Ok, so I recently started playing Pokemon again. This time I went with Fire Red, but I'm having the same problem I always do. The game is just too easy, all I really end up doing is spamming one skill and just killing everything with my starter Pokemon, as it's just the simplest way to do it.

Right now I have a level 39 Charizard, and a level 37 dugtrio, and I've just got to lavender town. The trainer's pokemon are level 20, and the last gym leaders pokemon was level 24. Type's don't matter with those kind of advantages.

So, is Fire red just an easy pokemon game? I don't remember it being quite this bad in the past. Are there better ones to try? Or maybe even rom customizations could be interesting.

Are there any challenging fan made pokemon games that are good?

 

I know it's a bit trite, but maybe you've simply become a better player? I'm sure there are plenty of games where the increased, shall we say, discretion, acquired through knowledge and/or maturity, can improve a player's performance. Let alone the fact that you played the game in the past, and consciously or not, that would have an effect on your performance as well.

 

You just have to set yourself more difficult goals. Yes, the main game - gym leaders and elite four - is pretty easy. But the whole "Catch Them All" thing is tricky. There are some Pokemon that are a bitch to catch. And then on top of that you have to train them.

Then once you have them all you can get into breeding, trying to breed an absolutely perfect pokemon with perfect IVs and the personality you want. Once you have a team of perfect IV pokemon you can EV train them to perfection all the way up to level 100.

Then you can get into competitive battling.

All that is going to take you hundreds of hours. Have fun.

 

Yeah, if you're looking for a challenge you should just give competitive play a shot. It'll challenge you more than any ROM ever could. Pokemon Online and Pokemon Showdown are both free to play (You don't even have to download Showdown) and have all kinds of different modes, such as Challenge Cup, Random Battle, NU/RU/UU/OU/Ubers, etc.

Do a little research beforehand so you don't get blindsided by the various tiers and mechanics, and then jump in. It's really fun once you get comfortable with it.

 

If you really want to challenge yourself, there are a multitude of in-game challenges you can give a try.The Nuzlocke challenge is perhaps the most well known one, but there are countless more. Try to beat the game using only a single type, and become that type's master. Some types are easier than others though, so try to beat the game with all of the different types and become the Mono-type Master. After you do that, you might find that finishing the game with fully evolved pokemon is a bit too easy; if that's the case, try to finish it with only Non-Evolved/Baby Pokemon.

Still too easy? Show your prowess as a Pokemon Master by finishing the game with only your Pikachu by your side. If that is too corny for you, you can try to accompish the same with a machoke for the Balboa Honor Badge, or a Rattata to one-up Joey.

Still too easy you say? You're probably pretty good. But can you finish the game without using Damage dealing moves? Or do feely lucky enough to beat the E4 using only Metronome?

If that is simply too easy for you, you can try the Ultimate Stall Team Challenge. How does the challenge work you ask? Simply finish the Elite Four by making them lose all of their PP. Literally bore the Elite Four to death. After you've done all that, try to beat Red with the same pokemon he uses, only 10 levels lower. I'm warning you, only the best will manage this feat.

Too Easy? Not a damn chance. Those were only the challenges I myself accomplished in the short 14 years I've played the game. And I'm not close to being a Pokemon Master, unlike my signature implies. Too easy you say? Well, fuck you. And your Doduo too.

 

If you've gotten tired of Nuzlocke, then you have N^2.
Ditch your starter as soon as you catch something. You can't catch anything until you raise your most recent 'mon ten levels, and then you have to catch the next wild 'mon you see.
If you kill it?
Tough, do another ten levels.
Oh and evolutions?
You get one for every badge you earn.

Or you can do an au naturel style. You can't stop evolutions, but you can't cause them either (so no stones, trades, etc). No TMs, and HMs only on HMslaves. No held items unless it was being held when caught, or the 'mon knows pickup. And each 'mon will only know its four most recently learned attacks.

Or you can add in clauses:

Y2K - the computer network has gone down. No boxes. So even including HMslaves, you can only have six mons at once.

Nursing Strike - No free healthcare. You cannot use pokecentres.

No traderoutes - Shops are closed. No purchases (at all), but you can still use items found in the wild.

Troglodyte - Wut? Tools? No item usage at all (except pokeballs).

AAAA - No using the b button. If you enter the wrong selection in battle - tough.

And so on.

 

How could that possibly be fun?

 

Rise to number 1 in the Pokemon Online rankings for OU.

Become the Pokemon Master.