special Defense gave me the idea to cast Giga Drain to see if it could safely heal CHIP. It worked, and after Cinderace and Heatmor surrendered, CHIP confronted Snorlax with high HP. One Giga Drain softened up Snorlax just before CHIP had to crawl out from under its Heavy Slam. One final Psyshock defeated the main rival with "yellow" HP range. I failed to record what level CHIP was at in my notes.


Togedemaru Guy on Route 8 made CHIP flinch with the 1st Zing Zap, then finished the teacup off with the 2nd thanks to Weak Armor's drawback. He's troublesome for these solo runs. . .


DEATH COUNT: 13


CHIP's luck improved in the Togedemaru Guy rematch. It didn't look that way at first because Zing Zap scored another flinch. Two Shadow Balls sent Togedemaru to its grave, and CHIP barely held on with 1 HP!


Giga Drain did not mean an easy win against Gordie the Rock Gym Leader in Circhester. It was necessary for a Barbaracle that Shell Smashed on the 1st turn. CHIP did not take any chances against an opponent with +2 Attack and +2 Speed. Shuckle was the Nasty Plot bait, though it was more threatening than usual because its pathetic Rock moves still activated Weak Armor's Defense drop. It was funny to actually gain Speed from Rock Tomb! Two Nasty Plots later, and a Shadow Ball and Giga Drain combo defeated the Bug/Rock type.


Stonjourner's only purpose in the Gordie battle was free HP courtesy of Giga Drain. Gigantamax Coalossal took a Max Phantasm as well as its size suggested it should, and CHIP was put in mortal danger when a Max Flare erupted from the boiler. A 2nd Max Phantasm shut down the blast furnace, leaving CHIP at Level 48 and about 31/202 Dynamax HP.


Hop at the Circhester baths opened with Dubwool, who could only watch in horror as CHIP buffed itself to +6 Special Attack. Growls and Defense Curls were useless against a pure special attacker. One Psyshock put Snorlax back to sleep. Due to the lack of Weak Armor, Cinderace was faster than CHIP this time, but it failed to make the cut for the soccer team when its Pyro Ball flew into the audience. One Shadow Ball each murdered Cinderace, Corviknight, and Pincurchin. CHIP the Sinistea triumphed at Level 49 at 80/104 HP. Hail dealt more damage than Hop could.


Next up is the dreaded Dark type Gym. Will Sinistea conquer it, or will CHIP have to evolve into Polteageist?



CHIP the Sinistea Stats


Level 49 @ Eviolite

Nature: Quiet (+10% Special Attack, -10% Speed)
Characteristic: It’s somewhat vain (Special Defense is highest IV)
Ability: Weak Armor (-1 Defense, +2 Speed when hit with physical attack)


HP: 104
Attack: 62
Defense: 57
Special Attack: 101
Special Defense: 78
Speed: 67


Moves

Giga Drain
Shadow Ball
Psyshock
Nasty Plot

 

[adman2]

Pokemon Sword Solo Sinistea Part 5


CHIP the Sinistea trounced the trainers on the ice floes and beaches of Route 9, only to find a surprisingly difficult opponent in Gentleman Caden. This Route 7 enemy caused problems for EWE the Wooloo, but then again, who didn't? Shadow Ball exorcised Doublade because only Aegislash had good Special Defense in that evolution line. Polteageist outsped and cast Giga Drain, and Passimian Flung its item at CHIP to knock it out.


DEATH COUNT: 14


Polteageist had another trick that it didn't use during the first battle: Sucker Punch. This hated move couldn't be stalled out like in earlier Sudowoodo fights because Polteageist's AI used Nasty Plot beforehand.


DEATH COUNT: 15


CHIP finally beat Gentleman Caden by surviving a low Sucker Punch damage roll with single digit HP, and rose to Level 52 for its trouble. Marnie was as fearsome at the Spikemuth gate as she was in the Motostoke hotel. Her Liepard also knew Nasty Plot, and its Torment prevented CHIP from using the same move on consecutive turns. CHIP cast Shadow Ball on the turns when Giga Drain was banned.


Scrafty's Scary Face decreased CHIP's Speed to the point where not even Weak Armor could save it. Giga Drain and Shadow Ball wiped out Scrafty, and Toxicroak after it scored a critical Sucker Punch, but CHIP was too slow for Morpeko and a Bite broke the teacup.


DEATH COUNT: 16


More leveling with candies was required, so CHIP rose to Level 59 before trying again. Liepard didn't use Torment this time and instead preferred Nasty Plot and Sucker Punch. Scrafty endured a +2 Giga Drain and confused CHIP with Swagger, though CHIP never hit itself. Toxicroak Sucker Punched as well, though it was vulnerable to Psyshock unlike Marnie's Dark types. CHIP outran Morpeko and Giga Drained it to death. CHIP triumphed with 105/125 HP and leveled to 60, replacing Nasty Plot with Shell Smash.


Shell Smash almost cost CHIP a battle against one of the Team Yell Grunts inside the Dark Gym. Sinistea was already faster than its opponent, meaning it had to take the Scrafty Payback with -1 Defense.


A Double Battle against Drapion and Liepard was much easier than it should have been. Poison/Dark was probably the worst type combination CHIP could encounter because it resisted all of Sinistea's attacks. But Drapion kept casting Venoshock, a half damage special Poison move, instead of taking an easy win with physical Dark attacks. All Liepard did was to kill the ceremonial Magikarp partner before dying to a +2 Giga Drain on the 2nd turn.


Piers the Gym Leader was CHIP's fiercest foe yet. Scrafty had such good HP and Special Defense that it could survive a +2 Giga Drain. . .when Sinistea was at Level 70. CHIP's level increased between each attempt, yet it couldn't get past Scrafty and its Payback until Level 75. Nasty Plot replaced Shell Smash because Weak Armor would cover Speed anyway.


DEATH COUNT: 21


When CHIP was at 75, a Nasty Plot powered Giga Drain finally slew Scrafty. Malamar the squid fainted without taking an action. Obstagoon defended itself with Obstruct when it first appeared, but it would have failed after consecutive uses, leaving an opening for a Giga Drain KO.


Piers's Skuntank had Sucker Punch, so CHIP tried to bait it with Nasty Plot. Skuntank called the bluff with a Screech debuff to Defense. Protect was another attempt to lure Skuntank, who missed with Toxic instead. Although Shadow Ball would have been better here, I clicked Giga Drain like an idiot and won the battle anyway at Level 75 with full HP.


CHIP's difficulty with Piers made Sinistea 30 levels higher than most of the final Gym. All 3 underlings' weather teams of Pelipper/Sliggoo, Ninetales/Turtonator, and Hakamo-o/Abomasnow were simple to kill with Nasty Plot. Magikarp made for a good distraction on Turn 1, since it seemed the AI always targeted the weakest monster first.


Raihan himself was "sewing and singing", as they say in Spanish. Breaking Swipe from Flygon reduced CHIP's irrelevant Attack and murdered Magikarp. CHIP grew to Dynamax size and sent Max Overgrowth plants at Gigalith before it could Rock Blast its Defense down by 5 stages with Rock Blast. Max Phantasm eliminated Flygon on Turn 2.


Sandaconda was probably Raihan's most useful monster when it Glared at CHIP, Paralyzing the teacup in fear. Gigantamax Duraludon attacked with G-Max Depletion for minor damage just before a Max Phantasm with no Nasty Plot buffs toppled the Prism Tower lookalike. Silicobra's last attack was a Fire Fang, just before a Giga Drain restored CHIP's HP to 148/155 HP at Level 75. The ceremonial Level 23 Magikarp was left to rot in the PC for the rest of the game.


Kelpsy Berries erased CHIP's Attack "effort values" in Wyndon to make room for Calcium and Carbos boosts. That's why Special Attack and Speed have improved so much in the stats section.


Marnie in the Champion's Cup was her worst performance in this playthrough. Her Liepard remembered to use Torment during the Nasty Plot turn. Liepard was so frail that a half damage Shadow Ball was enough to kill it, in case CHIP needed other moves. Scrafty fell to 1 Giga Drain, and Toxicroak fainted after CHIP revealed its Psychic powers. CHIP haunted Morpeko with Max Phantasm, and Max Overgrowth weeds choked Gigantamax Grimmsnarl. Having to level so much for Piers made the final Dark specialist battle so easy that Sinistea never took damage.


Hop's Dubwool was bait for 2 Nasty Plots, though it at least dealt some token damage with Zen Headbutt before a Giga Drain made it pass out. High Special Defense or not, Snorlax collapsed after Psychic telekinesis slammed it to the floor. Shadow Balls passed through Corviknight and Pincurchin, and one Max Phantasm hunted Dynamax Cinderace. Thanks to the Giga Drain at the beginning, CHIP won at full HP at Level 77. I wonder if CHIP will beat Champion Leon at a lower level than SHELOB the Galvantula. . .



CHIP the Sinistea Stats


Level 77 @ Eviolite

Nature: Quiet (+10% Special Attack, -10% Speed)
Characteristic: It’s somewhat vain (Special Defense is highest IV)
Ability: Weak Armor (-1 Defense, +2 Speed when hit with physical attack)


HP: 159
Attack: 82
Defense: 94
Special Attack: 178
Special Defense: 122
Speed: 124


Moves

Giga Drain
Shadow Ball
Psychic
Nasty Plot

 

[adman2]

Pokemon Sword Solo Sinistea Victory


Steel types mourned the loss of their Ghost resistance in Generation 6 as CHIP spooked all of Macro Cosmos's monsters with Shadow Ball. Even Stunfisk failed to Bounce before dying. Oleana had better type diversity and put up more of a fight. Her Froslass was faster than CHIP and Burned it with Will o Wisp before Shadow Ball put the Ice/Ghost to rest. Milotic was Nasty Plot bait because all it did was try to heal itself with Aqua Ring. +2 Special Attack was enough for a Giga Drain to steal its HP.


Oleana's Salazzle was another fast special attacker who cast Incinerate just before a Psychic made it faint. CHIP grew to Dynamax size to cast Max Mindstorm on Tsareena to set up Psychic Terrain, then to kill Gigantamax Garbodor in one hit with the 50% boost. Sinistea sipped its own tea as a victory dance and won at Level 77 with about 2/3 of its HP.


Shell Smash replaced Nasty Plot once again. Bede's Mawile took advantage of the -1 Defense penalty and Crunched with its hair jaw for super effective damage. One Shadow Ball critical sent Mawile into the outer darkness. Another critical Shadow Ball likely killed Gardevoir instead of making it faint. Max Phantasm was more powerful magic than the Fairy types Rapidash and Hatterene could overcome, so CHIP won the unofficial Champion's Cup battle at Level 78.


Nessa never dealt damage to CHIP at all with her Water team. Golisopod squandered its opportunity for even a First Impression as it buffed its Attack with Swords Dance instead. One Shell Smash later, and a combination of Shadow Ball, Giga Drain, and Max Overgrowth fished up Golisopod, Barraskewda, Seaking, Pelipper, and Gigantamax Drednaw.


Bea at least had a Bouncing Hawlucha that took the initiative. Giga Drain healed some of the HP back just before a Psychic pinned the Mexican wrestler bird. Psychic's "mind over matter" approach was correct in the cases of Sirfetch'd and Falinks, and Grapploct and Machamp fell to the superior Max Mindstorm. CHIP left the arena with about 288/322 Dynamax HP at Level 78.


(Why are there so many pure Fighting types in Galar, anyway? The established Hitmon, Machamp, Throh, and Sawk lines return, and Sirfetch'd, Falinks, and Grapploct are new. Hawlucha and Toxicroak are the only dual types in this region from what I remember. . .)


Raihan's Torkoal cast Solar Beam instead of a Fire move, providing an opportunity for a safe Shell Smash. Shadow Ball cooled down the Fire tortoise, but Giga Drain barely failed to KO Flygon on a low damage roll. It set up a Sandstorm on the first turn and drank a Full Restore on the 2nd, but the next Giga Drain scored the KO. Turtonator was another Shadow Ball victim. Goodra died to one Max Phantasm in spite of its high Special Defense, and Duraludon's Gigantamax HP helped it no more than in the 8th Gym. At Level 79, CHIP conquered the finals at 276/326 HP.


The de facto Steel Gym Leader Rose was another free victory. Escavalier set up with Swords Dance instead of attacking, much like Nessa's Golisopod did. Shadow Balls and Max Phantasms cleanly killed the Steel/Bug snail, Perrserker, Ferrothorn, Klinklang, and Copperajah at Level 79.


Eternatus's 1st form was anticlimactic compared to previous solos. It was initially faster and launched a Dragon Breath, allowing CHIP to survive the 1st round without a Shell Smash defensive penalty. One boosted Psychic forced Eternatus to assume its 2nd form. Although I had the "skip cutscene" option active, GameFreak still played Zacian and Zamazenta's dramatic entrance. Psychic dealt noticeable damage, though Zacian and Zamazenta's Behemoth Blade and Behemoth Bash still did most of the work. Max Wyrmwinds decreased CHIP's HP to 29/163, though capturing the legendary was guaranteed after one last Behemoth Blade wore Eternatus down.


Now that there were no more Poison or Fighting types left to defeat, Psychic was replaced by Protect. Those who remember the Galvantula solo know exactly what it was for.


Leon's Aegislash used King's Shield and Shadow Ball in a predictable pattern for once, though it took me a while to figure out that Leon would never act any other way. Shield form Aegislash could survive one Shadow Ball with its Special Defense stat, and the sword form killed in one hit outright with Shell Smash, or at least softened CHIP for an inevitable Dragapult demise.


FINAL DEATH COUNT: 23


On Take 3, CHIP predicted Aegislash's actions and Shell Smashed on Turn 2 when the rival Ghost hid behind its King's Shield. Defensive form or not, a +2 Shadow Ball obliterated Aegislash. Shell Smash's +2 Speed increase made CHIP 's Shadow Ball too fast for the speed demon Dragapult. CHIP gained a level when one more Shadow Ball made Rillaboom stop playing its Grass type drums. Haxorus was another easy Shadow Ball KO, and Giga Drain came in handy when the Rock/Ground Rhyperior appeared.


Just to humiliate Leon further, I wanted to see if CHIP the Sinistea could beat Leon's overhyped Gigantamax Charizard without Dynamax. Charizard was as overconfident as Goliath and used Max Overgrowth (?) instead of a Fire move that would have gotten same type attack bonus. Two Shadow Balls ripped the Champion's belt off of Charizard and gave it to Sinistea instead.


Can you beat Pokemon Sword using only a Sinistea, with no Battle Items or Affection bonuses from camping? Yes! With 20 levels to spare, and 2 lower than the fully evolved Galvantula. Nasty Plot and Shell Smash can make even a mediocre Special Attack useful.


Sinistea doesn't learn many special moves, though it has just enough. Shadow Ball is good coverage in a game with no Normal specialists, especially after Steel types lost their resistance to it. Giga Drain can provide some healing and kills Water, Rock, and Ground monsters, though Grass is a subpar attack type otherwise. Psychic and Psyshock are great in Sword in particular because of the increased Fighting type presence, and allows Sinistea to fight Eternatus's 1st form without much difficulty. The smaller amount of enemy Ghosts in Sword relative to Shield also makes things easier for the teacup. Poison/Dark types like Skuntank and Drapion live in Sinistea's nightmares, as do Team Yell Grunts on Route 6.


Weak Armor can be both beneficial and harmful as an ability. Its +2 Speed boost gives Sinistea the ability to go first in many instances where it otherwise wouldn't. However, -1 Defense is a significant drawback when dealing with Dark types, which usually tend to be physical attackers. Sucker Punch becomes the most dangerous move in the game when it ignores your Speed, deals super effective damage, and also decreases your Defense. Weak Armor is also useless in the Champion battle where Leon's first two Pokemon are special attackers, forcing Sinistea to predict Aegislash and set up Shell Smash Speed boosts instead.


Eviolite is of course the go-to item for any unevolved Pokemon starting with the 5th Gym. Sinistea needs those extra defenses to survive certain attacks. The Shell Bell can come in handy before then, as well as status curing berries. Players who want to evolve Sinistea are restricted by its "unique" evolution mechanic based on an item that appears right before the 4th Gym in Stow-on-Side, so they still have to struggle through Route 6 as a teacup instead of a teapot.


CHIP the Sinistea Stats


Level 80 @ Eviolite

Nature: Quiet (+10% Special Attack, -10% Speed)
Characteristic: It’s somewhat vain (Special Defense is highest IV)
Ability: Weak Armor (-1 Defense, +2 Speed when hit with physical attack)


HP: 165
Attack: 85
Defense: 97
Special Attack: 185
Special Defense: 127
Speed: 128


Moves

Giga Drain
Shadow Ball
Protect
Shell Smash


Okay, the real reason I abstained from Dynamax in the last battle was to take a funny picture. It's low quality, but hey, my cell phone does a poor job at taking screenshots for Switch games. *Tries to upload it* Hey, the file size is too big!


EDIT: The photo does work if uploaded as my avatar.

 

[adman2]

Pokemon Sword Solo Sinistea BONUS


The novelty of using a Sinistea made me want to take CHIP through the postgame. This side story began in Slumbering Weald where Hop challenged CHIP to another battle, this time with his team in the 58-60 level range. Dubwool was helpless to stop a Shell Smash boosted Psychic. Snorlax was still tough enough to take a +2 Psychic, however, and Crunched CHIP down to "red" HP. A 2nd Psychic put Snorlax to bed, and Shadow Balls wiped out Cramorant, Corviknight, Cinderace, and Pincurchin. CHIP won with only 9/165 HP at Level 80.


Sordward and Shielbert, two blonde men dressed in colorful suits and wearing hairdos shaped like a sword and shield, stole Zamazenta's shield. They claimed to be the true kings of Galar since they were descended from ancient royalty. This raises the question of whether Galar is currently a republic. If so, that's a surprising choice by the developers considering the "cartoon Britain" theme, down to basing Yamper on Queen Elizabeth II's corgis. If not, are Sordward and Shielbert the equivalent of Jacobites? Or is Galar's monarchy based on the "amateur American genealogy" model where anyone who has papers saying one ancestor hundreds of years ago entitles them to land?


Despite Sordwards's delusional attitude, he was a competent trainer with monsters at Level 60. He led with a Sirfetch'd that hit with Leaf Blade while CHIP set up Shell Smash. Psychic defeated the Farfetch'd evolution, and then Golisopod appeared packing Sinistea's favorite move Sucker Punch.


BONUS DEATH COUNT: 1


CHIP avenged its loss without taking any damage. Sirfetch'd was weak enough to lose to 1 Psychic without setup, and Nasty Plot stalled out Sucker Punch's PP during the Golisopod phase. Shadow Balls took out Golisopod, Doublade, and Bisharp in one hit.


Sordward and Shielbert ran around Galar, performing experiments on Pokemon to force them to Dynamax in various Gyms. Most of these battles aren't worth writing about, since they were essentially the same as Raids in the Wild Area. Hop's Cinderace, Piers's Obstagoon, and the local Gym Leader would sometimes be partners. For these battles, CHIP didn't Dynamax. Later Gyms had no partners, so CHIP grew to Dynamax size and fought on its own. Tsareena, Gyarados, Torkoal, Haxorus, Gigalith, and Conkeldurr were Sordward and Shielbert's victims.


Between the Gym Raids, Sordward and Shielbert raided Professor Sonia's laboratory and challenged CHIP and Hop to a Double Battle. This was the hardest fight of the postgame since Sordward invariably lead with his Sucker Punching Golisopod. It was hard to PP stall and predict, and Shielbert's Bronzong could make things worse by increasing the team's Special Defense with Light Screen. Other notable enemies included a Wild Charge Klinklang and a Night Slashing Bisharp.


If CHIP fell, Hop was allowed to continue the battle on his own. Unfortunately, he had terrible AI that sometimes made his Cinderace use Agility or Corviknight use Scary Face. Speed modifiers were really going to help with 2 Pokemon vs. 1.


BONUS DEATH COUNT: 4


At Level 85, Shadow Ball was guaranteed to kill Bronzong without Light Screen. But on the successful attempt, CHIP instead Nasty Plotted and Protected to try bait Golisopod's Sucker Punch. Bronzong set up its Light Screen. Dubwool's Double Edge attacked Sordward and Shielbert's monsters, and forced Golisopod to Emergency Exit to Doublade. Doublade's Sacred Sword slashed Dubwool and replaced it with the more useful Cinderace.


Once Golisopod was gone, CHIP was free to start casting Shadow Balls and Psychics at Shielbert's creatures. Klinklang was the first to fall, followed by Falinks. Cinderace kicked a Pyro Ball to melt Doublade. Shadow Ball captured Bisharp in spite of its resistance to Ghost. When Golisopod returned, Protect and Nasty Plot were used to stall out Sucker Punch. Golisopod had other plans and crushed Cinderace with a Liquidation. Hop's Corviknight had the honor of the final KO with Brave Bird. CHIP won the battle at 85, though Hop deserved the honors more.


You may have noticed that there weren't 8 Dynamax Pokemon at the Gyms. This wasn't just because it was impossible at Spikemuth. Bede had already eliminated 3 Dynamax Pokemon at his Gym in Ballonlea, and instead held his final rematch here. Level 61 Mawile reduced CHIP's Special Defense with Fake Tears as CHIP Nasty Plotted. I was hoping for a physical move to trigger Weak Armor. Shadow Ball exorcised Mawile, Level 61 Gardevoir, and Level 63 Hatterene, but Galar Rapidash lived up to its name and was the first to act. It cast Dazzling Gleam just before dying, leaving CHIP at Level 85 with 119/174 HP.


Sordward and Shielbert's true purpose was to experiment with Zamazenta, therefore proving that they were the true kings somehow. Sordward's team was now at Level 64, but functioned the same as before. Sirfetch'd was the only one who dealt damage, by means of Leaf Blade. Stalling out Golisopod's Sucker Punch PP was as effective as always, and Giga Drain restored CHIP to full HP. Doublade and Bisharp were dispatched with Shadow Ball, and CHIP won at Level 86.


Zamazenta had gone mad due to the "Galar particles" and forced CHIP into a battle. This was the pure Fighting form, not the enhanced Fighting/Steel version in the Eternatus battle. Zamazenta was fast and Crunched CHIP's HP down to 26/176. Weak Armor came in handy when combined with Nasty Plot, and a single Psychic on the next turn calmed the legendary Pokemon down. Zacian in its Fairy/Steel form was caught with the Master Ball as a formality. Sordward and Shielbert agreed to turn themselves in to the proper authorities.


The postgame ended with one last battle with Hop in the Slumbering Weald. His team had been upgraded to the 68-70 level range, but he still made the mistake of leading with a Dubwool which could literally do nothing against a Ghost type. 3 Shell Smashes later, and alternating Psychics and Shadow Balls murdered Dubwool, Snorlax, Cinderace, Pincurchin, Corviknight, and even Zamazenta in its Fighting/Steel form. CHIP's final victory was flawless at Level 87. Hop then decided to become a Pokemon Professor rather than the Champion.



Not an exciting epilogue apart from the Sordward and Shielbert Double Battle, but it was worth experiencing once.



CHIP the Sinistea Stats


Level 87 @ Eviolite

Nature: Quiet (+10% Special Attack, -10% Speed)
Characteristic: It’s somewhat vain (Special Defense is highest IV)
Ability: Weak Armor (-1 Defense, +2 Speed when hit with physical attack)


HP: 178
Attack: 92
Defense: 105
Special Attack: 201
Special Defense: 138
Speed: 139


Moves

Giga Drain
Shadow Ball
Psychic
Shell Smash

 

[adman2]

Pokemon Shield Solo Morgrem Prologue


This will be written a bit differently from previous solos. I usually type them up after each play session, but this time I waited until after completing the game.


Solo Morgrem does have some similarities to Solo Sinistea. Both of the base forms are available through 1 star Raids in the Wild Area before reaching Motostoke, if you're lucky. Both Pokemon depend on Special Attack boosts like Nasty Plot, and rely on a main attacking type that is strong against Ghost and Psychic, and was not very effective against Steel before Generation 6. Both also have offensive type coverage limitations which are annoying against particular Gym Leader Pokemon.


There are significant differences between Sinistea and Morgrem too. Sinistea is pure Ghost, a trait it shares with other Galar Pokedex monsters like Dusknoir and Cursola. Morgrem's line has the unique Dark/Fairy combination. Sinistea comes with Weak Armor, a ability that increases Speed at the expense of Defense when hit by a physical move. Morgrem can come with Prankster, which provides priority to non-attacking moves like buffs, status ailments, and Substitute.


Those who play multiplayer Pokemon may wonder why I didn't choose Grimmsnarl, the highest form of the Impidimp line. The reason for that is that the Impidimp I caught was disappointing! It had Frisk, an item-identifying ability only useful for competitive battles to catch surprise Choice Scarves or something. But worst of all was the Bold nature that decreased its Attack by 10%. Grimmsnarl is a physical attacker with several gimmick moves that's meant to set up with Bulk Up, and it wouldn't have felt right to play with a nature handicap.


Despite Grimmsnarl having a base 95 Special Attack, it's better to try Morgrem if you must use a special attacking Dark/Fairy. Morgrem can equip the Eviolite and actually has 10 more base Speed than its evolution. The higher Speed came in handy at certain parts of the game.


Special attacking Morgrem was not only viable, but actually the lowest level solo I've done for a Galar game so far without Battle Items or Affection bonuses. Galvantula and Sinistea needed to be in the 80s to defeat Leon, and Wooloo faltered at Level 100 at the final boss and was forced to use X Attack, X Speed, and Affection to win.

 

[adman2]

Pokemon Shield Solo Morgrem Part 1


The disappointing Impidimp was found at Level 15 after the starter Scorbunny fought him in a Raid. I gave the little gremlin the name PITCH, which Mystery Science Theater 3000 fans should recognize. PITCH's Raid also happened to drop Play Rough, the standard physical Fairy move with 90 power, 90% accuracy, and a chance to decrease enemy Attack.


Even with the hindering Bold nature, PITCH defeated Hop in Motostoke at his starting level. Play Rough and Bites turned Wooloo into mutton, though not before Hop healed it with a Potion. Grookey the Grass starter laughed at Impidimp's pitiful base 50 Speed and Branch Poked him. Play Rough scored an Attack drop, though Grookey used his own Growl Attack debuff. Bites finished off the Grookey, and 2 Play Roughs shot down Rookidee. PITCH won with 21/41 HP.


Bede in Galar Mine 1 should have been a flawless victory since he was a Psychic specialist fighting against a type created to counter them. Solosis was slow and fell to a single Bite, and the final Gothita decreased PITCH's Attack and Defense with Tickle instead of attacking. But Hatenna survived one Bite and responded with the Fairy type Disarming Voice. PITCH was a Fairy that was weak to other fey because of its Dark typing. Mega Altaria from the Hoenn remakes was the only other Pokemon that can face a situation like this if I'm not mistaken. PITCH defeated the Venerable Beet at Level 18 with 32/48 HP.


(Yes, Bede's Japanese name is Beet. Japanese game developers must think the best form of comedy is to name characters after food.)


Milo's Grass Gym was difficult for PITCH, in a scenario not seen since the Wooloo solo. Leah's Bounsweet and Oddish nearly finished off the gremlin due to the use of Poison Powder and Acid. To balance out the chart in Generation 6, Fairies were created and given Poison and Steel weaknesses, which were previously the worst attacking types. So PITCH limped out of that fight with only 4/52 HP at Level 20.


To see if PITCH stood a chance without any additional Wild Area TRs, I sent him into the stadium with Milo. His Gossifleur liked to use Fake Out and Rapid Spin instead of Grass moves, though it still took 2 Play Roughs and a Bite to cut through the leaves. PITCH grew to Level 21 and tried to take out Level 20 Eldegoss with Max Starfalls powered by Play Rough. Unfortunately, Max Starfall's Fairy type terrain was the most useless kind as it didn't provide any damage bonuses like the Electric, Grass, and Psychic versions. Eldegoss's Dynamax HP was too much for PITCH to overcome even with 3 Max Starfalls, and 3 Max Overgrowths smashed through his HP and Sitrus Berry autohealing.


The DEATH COUNT will be posted at the end of the playthrough this time.


PITCH didn't find all the TRs he needed in the next few Raids, but he did get the base 80 special Fairy move Dazzling Gleam, and the base 80 physical Bug move Leech Life. 2 Leech Life fangs were super effective against Gossifleur and restored some HP with its vampiric side effect. Leech Life could power up into Max Flutterby against Eldegoss. Even 3 Max Flutterbys couldn't do the job, but Eldegoss must have gotten low damage rolls on the Max Overgrowths. PITCH outlasted Dynamax, using one last Leech Life to win his 1st badge at Level 21 and 22/54 HP.


To proceed without making the DEATH COUNT higher than it needed to be, I had to wait for a couple of days for the Nasty Plot and Dark Pulse TRs to be available for purchase in the Wild Area. With his new moves, PITCH confronted Hop on Route 5. He had evolved 2 of his Pokemon, and it was clear Impidimp's stats were not up to the task. One Nasty Plot increased PITCH's Special Attack to +2, and Wooloo dealt some damage with Double Kick. A boosted base 90 power special Dark Pulse sheared the sheep. Corvisquires Unnerve ability prevented the Sitrus Berry from healing Impidimp. Not that it would have mattered, since Corvisquire Plucked it anyway. Dark Pulse killed Corvisquire, only to make Thwackey appear and beat down PITCH with its higher Speed and Double Hit.


PITCH won on the 2nd try by setting up 2 Nasty Plots against the Wooloo. But the true reason for victory was luck. Corvisquire only tried Peck instead of Pluck, and Thwackey whiffed Double Hit. Impidimp rubbed his hands together in glee with 32/61 HP at Level 24.


Impidimp found his Shell Bell to get a minor heal with each attack just before Nessa's Water Gym. But all of Nessa's monsters were faster. Goldeen cast Water Pulse, Arrokuda had Aqua Jet, and Drednaw pounded PITCH with Max Strike. At Level 27, PITCH set up Nasty Plot against the Goldeen, who wasted a turn increasing its superior Speed with Agility. Dark Pulse counterattacked Goldeen's Water Pulse. Impidimp Dynamaxed against the Arrokuda and struck with Max Darkness after taking an Aqua Jet. PITCH endured 2 Max Strikes from Drednaw and cracked its shell with 2 Max Darkness attacks. It was a close victory at Level 27.


The Venerable Beet in Galar Mine 2 had a Solosis and Hattena that both died to Dark Pulse without acting. Galar Ponyta was swifter and sent out a Fairy Wind, while Gothita had high Special Defense, ate a Super Potion, and threw Rock Tombs at PITCH. Impidimp walked out of the fight with 58/67 HP while holding the Shell Bell.


Team Yell Grunts in Galar Mine 2 were a joke. CHIP the Sinistea had to cower with Protect, but PITCH could murder both Thievul and Linoone at a time with Dazzling Gleam, which became a spread move. CHIP had a critical weakness to Dark, while PITCH only took 1/4 normal damage from such moves. Hop's Corvisquire assisted PITCH by finishing off Liepard.


Marnie in Motostoke was partially a Dark specialist, but came prepared with a Poison/Fighting Croagunk specifically for Fairies. A critical Venoshock only made things worse. PITCH lived long enough to reach Morpeko, but the Pikachu derivative was faster and jolted him with a Thundershock.


On Take 2 of the Marnie battle, Croagunk's Venoshock failed to get a critical hit. This allowed PITCH to survive a Thundershock, and Croagunk, Scraggy, and Morpeko had to close their eyes when a Dazzling Gleam was too bright for them. Impidimp rose to Level 30 after winning with about 27/71 HP.


I knew Impidimp had no chance against Kabu, the first Gym Leader with a fully-evolved team. But I thought I'd see how far PITCH could go. The answer was that he couldn't even hunt the lead Ninetales. Its high Special Defense forced PITCH to Nasty Plot twice as the fox surrounded him with Fire Spin and inflicted Burn with Will o Wisp.


PITCH grew to Level 32 with candies and evolved into Morgrem. This was similar to the SHELOB the Galvantula playthrough: both failed to defeat Kabu in their base forms. Morgrem set up 2 Nasty Plots and cured its Will o Wisp Burn with a Rawst Berry before cutting off Ninetales with Dark Pulse. Arcanine wasted its turn using Agility, and a Dynamax size Max Darkness slew a favorite Pokemon of speedrunners. Gigantamax Centiskorch required 2 Max Darkness casts to kill, though Morgrem could take a G-Max Centiferno and get his 3rd badge with 80/180 Dynamax HP at Level 32.

 

[adman2]

Pokemon Shield Solo Morgrem Part 2


Hop returned at Stow-on-Side to waste his time by flapping his lips Speed Racer style during battle. Environmental graphics can look excellent, but some other effects in Sword/Shield are so cheap that it seems the Nintendo 64 could have done them better.


Instead of Diving, Cramorant tried to Pluck a nonexistent berry. One Nasty Plot clearly wasn't enough, as Cramorant's mediocre base stats were still good relative to this part of the game. Three Dark Pulses broke through Cramorant's HP and whatever healing item Hop fed it. Toxel and Silicobra had both low Speed and Special Defense: a lethal combination. Thwackey was at Level 33 and could take one Dark Pulse and Knock Off PITCH's Shell Bell. That may have been the only time I've seen Knock Off from an AI trainer in Galar. Surprising considering it's a popular physical Dark attack in multiplayer. PITCH ripped another page out of Hop's legend at Level 35.


Although PITCH's Dark type was great for Allister's Ghost Gym, his Fairy type was a liability. His Galar Yamask was set up bait for Nasty Plot, as its Hex dealt minimal damage. Mimikyu could take the first Dark Pulse no matter what while only losing 1/8 HP from its Disguise ability, and Slashed a few times for considerable damage. Two Dark Pulses after the Disguise broke killed Pikachu's imitator. Cursola was slow and an easy target for Max Darkness. Gigantamax Gengar with its Atomos mouth could have easily murdered Morgrem at this, had it chosen Max Ooze. But Allister's AI rolled MAX DARKNESS?! An attack that only dealt 1/4 normal damage? Anyway, PITCH got an unearned victory at Level 37 with about 88/208 Dynamax HP with the Shell Bell.


The Venerable Beet came back to smash the mural in Stow-on-Side. Duosion never attacked and only increased the team's defenses with Reflect and Light Screen. It was the perfect time for 2 Nasty Plots. Dark Pulse obliterated Duosion, Hattrem, Ponyta, and Gothorita, earning PITCH a flawless victory at Level 38.


CHIP the Sinistea had its struggle in the 7th Gym. Fortunately, PITCH the Morgrem's worst battle was in Opal's Gym. He fell once on the last battle of the Fairy type audition because a Level 35 Gardevoir happened to have Dazzling Gleam too. PITCH returned when I remembered to actually equip the Eviolite, and didn't have to fight all the previous audition battles.


If PITCH could hold out for long enough while fighting Opal, the Fairy type Gym Leader would happily boost his stats with quizzes. Assuming he could even manage to beat Galar Weezing, that is! The smokestack top hat resisted both Dark and Fairy due to its unique typing, forcing PITCH to Nasty Plot twice to have a chance. Galar Weezing came with Sludge, normally too weak for a 5th Gym but deadly here with super effective damage and a Poison chance. Protect stall for extra rounds as Morgrem got +2 Speed and +2 to both defenses.


A Dark Pulse critical cleaned up Galar Weezing. Morgrem Protected on Mawile's 1st turn, then finished off another Pokemon that resisted Dark/Fairy with Dark Pulse. Protecting against Togekiss got Morgrem +2 Special Attack when I told Opal that she was 16. Fairy was neutral to itself, making Max Starfall a good option. Alcremie the wedding cake collapsed under a Max Starfall, and PITCH won at an embarrassingly high Level 46 with 62/254 Dynamax HP.


Hop put up a better fight on Route 7. His Trevenant was an easy kill with Nasty Plot and Dark Pulse, but Snorlax required another Nasty Plot when it shrugged off a Dark Pulse. Snorlax also knew the Steel type Heavy Slam which exploited Morgrem's cold iron weakness. Heatmor and Rillaboom were too slow to guard against Dark Pulse, but Boltund got a full paralysis turn with a lucky Spark. Morgrem cast Dark Pulse to win the battle with only single digit HP at Level 47.


"Togedemaru Guy" on Route 8 was not as bad as for other solos, since it didn't resist Dark Pulse. It did at least get a critical Zing Zap.


Gym Leader Melony's Frosmoth was useful to its team with a Speed decreasing Icy Wind. Its Bug Buzz was strong, softening up PITCH for a Galar Darmanitan's Icicle Crash.


On the 2nd attempt, Frosmoth seemed to miss with an Icy Wind. Opal's Draining Kiss TM was used over Dazzling Gleam for its HP stealing quality, although it was weaker. Darmanitan's Taunt was futile as a +6 Draining Kiss sucked its blood. Draining Kiss also ignored Eiscue's Ice Face because that only worked on physical attacks. Max Darkness's Special Defense reduction side effect was good for a change when Lapras survived the 1st hit thanks to outspeeding an Icy Winded Morgrem and setting up Aurora Veil with its G-Max Resonance. PITCH warmed up with about 140/270 HP in Dynamax form at Level 49.


Hop in Circhester led with his Dubwool, which was always a mistake because it meant free setup turns. 3 Nasty Plots powered up Draining Kiss to the point where PITCH could steal all its remaining HP after Take Down recoil and Hail. Dark Pulse ripped through Snorlax, Corviknight, Rillaboom, and Pincurchin to win with 106/139 HP at Level 50.


PITCH had some difficulty with a Route 9 trainer who had a Wishiwashi that slapped him with Aqua Tail. A +2 Dark Pulse failed to kill it, but Hail finished the job. Gentleman Caden's Doublade, Passimian, and Polteageist were a peril to many solos, but not to PITCH the Morgrem. His Dark/Fairy coverage eliminated all of them before they could scratch him.


Marnie at Spikemuth didn't bother to make her Liepard cast Torment. Being able to cast Dazzling Gleam every turn made the fight much easier. At +4, Dazzling Gleam made Liepard, Toxicroak, Scrafty, and Morpeko come out of the shadows. Liepard's Fake Out and Morpeko's fast Spark dealt negligible damage.


Piers in Spikemuth's Dark Gym was easy experience for PITCH. Scrafty could only get a token Fake Out flinch just before Dazzling Gleam exploited both its Fighting and Dark type. Obstagoon was merely a good opportunity to Nasty Plot twice. I mispredicted on the 1st turn, expecting an Obstruct and getting a half damage Shadow Claw instead. Obstagoon did Obstruct on the next round. Dazzling Gleam blinded Obstagoon, then Malamar and Skuntank before they could move. At Level 55, PITCH conquered the 7th Gym with about 133/155 HP. Did you know Piers's Skuntank doesn't have a direct damage Poison move? I didn't realize that until I looked up its moveset.


Raihan's Double Battle Hail and Rain subordinates were simple with Dazzling Gleam spread shots. As for the Sun trainer, PITCH defeated Ninetales with a +2 Dark Pulse, then killed Turtonator with another. Turtonator liked to imprison PITCH with Rock Tomb sometimes instead of wasting all its turns with Shell Trap counterattacks.


PITCH didn't have to gain levels with candies to win a Double Battle against the last Gym Leader. Probably not something that happens often! Sure, PITCH lost the first attempt to Duraludon's Max Steelspike. But I had a plan.


Flygon must have Thunder Punched the ceremonial Magikarp on the 1st turn while Morgrem set up Nasty Plot. Gigalith preferred Body Press, an 80 power Fighting move that increases with Defense. Protect was used to waste one turn of Sandstorm, since Gigalith would have 50% more Special Defense with that weather active. Draining Kiss stole all of Flygon's HP. It had to be killed soon because it knew Steel Wing, and was also weak to Fairy. Protect blocked Sandaconda's paralyzing Glare and stalled for another round.


Dark Pulse made Raihan's Sandaconda slither to its Poke Ball. Max Darkness demolished the Gigantamax Duraludon skyscraper when it appeared and decreased Gigalith's Special Defense too. One last Max Darkness mined Gigalith, and won the battle with about 122/316 Dynamax HP at Level 57.


Doctor Graham on Route 10 almost defeated Morgrem, but its AI decided to set up Calm Mind on the 2nd round rather than go for the Dazzling Gleam kill. Shield may be on the Nintendo Switch, but it still resembles a Game Boy installment at times.

 

[adman2]

Pokemon Shield Solo Morgrem Part 3


One defeat came from Cabbie Geoffrey, whose Corviknight confused PITCH with Swagger and made him hit himself multiple times. By the time he reached Geoffrey's Flygon, PITCH didn't stand a chance. On the successful attempt, Corviknight only used Steel Wing rather than its more successful ailment move.


Why do random route trainer Pokemon like Bellossom and Noctowl get Moonblast, but not an actual Fairy type like Morgrem? That move would have improved his damage output! In Wyndon, Morgrem performed the usual vitamin ritual to max out its "effort values".


Marnie in the Champion's Cup was a surprising threat. Even a +1 Dazzling Gleam wasn't enough for Toxicroak, who survived and cast Venoshock. PITCH wasn't at +2 because Liepard knew Snarl, a Dark special move that decreased Special Attack. Setting up against Scrafty wasn't viable because it debuffed PITCH's Speed with Scary Face, leaving it an easy target for Grimmsnarl's Max Starfall.


Instead of trying Snarl, Liepard used its own Nasty Plot on Take 2. At +4 Special Attack, Dazzling Gleam and Max Starfall magic exhausted Liepard, Toxicroak, Scrafty, Morpeko, and Grimmsnarl with almost full HP at Level 61.


Hop opened with Dubwool again. This was another free Nasty Plot, which let Dark Pulse and Max Darkness crash onto Dubwool, Pincurchin, Corviknight, Snorlax, and Rillaboom. PITCH beat his main rival for the last time with about 276/338 Dynamax HP at Level 61.


Macro Cosmos's Steel types in the elevator were not as dangerous as I expected. Only Mawile tried a Steel move at all, while the rest were happy to lose to Dark Pulse. Oleana, however, had a deadly and diverse lineup. Her Froslass burned PITCH with Will o Wisp, and the speedy Salazzle startled him with Venoshock. It was burn damage that cost me the 1st attempt, though. That, and trying to set up against Salazzle. Must have forgotten about Fairy weaknesses for a moment.


On the next try against Oleana, I took fewer chances. Froslass's Will o Wisp missed, and its Double Team didn't dodge a +2 Dark Pulse. Salazzle shot a Venoshock before Dark Pulse ripped through its thin Special Defense. Oleana's Milotic was almost as sturdy as Cynthia's in Sinnoh, though it wasted its turn with Aqua Ring. Max Darkness turned off both the lights and Tsareena and Garbodor's life bars. PITCH had about 200/348 Dynamax HP at Level 63.


The Venerable Beet's final team was much harder than before. Guess Opal's "Fairy type boot camp" did him some good. If PITCH could handle Mawile Playing Rough, then Gardevoir was sure to make him spend the rest of his short life with the Fairies.


Since Morgrem's attacks barely failed to KO the Fairies, I knew it was time to level up. PITCH rose to 67 with candies and tried again. Mawile whiffed its Play Rough, allowing for a free +2 Dark Pulse. With the extra experience, Morgrem managed to break Rapidash's land Speed record and kill it with Dark Pulse. More Dark attacks finished off Gardevoir and Hatterene for a flawless victory. It was amazing how drastic the difference was from the 1st attempt.


Nessa's Golisopod increased its Attack with Swords Dance on the 1st round instead of, well, attacking. +2 Dark Pulse and Max Darkness destroyed Golisopod, Seaking, Barraskewda, Pelipper, and Drednaw with one move. The only damage PITCH took in this battle was from Barraskewda's Liquidation, but then again it's hard to outrun base 136 Speed.


Using Nasty Plot on the 1st turn against Allister tricked his Dusknoir into Disabling that move. +2 Special Attack was still enough to cast instant death Dark Pulse and Max Darkness, and not even Gengar was fast enough to prevent a Level 68 flawless victory.

 

[adman2]

Pokemon Shield Solo Morgrem Victory


Morgrem didn't care much about Raihan's new multi-weather team, since this was a Single Battle. Torkoal preferred Solar Beam to a Sun boosted Fire move, and a +2 Dark Pulse cracked it open. Turtonator became another turtle soup ingredient after Dark Pulse. Goodra, Flygon, and Duraludon fell to Max Starfall or Max Darkness. PITCH won the last match of the finals at Level 69 with high HP.


Rose's Steel type specialty made him harder than some opponents in the tournament. Escavalier the snail's armor wasn't just for show, as its Iron Head proved. Perrserker, Ferrothorn, and Klinklang were vulnerable to +2 Dark Pulse neutral damage, but Copperajah the Gigantamax elephant had just enough HP to take 1. A G-Max Steelspike put an end to the 1st attempt. Before the next try, PITCH grew to Level 72 with more candies, which paid off when Copperajah crashed to the ground when hit by a post-Dynamax Dark Pulse. Morgrem the gremlin only held on with about 4 HP.


Both of Eternatus's phases defeated PITCH, yet Morgrem didn't have to level between attempts. This was because of how the random wild Pokemon "AI" worked. On Take 1, Eternatus loved to bite with Cross Poison, while on Take 2, it cast moves PITCH was immune to like Dynamax Cannon and Dragon Pulse.


The Gigantamax Eternatus loss was partially my fault because I tried Nasty Plot, forgetting that it could instantly nullify buffs. Max Flare and Max Ooze were too much to handle. On Take 2, I used the good old Protect tactic, occasionally trying Dark Pulse. Eternatus's Max Wyrmwind gave some breather turns for this Fairy type. When Eternatus killed Hop's Dubwool and replaced it with Snorlax, the fight became easier. Snorlax's High Horsepower struck Eternatus's weakness to Ground and dealt the final blow. Max Flare defeated Zacian, but Zamazenta was still there to help.


Morgrem was less than 10 levels higher than Leon's strongest Pokemon, but this was the easiest Champion battle yet. Since PITCH was weak to Steel, Aegislash fell into a predictable pattern of shooting Flash Cannon, then retreating to King's Shield. Two Nasty Plots were sufficient to kill even the shield Aegislash with one Dark Pulse. PITCH was slower than Haxorus, but he had Draining Kiss to slay the Dragon and heal all the damage taken from Iron Tail. Dragapult suffered the same fate, but this Ghost/Dragon cast Thunderbolt instead of swiping with Iron Tail.


Leon's Mr. Rime was too slow to avoid Dark Pulse. I expected Draining Kiss to injure Inteleon more because it was the classic fast but frail Pokemon. Instead, it tried Tearful Look to decrease Attack, then a Snipe Shot for damage. Leon healed his Water starter with a Full Restore, but Morgrem healed with more Draining Kisses.


Gigantamax Charizard was concerning when PITCH was at less than half HP, but it stupidly used Max Rockfall! Max Darkness failed to KO at +4, but it did place Charizard at critical health. This gave me an idea. PITCH blocked a Max Overgrowth with Max Guard, and so Champion Leon defeated himself with his own Max Rockfall Sandstorm. Leon must have been as frustrated as Hop at this point for losing in such a way!


Morgrem was a strong solo, and superior to the fully evolved Galvantula. That was because Galvantula had no buffs other than +30% Electric/Grassy Terrain from Dynamax, and Morgrem benefited from Nasty Plot. Eviolite combined with Draining Kiss enabled Morgrem to survive certain threats that he couldn't outrun with base 70 Speed. Galar wasn't like Johto where most of the trainers were slower than a Slowbro. Fairy/Dark made good type coverage for most opponents, with the exception of Mawile and Galar Weezing. Both of those were on Opal's team, so it's no wonder Morgrem had trouble with her. Galvantula, however, relied on Electric, a type that did poorly against the late game Dragons.


Dark/Fairy as a defensive typing has mixed results. There aren't many high level Psychics in Galar for Dark types to kill, and those that do exist have a chance to be part Fairy. Dark types feel the pain when fighting Fairy specialists Opal and Champion's Cup Bede. Dark is better in Shield where you have to fight Allister's Ghosts twice. Enough opponents know Poison and Steel moves to make Morgrem regret being a Fairy type occasionally, such as Oleana, Marnie, Rose, and Allister's Gengar. Even Dragons like Eternatus or Raihan's Gym team can pose a threat to the type that's supposed to counter them. Fairy types annihilate Piers's Gym, however, and have an extra advantage in Sword where Bea the Fighting specialist appears.



PITCH the Morgrem Final Stats and Moves



Level 73 @ Eviolite (+50% Defense and Special Defense if not fully evolved)
Nature: Bold (+10% Defense, -10% Attack)
Characteristic: It’s Capable of Taking Hits (Defense highest innate stat bonus)
Ability: Frisk (Identify enemy held item on 1st turn)


HP: 200
Attack: 99
Defense: 116
Special Attack: 152
Special Defense: 100
Speed: 149



Nasty Plot
Protect
Dark Pulse
Draining Kiss


DEATH COUNT: 20


Beginning to 4th badge


-Milo's Gossifleur
-Route 5 Hop's Thwackey
-Nessa's Drednaw
-Marnie in Motostoke's Morpeko
-Kabu's Ninetales


5th badge to 8th badge

-Ballonlea Gym Trainer's Gardevoir
-Opal's Galar Weezing
-Opal's Mawile
-Opal's Galar Weezing
-Opal's Mawile
-Opal's Galar Weezing
-Melony's Galar Darmanitan
-Raihan's Duraludon


Route 10 until Champion

-Cabbie Geoffrey's Flygon
-Marnie's Grimmsnarl
-Oleana's Salazzle (burn damage)
-Bede's Gardevoir
-Rose's Copperajah
-Eternatus Form 1
-Eternatus Form 2