Challenge COMPLETE: Pokemon Yellow Stylish Shiny Breedlocke Tradeback Chosen-by-Committee CompleteDex Challenge

[QuentinQuonce]

Update 9

This is in no way, shape, or form a Poliwrath get the fuck outta here​

I return to the Celadon Gym and engage Erika in battle again. Her Tangela proves to be just as irritating as last time, repeatedly incapacitating Jigglypuff and preventing it from landing even a single hit. Aerodactyl comes out next and just manages to finish it with Flamethrower.

Weepinbell comes out next, and Aerodactyl gets a welcome crit with Flamethrower as Weepinbell tries to use Sleep Powder but misses. Aw yeah. A second Flamethrower seals its doom. And lastly is Gloom. I switch to Ponyta and use Thrash, and we trade blows until Gloom falls first.

Much better. Four badges down, hurrah! And assured obedience for the foreseeable future.

Clearing the Snorlax out of the way opens up Cycling Road to the west, which is full of trainers with juicy yields for the Long-Range Trainer glitch. Juiciest of all, though, is Dragonite. I expected this to be even more difficult than I expected Snorlax to be, but it only takes 3 Great Balls to catch the resultant level 7 Dragonite that manifests from nowhere after I paralyse it and bring it down to the red health. I guess I should stop expecting things. Anyway, level 7 Dragonite is ultra ultra cool, Lance could never. I also catch Doduo in the grass on Route 16, Fearow on Route 17, Weepinbell and Pidgeotto on Route 12, Tentacool in Vermilion City, Poliwag and Poliwhirl on Route 22, and Staryu in Pallet Town. Lovely stuff.

Pokedex count: 55

As I've hit more than one third of the dex it's time for me to sleep! Plan for later today is to hit up the Safari Zone big time and prep for Silph Co as I am nowhere near ready to tackle Koga yet. Thanks a million for reading and liking, gang, I'll be back in a few hours for the next round of updates.

 

[QuentinQuonce]

Update 10

Up and at 'em, George McFadden. I'm back and on the catchin' train again.

I left my 3DS on overnight with me in the Rocket Hideout and my joystick locked in position so that I was stepping onto a spin tile and then back. Thanks to this, the Charmander I left in the Daycare has grown 35 levels, so I withdraw it and feed it two Rare Candies, evolving it first into Charmeleon and then Charizard. I leave the Pidgeotto I caught yesterday in its place.

After a quick shufty round Fuchsia City, in which I catch both Magikarp and Gyarados in the little pond behind the Warden's house, it's time to enter the Safari Zone! I do an exploratory run collecting items and catching what I can. This turns out to be moderately successful, as I catch Dratini, Rhyhorn, and Exeggcute. My second try isn't as good; I only catch Goldeen.

The final Pokemon I'm aiming for is a bit more unusual. Though I'm not intending to take on Koga's gym yet, I perform the Long-Range Trainer glitch on one of the Jugglers in there - he's so high above me in levels, he wrecks half my team, but it's worth it to get an Omanyte.

Pokedex count - 64

 

[QuentinQuonce]

Update 11

I do some training on Route 15, catching Bellsprout and Oddish as I go. I also use the Long-Range Trainer glitch again to catch one otherwise inaccessible Pokemon, Golem. That's all the trade evolution species except Alakazam, which... will be tricky. We'll get to that in time.

I return to the Safari Zone resolved to catch all the stubborn species I missed last time and catch Nidorina, Tauros (which, despite having a higher encounter rate, takes longer to show than frickin' Chansey) and, after much effort, Kangaskhan. Fun fact that I learned from digging around on Reddit: due to quirks in the catch formula in Gen I, if your ball connects with Kangaskhan after using bait (i.e. you don't get a "you missed the Pokemon!" message), you are guaranteed to catch it. Once I knew that, things were much easier. Phew. Just Tangela left. But I might LRTG that one too because it's persistently irritating.

Right, Silph time. 11 floors of Rockets! Daunting task. But not as heavy as it looks. I quickly obtain the Card Key and proceed. There is one Rocket in here who yields an Electabuzz, another version-exclusive mon I can't otherwise obtain, so naturally I make good use of him. The rest aren't much use when it comes to Pokedex completion, though it's worth noting that Giovanni's final Pokemon yields a mighty Moltres! Probably not gonna bother with that when I can just catch it the regular way later on. I continue through the building, blasting Rockets out of my way, and Buzzer the Horsea becomes the next member of the team to evolve, becoming a stylish Seadra! Woooooo!

Pokedex count: 72

 

[QuentinQuonce]

Update 12

Ohh god, finally done with Silph. I fight Nadger once more, then Jessie and James for what I'm pretty sure is the final time, then collect my prize Lapras. Noice!

Giovanni is fairly easy to defeat, though DHR the Jigglypuff is starting to struggle, so I use one of the Moon Stones I got earlier and finally evolve it to Wigglytuff, evolving my Nidorina to Nidoqueen at the same time.

I head to the Fighting Dojo after clearing out Silph. My team are all entering their late 30s so I reckon I'll probably be strong enough to have a crack at Koga shortly. Plus, it'll be good to unlock Surf and open up the rest of Kanto. I choose Hitmonchan from the Dojo; Hitmonlee is fairly straightforward to get from the LRTG so I snag it via a Cue Ball on Cycling Road.

Right, Koga time! Seeing everyone in his gym using Venonat and Drowzee reminds me that I haven't caught either of those yet so I make two quick detours and do so.

Before I tackle Koga I quickly check to see if his changed team in Yellow gives us anything useful for the LRTG. Ooh. It definitely does. In RB his final mon yields a Pikachu - useless to me - but in Yellow his signature Venomoth gets us something we can definitely use. Let's set this up!

Using Poison-types against Koga is normally a good strategy, but unfortunately all four of his team members in Yellow can use Psychic. Ugggh. Right. Well. Let's put Aerodactyl to the task.

His first Venonat narrowly survives Earthquake and puts Aerodactyl to sleep - easily remedied with the Pokeflute, and then Koga wastes a turn using an X Attack! Nice going, big brain. He sends out two more Venonat of increasing levels, both of which are 2HKO'd by Flamethrower, though the second keeps using Sleep Powder over and over until Koga randomly uses another X Attack.

Venomoth time. It retaliates against my nasty Earthquake with a vicious Psychic attack, KO'ing Aerodactyl. You did good though, champ. I send out Parasect and neatly finish it with two Psybeams while it poisons me with Toxic. Koga concedes defeat and forks over TM06 and a wad of cash. Five badges, baby!

Well, that was easier than I thought. Koga's still very cool, though. Big fan of Yellow's sudden massive difficulty spike. I return to where I initiated the LRTG and am rewarded with a Flareon. Damn thing takes about a thousand Ultra Balls to catch.

Pokedex count: 80

Over halfway there!

 

[QuentinQuonce]

Update 13

I Surf south from Pallet, catching a Raticate en route, and arrive at Cinnabar Island where I submit my Dome Fossil and have it changed into a Kabuto. I poke my head inside the Pokemon Mansion just long enough to catch two Growlithe, one of which I trade for a nice lady's Dewgong. This place is going to be crucial from here on out, because Ditto, found on the lowest floor of the Mansion, can mimic your Pokemon's Special stat, allowing you to choose what Pokemon you encounter.

Now that I can Surf, I decide to nip over to the Power Plant and catch some Electric-types, namely Magneton, Voltorb, and Electrode. I find a Muk but stupidly forgot to switch boxes and am prevented from catching it because I've maxed out my storage. After a corrective detour I return and catch both Grimer and Muk. At the very end of the dungeon we find our first legendary bird!

Since Hypnosis is proving unreliable for catching Pokemon (a good chunk of the time, the target wakes up on the same turn I put it to sleep), I decide to try and freeze it, using Wigglytuff's Ice Punch over and over while trying to tank Drill Pecks and Thundershocks. It takes a few resets but I finally manage it, and from there it only takes a couple of Ultra Balls to secure the catch. Yay! With Zapdos caught, I leave, never to return. The little tweak FRLG made where you leave by the side of the building was pretty cool, I liked that.

Off to Seafoam next!

Pokedex count: 90

 

[QuentinQuonce]

Update 14

Some judicious abuse of the LRTG nets me Dragonair and Tangela. Both are catchable in the wild, but I just couldn't face returning to the Safari Zone.

I enter Seafoam via the western entrance and wander about, catching Seel, Kingler, Golbat, and Krabby. Finally we come to our second legendary bird.

I decide to adopt the same strategy I took with Zapdos (only with Thunderpunch instead of Ice Punch). Once again, it takes a few resets. But Articuno still refuses to be caught. Not a single ball connects, even when it's at ~5% health and is paralysed. Erm, what the fuck.

So I leave it. I Escape Rope out of there, planning to return later. Might just use the Master Ball on it if I can catch Mewtwo and Moltres without. I retreat to Cinnabar and lick my wounds by using a Rare Candy on a level 40 Tentacool I caught in the islands, getting a Tentacruel for my efforts.

Irritatingly, I have already battled a trainer who might have yielded me a Jynx. There's one left, but it's his first Pokemon that has the required yield, not the last - meaning I have to lose to him. I suck it up, take the loss, and the five-coloured abomination duly bursts onto my screen and is promptly caught.

My team are all pushing 40 - once they're over the hill, I figure it's time to take on Sabrina next. Suspicious the Ponyta is the first to reach level 40, and pleases me greatly by evolving into Rapidash!

Let's do this.

Pokedex count: 100

 

[Buzzer_Error]

Right, Silph time. 11 floors of Rockets!

Controversial (?) opinion: storming the Silph building is the best part of Kanto. All those nooks and crannies, the atmospheric background music, the believable terror from the NPCs, the out-and-out heroism of your actions as a player... fun in Gens I, III and VII.

On a separate matter, setting a cracking pace there with the Pokédex completion - a very healthy 20 in 3 hours over your last couple updates, keep it up

 

[QuentinQuonce]

Controversial (?) opinion: storming the Silph building is the best part of Kanto. All those nooks and crannies, the atmospheric background music, the believable terror from the NPCs, the out-and-out heroism of your actions as a player... fun in Gens I, III and VII.

Oh, any other time and I'd enjoy it a lot more. It just sucked up a lot of time, and I'm feeling the squeeze atm.

 

[QuentinQuonce]

Update 15

I still have a few annoyingly common-seeming Pokemon missing from my Pokedex, so I go hunting and track down Golduck, Psyduck, and Kadabra, as well as purchasing a Vulpix from the Game Corner in Celadon. The Golduck is summarily traded for a Rhydon on Cinnabar Island. God bless in-game traders, that would have been absolute hell to level up.

Quite by chance I notice King Feral the Parasect's Special stat is 99, which corresponds to Omastar's index number, so I perform the LRTG and head to Cinnabar Island to find a Ditto. Damn Grimer keeps appearing and making me think I've found one. Eventually I get the result I want and encounter an incredibly underlevelled Omastar. Whew. That, also, would have been a pain to level up.

Gonna quickly break for dinner and then get back to it.

Pokedex count: 106

 

[Suspicious Derivative]

Big fan of Yellow's sudden massive difficulty spike.

I remember once when a friend of mine played Yellow after not having played through the main story in ages, he had forgotten about how high-leveled Koga's team was. He got surprised and almost lost the battle because his team was gravely underleveled.

On a different note, I am not a super huge fan of the changes they made to the Gym Leader rosters in Yellow, many of them were for the worse IMO. Maybe I should make a post about that in the annoyances thread...

My team are all pushing 40 - once they're over the hill, I figure it's time to take on Sabrina next. Suspicious the Ponyta is the first to reach level 40, and pleases me greatly by evolving into Rapidash!

Wo-ho! Great to see the little pony becoming a real horse! It should have evolved from Suspicious to Trustworthy or something lol.

One thing I remembered when seeing your image of the Ponyta, which I had no thought of when suggesting it, was that a shiny Ponyta was my first ever truly random shiny. I met it in Crystal many years ago. I evolved it into Rapidash and still had it in the game... until the battery died.

Overall, nice work so far! I am amazed at how quickly you are doing this. As I am a slow player myself, I could never do anything like this so fast. Maybe that's an idea for a Let's Play, a "slow run" instead of a speedrun lol. And I never knew that the LRT glitch could be abused so hard, I never used it for anything except Mew. And only once, for that matter. It is really crazy what you can get with it. I'll read the rest of your posts as you make them, but it might not happen immediately as I am busy both tomorrow and on Wednesday. Good luck with the rest of the game and the remaining challenges!

 

[QuentinQuonce]

Update 16

I took the opportunity to pick up the Secret Key in the Pokemon Mansion so I do a bit of training in Blaine's gym. Most of his trainers are damnably weak for their level (or perhaps that's just Fire-types in Gen I). The fifth trainer is very special, though. Having a sole Rapidash on his team, he's the one trainer in the game who can give me a Meowth - otherwise entirely unavailable in Yellow. I catch it and set it aside for the eventual grind of evolving it. Following this, Parasect levels up by one and this makes his Special stat 102 - which is Eevee. So, since I've got Flareon, I do the LRTG trick with a Ditto again and catch a second Eevee. Now I have two I can eventually evolve into their other forms - that's a weight off my mind.

My Pidgeotto is finally ready to take back from the Daycare, so I level it by one and it evolves into Pidgeot. I drop off Meowth in its place, then go swimming on Route 12 until I find both Slowpoke and Slowbro.

All right, I've put it off too long. Time to fight Sabrina. I teleport around her gym, destroying all the trainers, and engage. She, like Koga, is much easier than expected. Wigglytuff manages to take out all three of her Pokemon without much trouble. Sweet! Six badges down! I fly over to Cinnabar promptly to finish my business in the gym there.

Blaine starts with an absurdly strong Ninetales. Luckily, Rapidash is able to counter it and take it down with Thrash. He sends out a Rapidash of his own and I switch to Aerodactyl, who drops it with a crit Earthquake.

Arcanine is last. I send out Seadra and hit it with Waterfall while it helplessly uses Reflect. Then, for some reason, it uses Reflect again as I get in a second hit, bringing it to ~5%. Blaine heals it with a Super Potion, but it's not enough to prevent the third Waterfall from KOing.

Jesus, raise your game, Kanto leaders!

Let's hope Giovanni poses more of a threat...

Pokedex count: 110

 

[QuentinQuonce]

Update 17

The Viridian Gym trainers are a nicely diverse bunch. Fighting, Ground, Rock, Normal, Poison... nice mixed bag, that. But it doesn't make any of them particularly threatening. My team, all by now in their early 40s, sweep up.

Right, time for Giovanni. I lead with Wigglytuff as he sends out Dugtrio and...

Bastard! Dugtrio hits with Fissure, and that's Wigglytuff down for the count. For now, at least. I just remembered I picked up that Revive earlier. Anyway, Seadra comes in and strikes with Waterfall, knocking Dugtrio out. Giovanni sends out Persian and I switch to Rapidash, as my resident Fighting-type move wielder. Persian uses Screech in a vain attempt to stop me killing it with Double Kick.

He brings out Nidoqueen and I switch to Parasect. Rather than attack, Giovanni uses a Guard Spec, but my first Psybeam confuses it! After a brief incapacitation, it uses Tail Whip as I drop it with a second and third Psybeam. Out comes Nidoking to replace it. It hits me with Double Kick, taking a big chunk out of my health as I strike back with Psybeam. I narrowly survive a second hit and strike again for victory.

Rhydon comes out last of all, and swiftly uses Rock Slide before I can move, knocking Parasect out. I need something that can take a dent out of it, so I switch in Rapidash and go for a swift and devastating Double Kick, bringing it into the red. But Rhydon strikes back with Rock Slide, KO'ing me.

What to do, what to do. I bring out Nidorino but, knowing that it has no hope of getting the win, revive Wigglytuff as it predictably slaughters me with Earthquake. Okay, back to Wigglytuff - and it seals the win with Ice Punch.

And that's all eight badges. Giovanni forks over the Earthbadge and TM27.

And now we can go to the Pokemon League. I meet Nadger on Route 22 and his Magneton proves a touch troublesome, but beyond that he's easily dispatched.

To celebrate my big win, I travel to Celadon and splash out on a bundle of evolution stones, evolving all the Pokemon I caught earlier who still need them. This gives me Jolteon, Exeggutor, Poliwrath, Cloyster, Ninetales, Arcanine, Victreebel, Starmie, Vaporeon, and - once I evolve my Oddish into Gloom - Vileplume. I also finally use my last Moon Stone and evolve Wukong the Nidorino into Nidoking.

Finally, I buy a couple of Calcium and save the game before levelling Seadra up with some Rare Candy, then resetting. Why am I doing this? Well, because there's another Pokemon not native to this game I need to catch - Weedle. Frustratingly for such a common mon, its index number is quite high - 112. It takes a few tries and some wiggling to get Seadra's Special stat to the right number, but eventually I get there and catch the Weedle I'm looking for. As it's only level 7 I figure I may as well evolve it now. It also occurs to me I've yet to evolve my Metapod so I bring that along too, and soon enough I have Kakuna, Beedrill, and Butterfree.

Woo! Big chunk of the Dex cleared. I was aiming to have 125 entries by the end of the day and I've (barely) overshot my target so hooray for me. Victory Road next.

Pokedex count: 126

 

[shadowpea]

Right, time for Giovanni. I lead with Clefable as he sends out Dugtrio and...

Bastard! Dugtrio hits with Fissure, and that's Clefable down for the count. For now, at least. I just remembered I picked up that Revive earlier. Anyway, Seadra comes in and strikes with Waterfall, knocking Dugtrio out. Giovanni sends out Persian and I switch to Rapidash, as my resident Fighting-type move wielder. Persian uses Screech in a vain attempt to stop me killing it with Double Kick.

what actually happened was that clefable Teleported into the gym and ohkoed wigglytuff before you can realise, so you think you have a clefable instead of a wigglytuff

(what actually happened is that you mistyped clefable instead of wigglytuff lmao)

 

[QuentinQuonce]

what actually happened was that clefable Teleported into the gym and ohkoed wigglytuff before you can realise, so you think you have a clefable instead of a wigglytuff

(what actually happened is that you mistyped clefable instead of wigglytuff lmao)

Ack, so I did. I'm clearly wracked with exhaustion.

 

[QuentinQuonce]

Update 18

Okay.

I pip a few more entries off the list, fishing up a Seaking in Cerulean and using the Repel trick to find a Dugtrio in Diglett's Cave. I also hunt down Koffing and Arbok with the LRTG - two more version-exclusive Pokemon.

Time to get to the Pokemon League. I take a deep breath, gather my items, and step into Victory Road.

...huh. I never knew you could traverse this entire place in RBY without fighting a single trainer. How incredibly anticlimactic. But I need to leave a few of them unfought, so it's welcomed. Made the journey very quick. I rapidly come to the exit and find myself in the Pokemon League building, where I heal and save.

Pokedex count: 130

 

[QuentinQuonce]

Update 19

Last one before I sleep.

I set up the LRTG, go back into Victory Road, and fight a guy with nothing but a Mr Mime on his team which yields me an elusive Ekans. I also grab a nice high-level Geodude while I'm in there and evolve the Gastly I caught earlier into Haunter.

There's one other trainer in Victory Road I want to use, too: a Juggler whose first Pokemon has the value I need. Unfortunately, Jugglers have a random chance to switch every turn, meaning I'll have to go in with as weak a team as possible - ideally, only one low-level Pokemon still conscious - and hope he attacks it directly so I can black out. It takes a while to set up and a few soft resets, but finally it works and I get the Pokemon you're not supposed to get in Yellow - a Raichu. Much as it's cool that they made Pikachu unable to evolve in Yellow, I actually do prefer Raichu. Always have.

I finally decide to bite the bullet and return to Seafoam Islands. Wigglytuff paralyses Articuno but it still blasts through my entire team with Peck and Ice Beam as quickly as I can throw Ultra Balls. Soon Parasect is the last mon standing and Ice Beam brings it down to 1 HP - and wouldn't you know it, my Ultra Ball connects and I catch it. With Articuno down, there's just one bird left...

Oh, shit.

So you know how the Long-Range Trainer Glitch can occasionally cause NPCs and items to despawn from the map, like how one of the Snorlax vanished earlier on?

...that's happened to the Moltres that was in Victory Road. It's gone. Blinked out of existence. That was unforgiveably careless of me.

All is not lost, though. Moltres' index number is fairly low - 73. There are actually a handful of trainers who can yield one... but they're all in Silph Co. No active NPCs still in the game can yield one.

Oh, but wait! Quite by chance, the Haunter I just evolved has a Special stat of 73. Oh phew. Time to head back to Cinnabar and find another Ditto...

Tomorrow, though. For now, I gotta sleep. I'll be up bright and early to make some more progress. Till then, everyone.

Pokedex count: 135

 

[QuentinQuonce]

Update 20

This last section is gonna be one hellish grind.

After catching myself a Moltres as described (the easiest by far of the birds, though it being so underlevelled did help), I enter Victory Road and start training some of my earlier catches. I left Cubone in the daycare overnight, so it only takes one level to evolve to Marowak. Similarly, Geodude takes one level to evolve to Graveler and Mankey takes one level to evolve to Primeape. Sandshrew and Meowth take a bit more time, but eventually I level them up enough to get a Sandslash and Persian respectively. After remembering that I do actually need to catch one, I return to Cinnabar Island and catch a Ditto.

Mercifully, the revived Kabuto in this game comes at level 30, meaning it's not too far off evolution. I stick it in the Daycare while I'm running my errands.

The next really irritating Pokemon is Weezing. I did catch a Koffing, but it, like most LRTG Pokemon, is at level 7. Weezing evolves quite late and if I can skip the grind I certainly will. But Weezing's index number is 143 - quite high for where I am atm. The Zapdos I caught earlier has a Special stat of 133, and after some calculations, I predict that it will have a Special stat of 143 at level 54. It takes the last few Rare Candies I have but my prediction blessedly turns out to be correct. Let's go get some! I perform the LRTG and hunt down a Ditto, returning to claim my Weezing.

Pokedex count: 143

 

[QuentinQuonce]

Update 21

Useful as Zapdos was, I still need it. See, there's one Pokemon I can't obtain natively, and it's been concerning me throughout this challenge - Alakazam.

With an index number of 149, Alakazam cannot be obtained by battling any trainer in Gen I. The highest Special stat any opponent can have in RB is your rival's Venusaur at the Pokemon League (145) which nets you a rather unimpressive Marowak. In Yellow it's slightly higher thanks to your rival having an Eeveelution instead (all three share a Special stat of 158) but that gets you a Seaking, which is even more disappointing. No, if I want an Alakazam I'll have to use one of my own Pokemon. But what has a Special stat that high? Seeing as Zapdos isn't far off, I figure I'll try that first.

Raising its level by battling is the only option left to me, since I'm out of Rare Candy now. But, accustomed as I am to the modern EV system, I'm unsure if doing that will muck with its predicted stats. I've got a Calcium in my bag, though, so I'll give that a go first.

I save the game and use a Calcium, and to my utter delight, it raises Zapdos's Special stat to exactly what I need - 149.

Elated, I perform the LRTG and swiftly find a Ditto. Returning to the original area, I'm greeted by an underlevelled Alakazam...

...and it uses Teleport on the first turn.

Well, shit. Time to reset the game and try again!

I repeat the previous steps and engage another Alakazam in battle. I've still got my Master Ball, and after a moment's deliberation I decide I may as well use it. I was saving it for Mewtwo, but Mewtwo won't run from me. So I throw the ball and catch it! Phew. Alakazam is the last of the trade-evolution species, and the last Pokemon not normally native to this save file.

Okay. Onwards.

Pokedex count: 144

 

[QuentinQuonce]

Update 22

More grinding, yay. I bring a bunch more Pokemon to Victory Road and level them enough to evolve, gaining me Venomoth, Hypno, Dodrio, and Wartortle. Four more. Just Kabuto to go.

But before I do that, I decide to clear out Victory Road and give my team some additional power. I need to do at least one dummy run against the Elite Four, so I may as well start here.

Pokedex count: 148

 

[QuentinQuonce]

Update 23

I spend all my money and fight Lorelai a few times without healing, leading with Kabuto because I'm sick of Victory Road and the Exp yields are higher when you fight a trainer. Several bitter struggles and one very, very long grind later, and I have a Kabutops.

I made it to Bruno twice. That's encouraging.

Two more Pokemon to go!

Pokedex count: 149

 

[QuentinQuonce]

Update 24

If you've been following along diligently (and assuming I haven't forgotten to note down any Pokemon I've caught) you'll be aware there's one species not named Mewtwo I still have to get hold of: Porygon. Of course, they're buyable at the Game Corner, but my Ultra Ball habit has left me deeply out of pocket, and I'm not about to spend 6 hours gambling my way to 9999 coins.

Instead, I perform the LRTG one last time and, after beating up some scrub trainer, do a dummy run against the Elite Four, deliberately healing myself as little as possible but battling as capably as I can, and make it to Agatha with most of my team intact. Sadly, I have to leave Wukong behind in favour of my HM mule. He's the most overlevelled so I figure the others need the time to catch up. Next time, buddy. Her final Gengar, at level 60, has the required Special stat to yield a Porygon.

Bulbapedia informs me that Agatha is one of the few trainers in Gen I who will sometimes randomly switch her Pokemon, so I'm on guard for this, but it doesn't happen during our bout. I make it to her last Gengar with two Pokemon - Aerodactyl and Parasect - still conscious, and switch back and forth between them to allow the garbage AI as many turns as it needs. I mean seriously, how did Agatha ever become one of the Elite Four when she's still using Dream Eater against an awake foe?

Maybe moments of senility like that are why she retired...

Anyway, she finally wipes out both team members with Psychic, I black out, fly back to the original area, and capture a natty-looking Porygon. Ah, one of my faves. If only it got decent tradeback moves it'd have been a candidate for this run.

One more Pokemon to catch before I take on the League for real...

Pokedex count: 150

 

[King Feraligatr]

Good shit man. Looking forward to you finishing this.

 

[QuentinQuonce]

Update 25

One Pokemon left, and you all know which one.

Mewtwo's index number is 131. It's a relatively achievable number, but doing the LRTG for my final Pokemon - and one so storied - feels like a letdown. So I have something grander planned.

Since this has been quite a naughty run, with lots of sneaky glitches used to catch Pokemon I'm not supposed to, I figure it's time to up the ante and finish my Pokedex quest with an even bigger glitch and a dastardly act of crime by breaking into Cerulean Cave. Yep, that's the plan - break into Cerulean Cave and catch myself a Mewtwo.

The key to accessing Cerulean lies within the Safari Zone. If you're unaware, there's a method to walk through walls utilised by tricking the game into believing you're still in the Safari Zone after you've left. Doing this in conjunction with a poisoned Pokemon can result in the player being able to walk through boundaries. I'm sure most people are familiar with the trick, but if you aren't, here's a video demonstration to bring you up to speed.

I set things up by using the Cerulean Pokemon centre, switching a low-level HM mule into my party (Buzzer sits this one out) and crucially buying an Escape Rope. Then I enter Victory Road and let some Geodude and Graveler blow up in my face, leaving everyone except Wigglytuff fainted. Following this, I travel to Fuchsia City and then onto Route 15, where a Bellsprout poisons Wigglytuff. Then I set up the Safari Zone conditions. One long walk later, and the Safari Zone PA rings while I'm suspended in the air over a ledge. All I have to do after that is run down Wigglytuff's health, and I respawn in Cerulean City feeling oddly light on my feet. So light, in fact, I'm able to bound over all the buildings and across the water.

Though it's unlikely that I'll go outside of them, I take care to stay within the boundaries of the game. The VC versions of the games are much more prone to save file erasure if the game crashes (it's happened to me twice before on Yellow) and the last thing we'd want is all my hard work going down the pan. But there's no need to worry. I skirt around the guard, who fails to notice me entering the cave behind him.

We're here. I set off, intent on getting to the lowest floor quickly. The wild Pokemon in here are tough, but there's no reason to fear them; by now, thanks to all the grinding in Victory Road my team are all in their early 50s, and Aerodactyl is able to flee with impunity from all the Pokemon in the cave. No grinding here, I want to conserve my squad for the big boss. Lot of good items in here though, not to mention some pretty rare Pokemon. Man, I should have broken in here earlier.

But that's all academic. I navigate through the rock maze and finally reach the basement, where at the very end awaits the mighty Mewtwo.

I lead with Wigglytuff. Mewtwo, unlike the legendary birds, is capable of healing itself, so I intend on freezing it to prevent it from having the chance to do so. It fires off a couple of Swift attacks, but big bulky Wigglytuff tanks them and eventually I get lucky. It's frozen. From there, it's a simple matter to whittle it down to the red part of its health.

But boy, is it tough to catch. I've brought 22 Ultra Balls, and after throwing ten of them to no avail, I start to wonder whether I'll run out. Will this work?

But then the eleventh shakes and improbably falls still.

YES!​

I've done it. All 151 Pokemon caught.

And with time to spare!

But it's not over yet. I still need to defeat the Elite Four and be crowned Champion. So that's exactly what I'm gonna do.

Pokedex count: 151

 

[King Feraligatr]

Maybe do a reflection on the main gang of 6 and how they performed at the end of this LP?

 

[QuentinQuonce]

Maybe do a reflection on the main gang of 6 and how they performed at the end of this LP?

Was planning something similar, stay tuned!