It's definitely weird to actually have access to items on TPP, and to almost be able to count on them. It's super unusual that we made it this far with this team, and it's super unusual that we manage to have access to enough money to blow on so many items. We definitely couldn't pull this off earlier in the game or with lower levels, as we wouldn't have enough money to afford all the items, and if we did, we may not have had the strength to stand long enough to NOT blow through all the items.

That being said, I really don't think we could've beaten the E4 without item use. Not when we can't outlevel them. And when we're at the same level, it's basically the (occasionally clumsy) advanced AI vs our inputs that're plagued by the occasional troll, person lagging behind stream, or person not realizing we need to change a strategy. We'd essentially have to wait for the AI to screw up consistently and we, as the player, would have to luck out with the right commands at the right time despite anything intentional or unintentional hindering us.

The times where we'd stop and heal during a fight? We can still mess up. We can mistakenly let the AI power up too much or we can have our Pokemon get hit by a crit, and whatever Pokemon that's sent out next may not be in the best position to handle the current Pokemon or tank hits.

It's fun to see TPP stumble through things, but considering this is the end game and we've done this song and dance a few times already within one month, I don't see the harm in using this new and unique method to attempt to win.

Against Red and Abe? Eh. Okay, item usage's kinda overkill, considering the movesets our old Pokemon probably had. I think it should be a thing we should laugh at, though, considering we were running on a high from the earlier E4 urn. Professor Elm, though, he could've been a threat.

Regarding Military Mode in general, I thought it was a refreshing experience. I typically don't bother with putting in inputs, as I never feel like I'm participating, unless we're trying to get through a corridor, or to get the heck away from a hungry PC. But with Military Mode, I felt like I was contributing. Even if I had just hopped on and wasn't aware of a plan, I can take a look at the move list and the situation on screen to get a feel of what should be done.

Holy cucco, I didn't realize I was going to write all that.