2!
/tenchar

 

Haha, well that's not easy.

I don't think this is too hard to guess, but what I'm doing with the number is that for whatever run I do, I'm going to restrict myself to using nothing but Pokemon from the numbered generation. So...this is all Johto. Not easy for most games. Obviously it works for Heart Gold or any of the GBC Gen II games. Could also do it on X, though I'm not overly keen on running that game again right now. White 2 is theoretically possible, but I'd have to bend a lot of rules in order to build a team (like multiple captures from one area, or doing a lot of encounter scumming to find a particular rare).

I'll probably start tonight sometime. Open to requests as to which game, though I personally prefer Heart Gold. Got to get to Red and have the ultimate Kanto vs Johto showdown of ultimate destiny. Good guys, bad guys and explosions and all that.

 

Heartgold seems like it'd be the least painful. RIP free Eevee though.

Come to think of it, isn't Johto the smallest generation after VI?

 

Well, in some instances I would run with the idea of being able to go 'through' a non-strictly Gen II evolutionary line to get to something in the Johto Pokedex. Like, for example, can go through Gen I Zubat/Golbat to get to Gen II Crobat but can't go past Gen II Piloswine to Gen IV Mamoswine. But, in a Heart Gold run there is enough variety available that I don't imagine I'd strictly need to resort to something like that.

And yeah, Johto only has like 100 Pokemon.

 

Do HeartGold. For great justice.

 

Phone acting odd, disregard.

 

My vote would have been for 5, cause fuck 6.

 

It's started. I'm going to try not to use the whole 'non-Johto pre-evolution' selections if I can, but I am also going to reserve the capacity to do so in the event that I need to. Honestly, this rule is restrictive enough without locking myself out of a lot of the few decent things the Gen II Dex has to offer (Crobat, Espeon, Kingdra, Scizor among others). So y'all can expect me to take the free Eevee, but I'll do my level best not to use it. Definitely will be using the rule that none of those selections can be used in battle without reaching their Johto state. So, Espeon would involve a whole shitload of running around and then using a Rare Candy to get the level. And that's a lot of time investment that I'd not bother with if'n I had my druthers.

Standard run beyond that. All non-G2 wild encounters are to be ignored as far as the capture rule is concerned.

Game start, I take Surt the Cyndaquil as starter. Grind some levels en route to Mr. Pokemon's house. First rival battle is a snap due to resulting level advantage.

It's night time out when I gain the ability to capture. First catch is Archimedes the Hoothoot out on Route 29. Had I been thinking clearly at the time, I'd have waited until morning to catch a Sentret. More on that in a bit.

Not really looking for anything in particular during the trip up Route 31 to Violet City. Only capture available is Spinarak, which is trash. But I do run into one, and go ahead and pad ye olde box with Charlotte the Spinarak. Surt is feasting on wild Pokemon and weak trainers all the way, and leveling quickly since he has no teammates to cut into his experience meal.

This continues through Sprout Tower. Nothing I am allowed to catch inside here. Rattata by day and Gastly by night, and both are Gen 1. Surt evolves to Quilava about halfway up the tower.

Before tackling Falkner, I head on down to Route 32 to bag me a Wooper while the night is still young. Quagsire is a boss. Love me those Water/Ground types. After smoking a couple of Bellsprouts, I run into Barnabas the Wooper. And he has Water Absorb!

Falkner time. In pretty much every other Heart Gold run I would be cheesing Falkner with a Geodude. Have to change up my usual tactics in this game, but it's not a problem here. It might be a big problem with Whitney later. We'll see. Surt has multiple levels on Falkner's team and has no issue roasting him. So that's done.

I get the Togepi egg and hatch it in town. Boo, Hustle. I had planned on using Togetic for a while at least had it come with Serene Grace, but I wasn't about to reload scum for a better egg because that's cheap. Hustle stinks like sauteed ass. Pharos the Togepi relegated to box fodder.

I stop in Dark Cave to grind Barnabas a bit and then head home to show Professor Elm the Togepi. Mostly because I need to cheat a little and catch a second Pokemon on Route 29. Remember where I said I should have caught a Sentret earlier? I'll be needing a cut slave soon and the only other legal option is to use my Quilava. And screw that.

Perhaps I'll just take a mulligan there and release the Hoothoot I caught to begin with? Meh, if anyone has an opinion on that feel free to offer it. I'm going to play some Nocturne now.

Team

Surt the Quilava - Level 17
Barnabas the Wooper - Level 8
Pharos the Togepi - Level 1

Box

Archimedes (Hoothoot)
Charlotte (Spinarak)

 

Seeing as I just reset my Pokemon Y Game, may as well just turn it into a Nuzlocke. Never run one before so see what happens.

Game Start:

I select a Fennekin which I name Soul. The ensuing battle after the group breaks up devolves into some instant levels gained which allows me to set Soul up in the short route to the first gym which is fortunately bugs.

Route 2 enters me into Serena teaching me how to catch Pokemon, despite the fact I already bought Poke Balls I'm given even more and decide now's the time to do some hunting. Our first encounter is a Pidgey which I catch with a bit of luck when Soul's Ember causes a burn, I catch him in the red and we Welcome Icarus the Pidgey to our side, hopefully he doesn't end up like him namesake: Dead.

Pairing up with Shauna means I don't need to worry about my Potion stocks running low and use this opportunity to test out Icarus, our first Pokemon is much welcome in the form of a Pansage which we catch after a mini struggle, using 3 of our limited stock of Poke Balls. Icarus had some trouble putting him away but in the end Friar is a welcome edition as we head to the first gym

Pokemon

Soul - Fennikin lvl 9
Icarus - Pidgey lvl 6
Friar - Pansage lvl 5

 

LT2000 I vote for putting Cut on your Quilava. No pain, no gain. You working with a duplicate clause, btw, or not?
Risen A Pansage first? You lucky... (Also, unless there's Leaf Stones before Gym I, I think you've got the name wrong in your end of post.)

 

Yup, definitely a mistake haha, thanks for the spot.

 

LOLno. I'd restart long before I did that. I've only got like 90 minutes or so invested into this run right now. Not nearly enough to be worth putting up with having HM garbage on my starter all the way until Blackthorne.

I pretty much always use a dupe clause.

EDIT: Ehh, it actually won't hurt me too much. I only have three moves I really WANT to have on Typhlosion: (Insert Fire Move)/Shadow Claw/Focus Blast. I can deal with having garbage in the last slot until Level 40-ish. I'll stand pat with this game just to avoid to risk of redoing it and getting stuck with a crappier Wooper with Damp. Or running into Mareep and getting locked out of it altogether.

 

Fair enough. I think doing a mulligan on the Sentret is fine either way.

Also, damn you for firing up the Nuzlockes. I'm going to do a Nuzlocke^2 of OR now. May Giratina have mercy on my soul.

 

I edited, LOL. Cheating is cheating, no matter how small the cheat.

 

Fair.

Laying down the rules for my Nuzlocke:

• One evo per badge.
• Newest catch has to level up 10 times before a new Pokémon may be caught. If said Pokémon faints before that time, good game, hope I have the HM coverage.
• With the exception of the starter, no 'free' Pokémon. (As much as I'd like to use a Lati for Steven.)
• Mega Evolutions allowed.
• Faint=death, duh.
• Sneaking is allowed, as is re-using routes.
• No Secret Bases.

 

Made my way through the first gym trainers, at a glance though I would say Icarus and Soul are far too underlevelled for me to think of going into the first gym battle confidently at lvl 11 each.

As for the Pokemon we picked up I found a bidoof on Route 3 and at first I was semi-disgusted before recognising I need a HM Slave and you don't get much better, at Route 22 I caught Jane the Bunnelby before encountering a Riolu third in my grind through the Route, was mega-depressed after that. Anyways Barnabas the Bidoof has been boxed til needed.

Team atm

Soul - Fenekin lvl 11
Icarus - Pidgey lvl 11
Friar - Pansage lvl 10
Jane - Bunnelby lvl 6

Edit: Vaguely tempted to run Soul under 1/3rd for the battle and just capitalize on Blaze at the same time a good hit and he's very much out of commission for eternity so...

Edit Edit: So that's why Barnabas was floating in my mind somewhere when it came to Bidoof...

 

Nuzlocke^2 of Omega Ruby. May Giratina have mercy on my soul.

Because all starters have their disadvantages in this ruleset, I opt to go for a roll of the die for my starter. I roll a 6 for Mudkip. At least I won't be hosed for the inevitable water HM requirements. I nickname her Lacus after rescuing Birch.

Lacus the Mudkip received at level 5. Next capture at level 15.
​

The supremely kindhearted clerk? Bit too much for me, but I'm never complaining about free healing. Speaking of: May is an idiot and has Treecko use Pound. Does it only have Pound or something? Absorb is better. At least I get more free stuff, and DexNav. The resulting fight with a Fire Fang Poochyena burns Lacus. An omen of things to come?

I hit Petalburg with Lacus at level 10 and a cunning plan forms in my mind. First, though, the obligatory Ralts capture. I avoid as many trainers as I can in the Petalburg Woods, and beat the snot out of the Team Magma mook blocking my way. Exp. Share is summarily turned off, and more avoiding takes place before I make it to Rustboro. Many things to do here, but first up are the three Gym Trainers.

It's a bit of a rocky road to the Gym Leader, but I get there, and Lacus gets to level 13 in the process. The original plan was to get to level 14, go back to route 103 to avoid any and all chances of getting a Wurmple and then level the second guy up to help with Roxanne. I can also just try to get Roxanne down now. Decisions, decisions. Mudkip is the strongest of the three vs Roxanne, and nothing I catch will be any good against her, but Rock Tomb can hurt a lot, and it might be prudent to get Geodude down with whatever I catch there. Still, no risk makes for dull playthroughs and I'm feeling considerably more lucky than the punk that was facing down the barrel of a .44 Magnum. It works out with a bit of Potion spam plus AI stupidity, and Lacus isn't even level 15 yet.

Stone Badge attained. +1 evolution available.
​

North and east we go, after the Devon Parts thief. It's youngster Joey's Machop that puts Lacus over the top. Time to catch a new Pokémon. I get a DexNav for a level 18 Skitty (hell no!) before I run headfirst into the tall grass. It gets me the Pokémon I'd normally want most. Now, however, I'm less certain, and I've a feeling this one's going to end up benched. Still, at least a lukewarm welcome to Shakti, and now it's time to backtrack and clear out the trainers I hadn't cleared yet.

Shakti the Wishmur caught at level 5. Next capture at level 15.
​

The backtracking alone brings Shakti to level 12, and a few more fights on route 116 get him to level 14.5 before I have to start grinding. Echoed Voice is pretty good vs trainers this early on. I did have a really close (1hp) call with the Marill here. Fucking Rollout. (Have fun LT2000 ). I get level 15, and my second capture. I don't want another Wishmur, which are annoyingly common, and I don't even recall where the fuck to get a Moon Stone for Skitty. It ends up being a DexNav'd Zigzagoon, complete with Potion. Unfortunately, Charm as its first move, but I recall Zigzagoon and Linoone being decent HM slaves, so I can probably teach it Cut.

Gelare the Zigzagoon caught at level 7. Next capture at level 17.
​

Alas, Gluttony. He can learn Echoed Voice. TIL, but I want the Cut to get through to the other trainers in the area. That's going to be next time, though.

Pokémon:

Lacus the Mudkip (F): level 15
Shakti the Wishmur (M): level 15
Gelare the Zigzagoon (M): level 7

Next capture: Gelare @ level 17.
Evolutions: 1 available, 0 used.

 

Just escaped the first Gym, with everyone intact, Soul (Fennikin) dropped down to 3/32 HP after a tense battle but Blaze got the job done and we left with the first badge and three Pokemon assembled after I dumped Jane (Bunnelby) into the PC. On the next route we grabbed a red Flabebe named Taryn. Some levelling up occurred and Soul reached lvl 16 and evolved into his secondary form.

Seeing as Fire and Grass were covered by Friar and Soul we recruited Gaius the Squirtle from Professor Sycamore.

Taryn's role in our squad was ultimately short lived as we ran into Tierno on Route 5 and he got in a Vice Grip which proved critical and in one hit our Kalos native was gone but never forgotten.

First Casualty

Taryn - Flabebe lvl 11​

Our capture for Route 5 was a Pancham named Heracles as we moved onto the next town.

Pokemon

Soul - Braixen (M) lvl 17
Friar - Pansage (M) lvl 15
Gaius - Squirtle (M) lvl 15
Icarus -Pidgey (M) lvl 16
Heracles - Pancham (M) lvl 12

Edit: Prepped for the disappointing moment where I can't get Haxorus because Zubat explosion </3

 

No mulligan.

After showing Togepi to the good doctor and getting an Everstone that I will never use, it's back onto the trail. Wooper monopolizes the experience through Union Cave and into Azalea Town, hitting Level 16 shortly before heading into town. No capture inside the cave due to nothing being eligible.

Heal up at the Pokemon Center, and it's time to save the Slowpokes. Surt back in the lead, since Wooper does kind of suck before evolving. Quilava barbeques some Rocket scum. I actually never ran into a single wild Pokemon in between Rocket battles here. I can't do much with a Zubat though, as I'd have to level it in battle to get it to Golbat in order to later get to Crobat. I'd rather catch a wild Golbat later and eliminate that hurdle. Instantly evolving a Slowpoke to Slowking via trade is a more viable option right here, but Slowpoke is rare.

Anyway, due to having a Fire starter, Azalea Gym is a breeze. Bugsy is little worse, though his Scyther does try to do some damage with Quick Attack. It isn't enough.

Second Rival battle gets a little dicey though. Surt leads and crushes Silver's Gastly with Flame Wheel. Croconaw is where things get rough. I have to leave Quilava in, since Wooper is still weak and stands no chance in this fight. Quagsire could do it, and I'd have been wiser to have invested the grinding time to get Barbabas to Level 20.

But I didn't, and rely on Quick Attacks from Quilava to whittle down Croconaw. It helps that Silver is as much of a retard as he is a douchebag, and wastes a lot of turns spamming Scary Face. Eventually he does start to Water Gun, though, and the second one crits and reduces Surt to near death. I have to switch into Barnabas and heal. I expect to swap into a Water Gun, which will do nothing due to Wooper's Water Absorb. But instead Croconaw uses Bite. I then have to burn a Super Potion on Quilava, and moron Silver uses Scary Face again. I get off one Mud Shot and then switch back to Surt, who ends the affair with a couple Quick Attacks. Phew.

Silver stomps away in one direction, and I head the other way into Ilex Forest. Many tears due to having to run Cut on my Quilava. I meet a geisha in the woods, and stick Headbutt on Barnabas hoping to get dat Heracross. I instead run into a Pineco, which uses Selfdestruct as I try to weaken it for capture. Gah. Luckily it's only at Level 6 and can't do enough to kill Barnabas.

Heading north from the forest, I headbutt another tree and run into another Pineco. I choose to run away and sacrifice this area's capture. Pineco isn't worth the risk of a Selfdestruct critical. Still grinding in the routes around Goldenrod, Barbabas hits Level 20 at last and evolves to Quagsire. Now getting ready to battle Whitney, though I might run back to Azalea Town and take one last shot at getting a Heracross. I forgot to grab the Charcoal for Surt anyway, so that alone will validate the side trip.

Need to catch some shit soon, team needs filling out. I'll have opportunities enough in the coming areas though.

Team

Surt the Quilava - Level 22
Barnabas the Quagsire - Level 22

Box

Archimedes (Hoothoot)
Charlotte (Spinarak)
Pharos (Togepi)

 

Speaking of: one of the potential captures for me might be Abra, which is pretty much 'throw ball, hope you hit a 1 in 4 (regular) or 2 in 5 (Great) or it teleports'. Do I count that or not?

Quagsire might actually be useful against Whitney. Male or female, though? Also, re: future Pokémon:

Spoiler

I read up on the upcoming routes. The pickings are rather slim until after Whitney, unless you want to pass up on Sudowoodo.