Pokéathlon Records

[Beaf Cultist]

asked a mod if I could make this thread like, 6 months ago, then completely forgot about it. whoops!

So, I really like the Pokéathlon. Like, really like it. I have no kidding sunk 200+ hours into this HGSS minigame, and I’ve got the results to back it up. I’d love to see more people show interest in this, so I thought I’d share my current records in all the events to show what’s possible, as well as my personal strategies from every event to get discussion started. These events are surprisingly complex, and with optimization (and RNG. Looking at you, Pennant Capture) I'll bet almost every event could reach the 200 point cap, which would be absolutely wild to see. If you have new strategies or just general discussion/questions about the Pokeathlon, this is the place for them.

Will try to update these as I achieve new records. I’ll give photographic evidence for anything, just ask.

Course Records:
Speed: 576 points (Cleffa, Suicune, Jolteon)
Power: 602 points (Entei, Steelix, Magmortar)
Skill: 606 points (Electrike, Porygon, Aron)
Stamina: 590 points (Entei, Arceus, Lugia)
Jump: 488 points (Latias, Yanmega, Crobat)

Event Records:
Hurdle Dash: 76.1 Seconds (151 points)
Pennant Capture: 51 Flags (153 points)
Circle Push: 66 Points (198 points; MAX)
Block Smash: 167 Pieces (167 points)
Disc Catch: 126 Points (139 points) — the opponent caught 0 discs here
Lamp Jump: 575 Points (164 points)
Relay Run: 21.0 Laps (200 points; max score)
Ring Drop: 200 Points (200 points; MAX)
Snow Throw: 127 Hits (200 points; max score)
Goal Roll: 24 Points (200 points; max score)

Medalists: 296

Friendship Room Score: 6157 Points

Quick clarification; 200 is the max score you can get in any one event, but the requirements for achieving this differs from event to event. For example, Block Smash has its score directly correlate to the number of blocks broken, while Relay Run is equal to 10 times the number of laps. Because of this, some events may already be at 200 points, but the measurement of the event itself still has room for improvement. These have been labelled ‘max score’. Meanwhile, you can never score higher than 66 in a Circle Push match, so this has been labelled MAX. Also fun fact, the Ring Drop scoreboard stops counting at 200, so even if you are technically able to score higher, it won’t count. Lol!

 

[Beaf Cultist]

And my event strategies, as promised.

Hurdle Dash: This event is all about Speed. Like, entirely. I originally thought having a low jump stat to boost on the highest number of hurdles was important, but the opening hurdles are actually spaced in such a way that even max Jump mons can reach the highest possible boost from the start. The best strategy I've found is to run 3 high Speed, high Skill mons, and to perfectly time every jump so they all give a hurdle boost. One thing you might notice after running it this way for a while is that, somewhere in the course, one of your mons will always hit a hurdle on their way down from a jump. This is where the hard part comes in. You see, I'm not sure how tight or lenient it actually is, but if you tap on a Pokemon on around the exact frame it hits the ground, it will immediately jump again, even if it hits a hurdle. The hurdle will break as if you hit it, but the mon itself won't lose any speed. This technique is pivotal for a good run. In my best run ever (a 76.1), I had to perform three of these, which should be about the expectation for an average successful run. Overall, on the higher end of difficulty among the events, due almost entirely to the very tight timing in the second half of the event.

Pennant Capture: This event is HELL. First, don't even bother trying for a good run if there are blocks along the border of the field. You need to be able to loop the edge of the field unobstructed to even have a chance. Second, bring high Speed, high Skill mons, preferably 3 that are maxed in both. One thing you should know about this event is that the enemy AI is absolutely vicious, and will do anything it can to screw up your run. Generally you want to just avoid them; stealing pennants is slow and not worth the effort, plus if your mons have low Stamina the hitbox for them to get stolen from is absurdly lenient. I’ve had AI come at me from literally the side and still manage to steal, it’s torture. To get a good run you need good RNG on block positioning, good RNG on pennant spawns, and good RNG on the enemy deciding they want to be an idiot today. Then, you should spend almost your entire time running circles around the border of the play field. A good amount of pennants will spawn here, and if you're lucky you can get 9 every run. Of course, you can divert a bit from this course to grab a flag or two, but be very wary of opponents coming around to trip you up, and make sure you complete around one lap every 10 seconds. 54 is the theoretical highest score possible (as 6 runs of 9 pennants each is about the most that can reasonably be done in 60 seconds), but the extreme difficulty of achieving this means it probably won't be done for quite a while.

Circle Push: Probably the easiest event to max out. Just bring 3 max Power max Stamina mons and maneuver them into the highest-scoring zones every round. With luck, you'll eventually get a run where the AI doesn't contest your zones too much, and a perfect 66 will be yours.

Block Smash: Bring mons with max Power and Stamina. 'High Tension' (the period where the aura around a mon is orange) is key here. Your mon breaks blocks at like, 5x the rate, and doesn't run out of stamina while the period is active. Therefore, the best time possible is entirely based on how fast you can reach High Tension. To do this, you need to hit the small cracks that show up on each block. The crack's hitbox is a little janky, so I'd recommend aiming slightly above the center of the crack. Each crack adds to your 'tension' (The blue aura surrounding your mon. Its animation speeds up as it grows), and once you reach orange it becomes a spamming match. High Tension is time-based instead of being score-based, and there’s no cap on how fast you can click, so this event is literally just a spamfest. Additionally, try to switch while a new stack is being placed so as not to waste time with the switching animation.

Disc Catch: This one's pretty annoying, as scoring well almost entirely depends on how the enemy AI is feeling. If the opponents near the front of the stage decide they want to grab all of the discs, you're kinda just screwed. Otherwise, to get the best results bring Pokemon with maxed Jump and Speed, and then as much Power as possible. Then, send every mon you have to the 5 point area and camp, as this is the single best way to rack up points. To minimize RNG, always try to knock opponents near you off the arena before any discs come by, so that you can claim them without worry. Max theoretical score is I believe 130, but feel free to fact check me on that. —Note: after additional practice, I think high Power is actually more important than high Jump, so you should prioritize that first.

Lamp Jump: I'm not entirely sure how to handle this one, honestly. Obviously, bring mons with max Jump and high Skill, but beyond that it's a little weird. The trampoline mechanics are super janky, trying to bounce one mon while another one lands causes the bounce to be eaten, and random dead spots can mess up an otherwise great streak. Now, call me crazy, but the best strat for this is quite possibly to bring one high Jump mon and two high Power/Stamina mons, and to just continuously bounce the first mon in the air so its streak stays alive for the entire round. This would be immensely difficult, but would get the highest score by far, and probably even break into the 200 point range.

Relay Run: Depends on map layout. If you get an easy stage setup (2 hazards top 4 hazards bottom, 2 hazards bottom 4 hazards top, and edge/center/edge/center/edge/center are the best possible), you're pretty much set. Just bring 3 max Speed mons with as much Stamina as possible and go ham with spam swiping. Similar to Block Smash, you want to know ahead of time how many laps your mons can run before they become tired, so you can switch immediately before that happens. Pro tip: switch right after swiping to conserve some momentum even while switching.

Ring Drop: Really easy. Max Power max Stamina, just knock opponents off from the center of the stage. Jumping doesn't matter if they can't handle normal hits anyway.

Snow Throw: Joke event. Bring 3 max Skill, high Stamina mons and just spam weak snowballs onto the team directly to your left or right (your choice, but only pick one). Score is almost entirely based on how well you get the timing.

Goal Roll: Probably the event with the highest skill ceiling. There are two ways to go about this; Balanced and Hyper Offensive (flashback to normal mons). With Balanced, you'll want to bring 3 mons with max Skill; your first slot should have its Speed and Power as high as possible (focus on Speed), your second should have max Power, and your third should have max Stamina and as much Power as possible. The mon in your first slot is your starter; you'll use it to guide balls around the field and score goals. You should almost never shoot with this mon; instead, try to nose every ball lightly into the goal. Meanwhile, your second mon is your shooter. Keep it in the middle of the field, and try to score points with balls that have just spawned, by shooting them immediately before anyone else can get to them. The AI opponents on regular difficulty will all be knocked down by a max power shot, so as long as your aim is good and you get to the balls in time, this should never fail. Finally, the last mon is your goalie. Move it slightly to block any balls opponents manage to shoot near your goal, and shoot them away whenever you can. On a Hyper Offensive team, every mon is a shooter. You want three max Skill, max Power mons, which you'll position in the center of the field; using each to cover the gaps of the others. Whenever a ball spawns, you'll want to immediately shoot it into a goal, and then just keep doing so for the entire round. This is the way to get the highest score, but it's also extremely hard to pull off. Keep in mind that balls will never respawn in the corner of the team that was just scored on, as this can save you some guessing when positioning your shooters.

 

[Mathy]

i was obsessed with grinding out pokeathlon records back in uhh checks date of records 2015 so i guess i'll share my records. world record knowledge is sourced from cyberscore and some random reddit thread

courses
jump: 495 this was actually WR back in the day, with furret to boot :D but someone has 550 now
power: 580
skill: 582
speed: 556
stamina: 584

events
block smash: 150 fuck this game. i think OP has WR
circle push: 66 was completely free
disc catch: 115 wheee RNGfest. i think OP has WR
goal roll: 18 hate the controls. i think OP has WR
hurdle dash: 77.4 this one is insane w max speed. according to my notes i had exactly 1 miss
lamp jump: 557 prob got on accident
pennant capture: 53 definitely got this one on accident. funnily enough this seemed to be WR at the time. maybe could max this one someday, but i'd rather play pokemon dash
relay run: 20.6 hrnggggggg
ring drop: 200 this is actually pretty easy to max if you dont SD
snow throw: 106 rip left team. i think OP has WR