Grass run complete!

Well, the Grass run is done... and it was the longest Elite 4 run yet. But before we got there, we had to run Victory Road, in which I nearly got wiped by Mienshao Bouncing all over everybody - had two left before we brought it down. Also, I nearly blew it pretty badly at the end when it was "Remove HMs and Make Them Not Suck" time, when I accidentally overwrote Harrelson's Iron Head with Shadow Claw (meant to ditch Poison Jab). Thankfully, I had a few extra Heart Scales for just such a screwup.

The team at L64:
Cheech - Seed Bomb, Brick Break, Earthquake, Rock Slide
Chong - Petal Blizzard, Earthquake, Nature Power, Sludge Bomb @Venusaurite
Harrelson - Power Whip, Iron Head, Bulldoze, Shadow Claw
Marley - Energy Ball, Psychic, Nature Power, Sludge Bomb
Phelps - Energy Ball, Surf, Ice Beam, Nature Power
Nelson - Seed Bomb, Phantom Force, Rock Slide, Flame Charge

Siebold
Like I'm going anywhere else, right?

Marley v Clawitzer
Energy Ball OHKOs.

Marley v Barbaracle
...what? Really? The CPU making a move from the "Let's Get This Over With" department? Energy Ball goes 2/2.

Phelps v Gyarados
That's more like it. Energy Ball does 40%, which lets Gyara get DDance1 up. A second Energy Ball got it to 20%, which triggers Full Restore 1, and Ice Beam does 20%. A third Dragon Dance gets countered with a SpDef reducing Energy Ball, and the Ice Fang is survived at 31/192, so Energy Ball finishes.

Marley v Starmie
Starmie Light Screens, but a CH Energy Ball gets around *that* little obstacle. Also, I'm sick of typing Energy Ball now.

Drasna
There's no good matchups left here, but at least this has a good counter.

Chong v Dragalgae
Again, Dragalgae hangs by 5% on my best shot (Mega EQ). Sludge Bomb does 51 back (143/194), so a NP-> Tri Attack and EQ combo finishes (and throws in a gratuitous paralysis for good measure).

Phelps v Noivern
Clearly not messing around here, Drasna is. Super Fang does the usual half, and Ice Beam OHKOs.

Phelps v Altaria
Ice Beam OHKOs again.

Phelps v Druddigon
Ice Beam does 70%, Dragon Tail does light damage (17/192) and forces in Cheech.

Cheech v Druddigon
Brick Break finishes (161/184 due to Rough Skin).

Wikstrom
Steel doesn't do much to this team, so I'm hoping to get around its, uh, issues.

Cheech v Klefki
Klefki uses Torment, which I'm not so much worried about, and Earthquake drops it to 15%. Brick Break does just over half, and Klefki manages to get a set of Spikes off before getting Earthquaked out. Crap.

Cheech v Aegislash
I use a Hyper Potion (no effect) to dodge King's Shield, but can't use Earthquake because of Torment so I futilely Seed Bomb (15%) and take an Iron Head counter (110/189). I Hyper Potion again and take a little less from Iron Head (117/189), then Earthquake the King's Shield. Stuck in a loop, I switch in Harrelson (154/176 due to Spikes.)

Harrelson v Aegislash
I take an Iron Head on the switch (117) but do some Barbs damage. Shadow Claw hits the Shield again (Blast!) and -2s. Back to Cheech...

Cheech v Aegislash 2
A Sacred Sword and Spikes take him to 36, so I Hyper Potion (3) and Iron Head brings him back to 117. King's Shield dodges another Earthquake, but the Torment's gone so I can fire again... against a missed Shield for 60%. A Full Restore means another Earthquake for just over half, Seed Bomb lops 20% off, Iron Head brings Cheech to 35, and Earthquake FINALLY brings it down.

Nelson v Scizor
You've got one job, Willie... and you take Spikes damage on the switchin (147/168). Flame Charge does 70% and Night Slash takes him to 69/168. I ward off Bullet Punch by Hyper Potioning, but a second Night Slash takes him to 86 and Flame Charge 2 finishes.

Chong v Probopass
(170/194 due to Spikes) Mega Petal Blizzard does 30%, Flash Cannon does 40, and Earthquake finishes.

Malva
The matchup I dreaded the most, right at the end.

Cheech v Pyroar
Flametrhower drops Cheech to 39/189, but Brick Break OHKOs back. Phew.

Phelps v Talonflame
Brave Bird OHKOs, but Talonflame takes 50HP recoil. Oh, joy.

Chong v Talonflame
Flare Blitz (w/Thick Fat help) does 120/194, and Sludge Bomb finishes.

Chong v Chandelure
Chong gets Confused and hits itself to 93/194. I Hyper Potion and Flamethrower takes him to 36, but Earthquake... leaves him at 5%. On the Full Restore turn, I bring Phelps back and burn (lol) another Hyper Potion, take another 2 Flamethrowers to 34... and go to 9 with a confusion hit. I sacrifice Chong to Shadow Ball.

Phelps v Chandelure
Phelps, sick of this, OHKOs with Surf.

Phelps v Torkoal
And Surf OHKos as well. Phelps levels.

Diantha
I have to get past a Flying lead who may or may not be packing X-Scissor on a bunch of Grass types. This... may not be good.

Marley v Hawlucha
Marley survives X-Scissor by 58/214, and OHKOs with Psychic. *phew*

Harrelson v Aurorus
Aurorus gets a Reflect off... AND SURVIVES IRON HEAD WITH 10%. This run's cursed, I swear. Bulldoze on the Full Restore turn takes 15% off and drops its speed and a second Iron Head wraps it.

Cheech v Goodra
Brick Break kills the Reflect and does about half, and Cheech survives the Fire Blast with 47HP. Brick Break 2 finishes.

Harrelson v Gourgeist
Gourgeist uses Phanton Force to cause Shadow Claw to whiff, but only does 54 damage with the move and hits Iron Barbs. Shadow Claw does 60% or so, then Gourgeist Trick-or-Treats... making it a STAB Shadow Claw for the KO.

Harrelson v Tyrantrum
I Hyper Potion Cheech on Tyrantrum's Crunch, which Harrelson survives on 4HP. Damn. Dragon Claw wraps, but gives him another round of Iron Barbs damage...

Cheech v Tyrantrum
...but Brick Break leaves him at 10%. Dragon Claw has Cheech at 102, so two Brick Breaks around the Full Restore sets up endgame. (Cheech levels.)

Nelson v MegaGardevoir
Phantom Force dodges Shadow Ball... AND ONE HIT KILLS! NEW HERO!



Pictured: A man high as a kite and his disco dancing duck.

So as it turned out, I didn't use Power Whip at all. But it's nice to have for archival purposes. Anyway, up they go to the Bank, and off we go to the realm of the rabbit.

Time of the fall: 28:24

Grass Day 5: Out of the Fridge and Into the Freezer

Current location: Saved in Snowbelle with eight badges. Current team:

Cheech L57 - Seed Bomb, Brick Break, Rock Tomb, Aerial Ace
Chong L57 - Petal Blizzard, Sludge Bomb, Nature Power, Cut
Harrelson L57 - Power Whip, Iron Head, Poison Jab, Bulldoze
Marley L56 - Energy Ball, Psyshock, Nature Power, Strength
Phelps L56 - Surf, Energy Ball, Nature Power, Zen Headbutt
Nelson L57 - Seed Bomb, Phantom Force, Flame Charge, Rock Smash

We picked up in Laverre and went to work evening out the team. Running 15, Lost Hotel and 16 led to the team being in the 44-46 range at the end, and Marley went back to being the experience sponge given its Slow growth rate. There were no issues in Dendemille, though I forgot the Honedge family doesn't get good SpeDef until it becomes an Aegislash, so I didn't think to throw Surf at it until Flame Charge did basically nothing.

Upon wrapping that up, we went through Route 17 to Anistar, picking up a Modest Snover in a case of too little, too late. The gym at Anistar let Sigilyph set up Reflect, but not much else and surprisingly, Phelps beat Slowking with Grass Knot to end it.

I didn't have many problems in the Flare lair, just as long as I led with Marley to take care of the early Mienshao - Pyroar was putting in work with Fire Blast, but Phelps could take it with around half and Surf was OHKOing. I thought Gyarados would be tricky - the first round ended in a duel between Petal Dance and Outrage, somehow - but it going Mega meant that it was suddenly taking a super-effective Grass Knot from Marley. Yeah, that's not ending well.

Nothing really to report in the 18 or Terminus Cave areas, and the round of rivals had no casualties, surprisingly. Harrelson was the star, taking out the Aerodactyl and Florges of Trevor's in two Iron Heads. And then came the Ice gym... where it turns out, Flame Charge did about half to an Abomasnow. This... does not bode well for the Steel Elite, but we've got to make do. I ended up resetting and going with a Harrelson for two, Mega'd Chong (Thick Fat nulling the Ice weakness) to get out of that fight.

Tomorrow: The end's in sight. I just have to pick up a few TMs first.

Grass Day 4: My Pumpkin Isn't From Windsor

Current location: Saved in Laverre, but we have the full team - and thanks to a little help from a friend, I just got Gourgeist.

The team:
Cheech (now a Chesnaught) L40 - Seed Bomb, Low Sweep, Rock Tomb, Shadow Claw
Chong L40 - Petal Dance, Venoshock, Nature Power, Rock Smash
Harrelson (a Ferrothorn, obv) L40 - Power Whip, Metal Claw, Poison Jab, Pin Missile
Marley L40 - Grass Knot, Psyshock, Nature Power, Strength
and our newcomers Phelps the Ludicolo (Modest, Rain Dish, SA/Speed, L35) - Surf, Nature Power, Grass Knot, Zen Headbutt and Nelson the Gourgeist (Jolly, Pickup, Atk/Speed, L34) - Bullet Seed, Shadow Sneak, Flame Charge, Leech Seed

The Route That Shall Not Be Named was a quick jaunt, as has been the case in recent runs - though it helped I skipped unessential items. (That's actually been a rule for this run: Skip anything you don't actually need unless it gives cash money.) Cheech evolved at the hands of a Mightyena in the Power Plant, and we left at L36 all 'round.

The Electric gym was predictably easy, though Harrelson needed two turns of Rocky+Barbs help to get rid of Emolga as Rollout is really starting to weaken. Probably going to swap in Shadow Claw soon. A Rock Smash/Dig combo took care of Magneton, and Chong's Mega Petal Dance wiped out the Heliolisk in two.

Route 14 brought catches of Carnivine and Weepinbell, fat lot of good those did, but also brought us Harrelson's evolution and opening of a can of the Power Whip. The gym went down in Colorado's last hurrah, as he Dug out Mawile before Chong took our Mr. Mime and wore out its Reflect quickly enough for Hareelson to tank Sylveon Dazzling Gleams like a boss and win that fight.

After a tearful deposit of Colorado, it was time to ride and get the last two... the Lombre eventually known as Phelps was about the fourth attempt, and the Pumpkaboo on Route 16 was Jolly on the third try. (It was also Average-size... no Howard Dill specials here. And I suddenly realize nobody outside of my home province knows what that's a reference to, so Google it.) Moves are in place, nicknames given, and we're ready to roll for tomorrow.

The plan for tomorrow: At least get to the end of the Flare quest, with an outside shot of getting to Snowbelle.

Grass Day 3: Psycho Palm Tree Wrecks Roller Rink

Current location: Saved in Courmarine City having just unlocked Fly and given a nickname. The current team:

Cheech L34 - Needle Arm, Aerial Ace, Rock Tomb, Shadow Claw
Chong L34 (now a Venusaur) - Petal Dance, Venoshock, Rock Smash, Nature Power
Colorado L34 (now a Gogoat) - Seed Bomb, Strength, Dig, Rock Smash
Harrelson L35 - Metal Claw, Pin Missle, Poison Jab, Rollout @ Rocky Helmet
and newcomer Marley the male Exeggutor at L34 (Timid, Chlorophyll, SA/Speed trained) - Sleep Powder, Confusion, Grass Knot, Nature Power

Kicking this day off, we went for a round of beating Route 10 about the head and neck before making way to the Rock gym. That pretty much went as expected, though Amaura thinking Thunder Wave would slow Harrelson down - spoilers m'lady, it's already slower than a speeding Shuckle - was kind of amusing. One Metal Claw ended that little argument, then Colorado's Bulldoze and Rock Smash combo rid us of Tyrunt to pick up the badge.

From there, it was back to Route 10 and we managed to get past that one Flare guy with a Golbat - thanks, Rock Tomb - before moving forward with the Lucario beatdown thanks to some well placed Bulldozing. Reflection Cave only had one casualty, and it wasn't from Sawk-dude, but rather a bad luck on the guy with the Absol/Pinsir combo near the end.

Upon arriving in Shalour, it was time for a quick detour to Route 12 for Exeggcute. A suitable nature was obtained on about the fifth try, and then I realized that its two best moves - Uproar as a Exeggcute and Psychock as an Exeggutor - were both unattainable to this point. No problem, some well timed ST work and a couple of rounds against the Rival - the Braixen actually went to sleep and got Colorado on wakeup before Cheech and Chong tag-teamed finishing it - got it to the point of having Confusion... where I then pulled the trigger on evolution.

Walking around with a Sleep Powder-slinging, Confusion-firing palm tree / weapon of mass Fighting destruction was quite enjoyable, especially when it crit twice against Hawlucha and forced it into a Hyper Potion loop that it couldn't get out of for badge 3.

After the Mega tutorial, I went to Route 12 to get the necessary Exp to actually have my own - and Cheech evolved, bringing Colorado with it. Azure Bay was wiped out quite quickly, as Bullet Seed going to 25pwr from 10 made it so that a minimum-Attack Marley could still do some damage. After that, it was over to Courmarine, in which Chong managed to solo Braixen not with Thick Fat, but Nature Power-induced freezing. The gym was also quite easy, with a one-turn wipe of Jumpluff that only had about 70% or so direct damage: Jumpluff hit Harrelson with Acrobatics, triggering Iron Barbs (6%) and the Rocky Helmet (1/6), then Poison Jab poisoned and the poison damaged finished the strangest one-round KO ever..

Tomorrow: I start on the Route From Hell, and have no Flyers. If I can get to Valerie, I'll call it a win... but ideally, I get the rest of the full team.

Grass Day 2: Munching On The Competition

Current location: Saved in Cyllage City, on first arrival and going to run Grant. The current team:

Cheech (Quilladin) - Vine Whip, Rock Smash, Bulldoze, Rollout
Chong (Ivysaur) - Razor Leaf, Venoshock, Nature Power, Rock Smash
Colorado - Razor Leaf, Leech Seed, Bulldoze, Rock Smash
and newcomer Harrelson the Ferroseed - Brave, Atk/Speed - Metal Claw, Rock Smash, Rollout, Pin Missile

It was a basic training day, as we picked up the aforementioned Route 3->22->4 experience that almost got Chong evolved. Route 5 saw that error corrected along with Cheech, which almost caught them up to Colorado in HP and most other stats.

I continued the plan of beating Parfum Palace to get the Amulet Coin before raiding Route 6, and found a new least favorite trainer(s): The fan couple on Route 6 with the double Furfrou combo. Because of their ability, Furfrou gets to take nearly half of two defensive Pokemon's health. And since they start the route, there's no getting around them.

After getting away from the dogs and picking up Chong's Poison STAB for 80% of the game, we caught Snorlax, a gratuitous Roselia, and moved down to Glittering Cave dodging trainers to pick up the future Harrelson. I suddenly realized this run is going to have a slight problem... ok, a big problem with Zubat family members (since they 4x resist Grass and immune to Ground, I can't touch them realistically until at least after the gym).

Harrelson was caught and STed - forget the Mega Stone, he needs a Smoke Ball - and I went back to pick up the pieces on Route 8 and 9, including Chong surviving an Icicle Spear from Skill Link Shellder w/1HP, holy crap that was close. It's saved out with the team in the L20 - L21 range, so we have some work to do before the Gym tomorrow.

Tomorrow's plan: At least get to Korrina and have Exeggcute on the team.

Grass Day 1: Totally Significant

Well, since podcast editing takes forever and a day to get done on my current lappy, I had time to burn through a few hours of game. Currently in Lumoise City, and have to double back to routes 3, 22 and 4 to get the experience off them.

The current team:
Cheech the Chespin - Adamant, trained n Atk/Speed - Tackle, Bite, Vine Whip, Rollout L15
Chong the Bulbsaur - Adamant, trained in Atk/SA because Mega - Tackle, Growl, Leech Seed, Vine Whip L10
Colorado the Skiddo - Hasty, trained in Atk/Speed - Tackle, Growth, Vine Whip, Tail Whip  L10

Got a good Chespin on the 3rd reset and quickly got it leveled up, then went out for a bit. Upon my return, it was time to run through Santalune with just Cheech, picking up the HM guys, the obligatory rat (which came out Modest for some reason), and Pansage (also Modest) along the way.

I dodged all the trainers on 3->22->4 due to wanting to save them for later, so we were only L11 going in... and L14 coming out. Rollout, once again, is a godsend (though I did get nervous when Vivillon used Infestattion). After Route 4, we had the Sycamore fight which led to picking up Chong and not getting the nickname rejected. I call that a win given our theme.

Finally, it was out to Route 5 just long enough to pick up Colorado before a few rounds of Super Training rounding out the evening. Not the most exciting start, but baby steps. Really.

Tomorrow's goal (aside from getting NFR posted) will be devoted to at LEAST getting Ferroseed.

Type Preview: Grass

For some reason, natural types like Bug get the shaft from GameFreak. Maybe it's their common nature, or the fact that they're not exactly built for efficient operation. Maybe they're just too popular for their own good.

If I'm not careful this time, my *censored* is Grass.

Type Effectiveness:
Attacking: Beats Water, Ground and Rock. Resisted by Fire, Poison, Flying, Bug, Dragon and Steel.
Defending: Hit SE by Fire, Ice, Poison, Flying and Bug. Resists Water, Electric, itself and Ground. Immune to Powder/Spore moves.

Dual types: Water, Electric (ALLEGEDLY), Ice, Fighting, Poison, Flying, Psychic, Bug, Ghost, and Steel ingame. Add Ground, Rock and Fairy in the postgame.

Probable Final Team:
Chespin/Quilladin/Chesnaught: Starter also provides Fighting STAB and a very high Attack rating to go along with the move variety being a Fighting type provides.

Bulbasaur/Ivysaur/Venusaur: Returns in the "Run's official mega" role from Poison, provides Poison STAB and forms the statistical backbone of the team.

Ferroseed/Ferrothorn: Hilarity will ensue when this thing somehow ends up Jolly again. Mortally slow but Steel gives it a lot of checks to the things in the "SE" section up there (including Poison immunity)

Exeggcute/Exeggutor: Anti-Fighting device, helpfully doesn't do too bad against Rock moves.

Lombre/Ludicolo: a) It's a dancing disco duck, your argument is invalid. b) Surfer, c) Just enough of a movepool to be dangerous.

Pumpkaboo/Gourgeist: Its stats, on average, are up there with Trevenant's. I didn't need something that had access to Fire moves in Ghost because I had Chandelure. I need a Fire move here, and his Flame Charge *should* do its one job.

Other members: Skiddo/Gogoat until we get Gourgeist. That's it.

Why not use...?
Simisage: No room for pure-Grass, and as you'll quickly learn, MONKEYS SUCK.

Wormadam: No discernible reason to exist.

Roserade/Vileplume/Amoongus/Victreebel (and Bellossom): All made utterly redundant by Venusaur.

Jumpluff: Not enough offensive ability. If Tropius was available, it'd probably be on the team honestly.

Leafeon: Remember when I didn't use Glaceon because I couldn't get it before badge 7? I can't get Leafeon until LATER THAN THAT.

Carnivine: I'll take four Ground resists over an immunity that can't do anything besides Grass and Dark.

Trevenant: Discussed in the Gourgeist section.

Abomasnow: Already have a Mega + his ability is just going to screw the rest of the team over.

Major Battle Expectations:
Viola: Rollout at level 8. No problem.
Grant: Almost the entire gym is SE'd.
Korrina: Couple of Pokemon resist or have access to Aerial Ace + Exeggcute's right there.
Ramos: Venusaur will have Venoshock, the stray AAs/X-Scissors and Ferroseed can troll with Rocky Helmet Barbs.
Clemont: Hurray, resistance to Electric. Just have to get past Emolga.
Valerie: Venusaur goes to town with Ferrothorn (hopefully) as a backup.
Olympia: Gourgeist's coming-out party.
Wulfric: Going to be all about Chesnaught out-running stuff, which could be a definite problem. Honestly, this wasn't the fight I expected Gourgeist's Flame Charge to get, but it'll be a nice benefit.

Rival: Can't really avoid Braixen/Delphox, but the stray Bulldozers/Diggers will do the work until Ludicolo shows up.
Team Flare: Chesnaught beats all the Dark-types and potentially Mega-Gyarados.
Elite 4: Well, that's a pretty obvious first round. This is where I need Flame Charge, Scizor.
Champion: Gourgeist goes to town on the Megas.

Trainer:
OK, let's face it, I'm jacking up the ESRB rating. I'm hoping for a lot of males because the trainer is Rob (as in Van Dam), and the Pokemon... well, let's just say this might be Flying v2.