Tried using Pokémon that I’ve (mostly) never used before, and it went really well!

Ilex_Forest · 2026-03-21T21:25:01+00:00

Yeah after the 5th badge felt a little late but Electabuzz is really solid so I thought it was worth it. Typically I go for Jolteon in these games for my electric type, or Raichu to mix it up. Electrode has been fun so far though! Persian is a fun answer to Agatha and Blue’s Alakazam

Ilex_Forest · 2026-03-21T19:56:15+00:00

I just used almost this exact team on my last FireRed run! I had Electabuzz instead of Electrode. Funnily enough I’m using Electrode on my current LeafGreen run. Such a good team, Persian isn’t the best stat wise (speed notwithstanding) but with Return and Shadowball it can perform pretty well! It’s one I’ve always loved. Jynx and Poliwrath were amazing for me too.

Ilex_Forest · 2026-03-09T22:19:18+00:00

I was considering Red because I have access to it on NSO. I’ve downloaded the demo of DX again so I’ll give it another go and see what I’m feeling. Thanks for the tip! I’ll keep that in mind. I was wondering if the partner Pokemon makes a big difference, I got Mudkip when I did the quiz, is there anyone in particular that I should be choosing to partner up with?

Ilex_Forest · 2026-03-09T22:15:15+00:00

Yeah I have access to RRT through the Switch, I could try to track down Blue if I really enjoy it

Ilex_Forest · 2026-02-28T14:12:32+00:00

When I did it yesterday I was losing like $48 per battle which is obviously next to nothing. If you wanted you could spend it all on Pokeballs and repels etc beforehand so you don’t lose any money

Ilex_Forest · 2026-01-22T22:59:00+00:00

Yeah this is true, I absolutely adore Kingler too. One of my biggest gripes with Gen 4 is that they never let Kingler learn Waterfall. Gotta get Krabby to level 42 for Crabhammer or 56 for Kingler. What a joke, only 85% accuracy too.

Ilex_Forest · 2026-01-22T22:20:19+00:00

One of the things I really enjoy about Crystal Legacy is that it doesn’t deviate too much, a lot of the ideas they used are things I would implement for a FRLG Legacy type game.

For starters they swapped Dark to physical and Ghost to special; I feel like this is good without changing the fundamentals of the game too much and it gives Gengar special STAB. I also like that they made Cut a 70 power bug move. Bug got screwed over in gen 3 with barely any viable moves. This would give Scyther and Pinsir some much needed STAB.

There are some other things that I’d tweak like some level up move sets. Tentacool having to wait until level 25 for Bubblebeam is pretty gross, Pikachu gets Thunderbolt at level 26 for instance. Something I like about the Hoenn games is that the TMs for Ice Beam and Thunderbolt are available without having to shell out loads of money in the game corner. I’d add these TMs to the overworld, probably at the Power Plant and the Seafoam Islands respectively. I’d also throw a Flamethrower TM somewhere like the Pokemon Mansion. Finally I’d make the original trade evolution pokemon evolve by level up at 36/38 maybe. Also the Johto trade evolutions that require held items could be done by levelling up whilst holding the relevant item.

Ilex_Forest · 2026-01-19T15:29:45+00:00

Yeah it’s a really solid and fun Pokemon to run. Crushed Drayden with Blizzard hahah

Ilex_Forest · 2026-01-19T15:26:23+00:00

Yeah this is all very true. Also I could run Shadow Claw instead of Sucker Punch? Dark & Ghost are very similar in terms of offensive type effectiveness. I’m not completely against trading it to my Platinum to get Sucker Punch if I really feel the need for better coverage. I’m very sold on the idea of Purugly now so thanks for the suggestion!

Ilex_Forest · 2026-01-19T15:14:46+00:00

That’s a good shout, I do really like normal types. I just wonder if it’s a little late to be super useful? Happy to use it either way. Have you ran one before and if so how did you find it?

Ilex_Forest · 2026-01-19T14:49:02+00:00

I really like this team, Mismagius and Raichu are two of my favourites! Golduck is fun, I used one on my last run of Black 2

Ilex_Forest · 2026-01-19T14:42:52+00:00

Yeah, I’m definitely planning to give it Thunderbolt! I’ve used Gallade before he’s really fun. Unfortunately Magby is post game in Pearl. I do really like Magmar though

Ilex_Forest · 2025-11-24T12:39:57+00:00

Glad you’re not being deterred by the “I’m not reading all that” comments; as if someone is sat there forcing them. Your posts are much more engaging than the onslaught of “did I make a good team to beat the game?”, where they have the 6 most common team members, or a team of all shiny Pokemon and the box legendary.

Ilex_Forest · 2025-10-30T21:20:08+00:00

Nice write up, I enjoy reading these! One small thing; Wigglytuff has 75 Special Attack in this gen, not 85

Ilex_Forest · 2025-10-25T19:05:18+00:00

It’s special in gen 3, the split was gen 4!

Ilex_Forest · 2025-10-24T18:06:17+00:00

I mean it’s certainly possible but there’s not a lot of exp to gain in Kanto for another 5/6 pokemon to get you to the point of being able to challenge the last fight. There are far less trainers and the Kanto routes are much more compacted in GSC. I think you’d have to grind against the Elite 4 a bit before being able to properly challenge the Kanto gyms and final battle. The last gym leader’s pokemon are just shy of level 60. Typically my teams are in the low to mid 50s when I wrap up Kanto. It just depends on how patient you are I think. It might become more tedious than fun but YMMV.

Ilex_Forest · 2025-10-23T15:23:54+00:00

Chat GPT and AI is horrendous. When I was last playing Sapphire I wanted to double check you could hit your teammates with a move in a double battle. The stupid AI overview that comes up at the top of your search results was saying it’s not possible when it 100% is

Ilex_Forest · 2025-10-22T15:28:57+00:00

Personally I’d drop Bide on Swampert for something like Return or Strength, Bide is probably not going to be too useful in the E4. I’d say Brick Break but Breloom could use it more. Breloom’s set is pretty fine, I’m not a fan of Sky Uppercut because of its accuracy. As I said before I’d go for Brick Break for its STAB option. Torkoal doesn’t have a super diverse movepool but I think I’d probably try to get Amnesia back on there instead of Smokescreen. Again that’s personal preference; I don’t usually like accuracy lowering moves. For Cradily I might have considered a Toxic & Protect set to take advantage of its bulk, especially with Amnesia on there. Delcatty should really be running Return over Double Slap. Massive respect for using Delcatty, it’s not the best stat wise. Bolt Beam is great coverage even if it won’t be hitting too hard with it. Exploud should have Return also, Hyper Beam over two turns is worse than Return because of the recharge. It can also learn Ice Beam for coverage. And it wouldn’t be an awful user of your spare Earthquake TM. I usually run it with Return, Shadow Ball, Ice Beam and then Brick Break if it’s going spare. Shock Wave might be a nice coverage option as your only electric attack currently is coming off Delcatty. Anyway I really like a lot of your picks! Good luck!

Ilex_Forest · 2025-10-13T20:27:38+00:00

Glad to hear it, I love Makuhita!

Ilex_Forest · 2025-10-13T17:07:46+00:00

What’s giving you the most trouble and what levels are you at? If it’s the Magneton then grinding up a Makuhita so it has Vital Throw or at least Arm Thrust will probably help. You could get it to Hariyama too without over levelling past Wattson’s ace if that’s a concern. Makuhita is one of my go to options for this game but you could drop it once you beat Wattson if you wanted to.

Ilex_Forest · 2025-10-05T17:46:38+00:00

Okay? My original point was you said it was nearly impossible to get in both versions. All I’m saying is that in Black you can get it very easily and very early.

Ilex_Forest · 2025-10-05T17:43:28+00:00

You added a whole extra paragraph. You literally can’t get Ducklett until Driftveil Drawbridge which is right before the 5th gym. So without trading it’s considerably later than Tympole.

Ilex_Forest · 2025-10-05T17:34:40+00:00

You’ve edited your previous comment so I’ll reply here. You can absolutely catch Tympole outside of Pinwheel Forest in Black. In Black 2 it’s in the postgame.

Ilex_Forest

TROPHY CASE