Poison Run complete!

So a brief run through the end of Victory Road later, and a quick side trip to Dendemille to get useless moves off, the group arrived at the Elite 4.

The final team was as follows, all L64:

Viscous - Energy Ball, Sludge Bomb, Earthquake, Nature Power
Tree - Poison Jab, Brick Break, Earthquake, Rock Slide
Corrosion - Fly, Cross Poison, X-Scissor, Steel Wing
Neuro - no change
Thallium - Surf, Sludge Wave, Dazzling Gleam, Ice Beam
D.D.T - no change 

Figured I'd change things up a bit for the E4 this time 'round...

Malva
For instance, opening with Fire instead of Dragon. Turned out to be a good idea.

Thallium v Pyroar:
Surf one-shots.

Neuro v Torkoal
Earth Power OHKOs.

Thallium v Talonflame
Brave Bird goes first - because although Thallium's quick, it's not that quick - and Brave Birds Thallium to 60/178. Recoil means Surf officially isn't a one-shot.

D.D.T v Chandelure
Crunch one-hit KOs. NEXT!

Siebold
This one should be just as simple, right? Not so much, as it turns out.

Viscous v Clawitzer
Viscous goes Mega like a boss, Energy Ball is a one-shot.

Corrosion v Starmie
I might have either over-estimated Corrosion's Attack or underestimated Starmie's defense, as X-Scissor only does 70% which allows Starmie to put up a Light Screen. This becomes relevant shortly. Second X-Scissor finishes.

Viscous v Barbaracle
Energy Ball OHKOs the Water/Rock pretender. (Maybe I'll call him Brian in the Rock run, I dunno.)

Neuro v Gyarados
Neuro fires Thunderbolt, which was 5 out of 6 in taking out Gyarados to this point - but because of the Light Screen, Gyarados has 30% left. This allows him to fire off a Dragon Dance, then OHKO Neuro with Waterfall the next round. (Crap)

Corrosion v Gyarados
Corrosion takes to the sky, which gives Gyarados a 2nd Dragon Dance... but now he's faster than Corrosion so Ice Fang whiffs. Fly finishes the job.

Drasna
Obviously I have to save the type that's immune to the run until last, right?

Neuro v Dragalgae
Neuro looks to redeem himself by firing Earth Power... which leaves Dragalgae at 5% or so. The countering Surf drops Neuro to 92/190. On the Full Restore turn I elect to Poison Jab, which does about 30% and lets Earth Power finish again.

Thallium v Noivern
In speed terms, Talonflame > Thallium > Noivern as Ice Beam OHKOs.

D.D.T v Altaria
Normally Cotton Guard would come into play here, but D ain't got time for that. Ice Fang, OHKO.

Thallium v Druddigon
Ice Beam takes about 2/3 off Druddigon (I thought his SpDef was worse than that), and Druddigon uses Dragon Tail to take Thallium down to 109/178... and force Viscous in.

Viscous v Druddigon
Mega Sludge Bomb will ruin anyone's day, and so it does for Druddigon.

Siebold
So now I've lost my predominant STAB, this should be, um, interesting...

Neuro v Klefki
Klefki's Prankster gets it out front with Torment... but Neuro's Earth Power is a OHKO.

Tree v Probopass
Tree tries to break the 4x-weak rock with Brick Break and it almost works... oops, Sturdy. Earth Power is super-effective and leaves Tree at 89/195. On the Full Restore, Tree Rock Slides to break the Sturdy and Brick Breaks ends it.

D.D.T v Scizor
Fire Fang OHKOs again.

Neuro v Aegislash
Earth Power gets dodged by King's Shield, and on the next turn Neuro Flamethrowers about 60% off. (Not sure why I didn't go to Earth Power again, Torment would've gone with switching and worst comes to worse, it gets one Full Restore in Blade Form so anything short of Poison Jab could end it.) Iron Head takes Neuro down to 66/190, but Earth Power ends it and levels Neuro up.

Diantha
There's a decent-sized, Mega Stone-packing elephant in the room here... let's see if we can overcome it.

Corrosion v Hawlucha
Corrosion employs the classic "GTFO" method with Fly, and Poison Jab misses. Fly hits true for a OHKO, and Corrosion levels up.

D.D.T v Tyrantrum
Probably should have gone to Thallium, oh well. DDT's Ice Fang does about 40%, and the countering Head Smash... MISSES. (Diantha, Earthquake was RIGHT FRIGGIN' THERE.) As punishment for that blunder, the second Ice Fang criticals and Tyrantrum goes down.

D.D.T v Goodra
An understandable matchup given the Special stats involved here... Another Ice Fang brings Goodra down to 40%, and Dragon Pulse takes DDT to 74/176. Second Ice Fang finishes.

Tree v Aurorus
In what I hope isn't an Ice run preview, Tree OHKOs Aurorus with Brick Break.

Thallium v Gourgeist
Strongest move to open is Ice Beam, and it does 90%... and freezes. Full Restore 1 is countered with Sludge Wave as I try to end this quickly... but it does just slightly less, meaning Full Restore 2 comes out. This time, I use Dazzling Gleam for about 35% and a second Ice Beam finishes.

Thallium v MegaGardevoir
ohcrap.jpg

Sludge Wave manages to knock about 75% off before Thallium falls to Psychic.

Viscous v MegaGarde
I figure "Mega v Mega" would be a poetic way to end it, so I bring mine out. Full Restore 3 meets Sludge Bomb for... 90%. Crap. On Full Restore 4, I use Nature Power which becomes Tri Attack for 20%... but I don't get to find out if Viscous could tank a Psychic, as it crits for a OHKO.

Tree v MegaGarde
OK, Tree's got to be faster, right...? Nope, Psychic OHKOs.

Corrosion v MegaGarde
OK, NOW we know Corrosion's faster... and Cross Poison criticals in retaliation for the KO!

 Pictured: Bat wings will be a clothing option in Z.

So I will relax for a little bit... and then lay out why Ice is going to be the hardest one of the bunch.

Poison Day 6: No Frost, No Snow, Just Smog

As promised, we have now taken steps on the Road of Victory as of Friday - in fact, we're in the 2nd cavern room right now. (There was no progress on day 7 due to lack of time.)

The team stands at:

Viscous - L56, Energy Ball, Sludge Bomb, Earthquake, Rock Smash
Tree - L56, Brick Break, Poison Jab, Strength, Rock Slide
Corrosion - L57, Fly, Cross Poison, Thief, X-Scissor
Neuro - L57, Poison Jab, Earth Power, Flamethrower, Thunderbolt
Thallium - L56, Surf, Sludge Wave, Dazzling Gleam, Waterfall
D.D.T - L56, Poison Jab, Crunch, Ice Fang, Fire Fang

The key thing to do at this point of the game is pick up all of the TMs, as you may recall. The most irritating part of this has to be Terminus Cave, but it does lead to Shadow Ball and (more importantly for this run) Brick Break. Also, I'm learning that a lot of Fighting types either kept Bulldoze or learned Earthquake... which presents an obvious problem.

Getting out of there, I pick up Scald and U-Turn in Couriway, the all-important Sludge Bomb and Waterfall on 19, and Energy Ball on Route 20. Add Ice Beam at the gym, and all of the big ones from Waterfall becoming usable, and it's a bonanza of high power moves.

As for the Ice Gym proper, I actually managed to beat it with a Ground type and a Flying type in key roles. Neuro Flamethrowered Abomasnow to death, and after a Freeze Dry KO, Corrosion managed to OHKO it with Fly. D.D.T fell to Avalugg's Avalanche, but Thallium took it in two Surfs and guaranteed I wouldn't be using Avalugg in the Ice run.

The Exp Share is working overdrive now to try and get the team into the L64 range for the Elite. Will that be enough? Heaven only knows.

PS: Sky Trainer Sera (Route 19), Corrosion's coming back with a nasty surprise for you...

Poison Day 5: Easy Like Thursday Afternoon

Current location: Saved in Amistar City after Team Flare's madness. Team is L51 except for Corrosion, who has the unfair advantage of Sky Battles (I can't wait until Flying when I can have the whole team in on those) who's at L52. Movesets are the same except for Viscous upgrading (?) to Petal Blizzard over Grass Pledge, Neuro adding Flamethrower and Earth Power (over Shadow Claw/Bulldoze), Thallium losing Infestation for Hex, and D.D.T upgrading to Crunch.

In knocking off the Lost Hotel and Route 16, I realized that Trubbish's availability or lack thereof perfectly justifies me leaving Garbodor off the team, and that pulling out Froakie for random stuff needs to stop ASAP... but I can't do it without crippling someone with Cut. Joy.

Frost Cavern: Thanks to sheer repetition, I actually managed to not take two hours in here. I'll have this stuff memorized yet. Also picked up Frost Breath, which might actually be the go-to TM instead of Ice Beam next time (same PP, a CH Frost Breath is 120 pwr AND ignores SpDef buffs).

Route 17 was quick, rolled the Rival and then I think I spent more time in the Gym than I did in the Frost Cavern, which almost never happens. I knew I should've taken that left turn at Lavaridge. I stumble through after the trainer with the Medicham and finally clean out the last three trainers, then throw D.D.T at Sigilyph. Night Slash 2-shots it and stalls out a Reflect, then Slowking elects to Yawn instead of taking a shot with D.D.T at about 45 HP and it goes down. I wake up D.D.T as Meowstic's Shadow Ball... doesn't finish, and Night Slash does after a wasted Calm Mind.

In beating Team Flare, I discovered that a well-equipped Gyarados can cause the team fits - sure, Neuro can OHKO with Thunderbolt, but if it's out of commission there's going to be a problem. The Mega one Lysandre had wasted Thallium and managed to tank a Low Sweep (remember, Water/Dark) from Tree before Neuro came in to wrap up. I'm also a level or two higher than where I was at the end of the previous runs, so I hope this means less pre-E4 grinding.

Tomorrow, the plan is simple: Victory Road. Anything else is uncivilized.

Posion Days 3/4: Venoshock Beastmode

Current location: Saved in Dendemille Town, packing six badges, team is L40-L41. And it is as follows:

Viscous - Grass Pledge, Venoshock, Nature Power, Rock Smash
Tree - Poison Jab, Low Sweep, Dig, Strength
Corrosive - Fly, Cross Poison, X-Scissor, Thief
Neuro - Bulldoze, Poison Jab, Shadow Claw, Thunderbolt
Thallium - Surf, Venoshock, Dazzling Gleam, Infestation
And the newest member... "D.D.T" the Drapion, (Naughty, Battle Armor) Night Slash, Poison Jab, Ice Fang, Fire Fang

Since I didn't get a chance to update last night, have a 2 in 1.

Day 3

First things first: Super Train Thallium. Once that's done, find out that it's a Slow Exp growth Pokemon... throw the Lucky Egg at it and send it onto the Route 12 complex for a round of Grind the Jellyfish.

I hit Courmarine, head to the gym, and I quickly have a Tentacruel evolution and a much needed SA boost. Ramos was quite easy, although the team's weakness to Flying was becoming an issue, Tentacruel tanked Acrobatics long enough to OHKO with Venoshock, same with Gogoat, and Crobat finished Weepinbell with Fly.

Route 13: Still a PITA.

Team Flare: Nice to have a bunch of guys that resist Poison this time, tunnel is easy. I've got the Exp Share on in anticipation of going from the low to the high 30s for Clemont, so by the time the Power Plant is done I've almost got Tree up to Toxicroak.

Clemont: It takes two floors before I decide "heck with this" and give Scolipede the Bulldoze it's needed for about a gym and a half. Successfully manage to troll the Emolga with Crobat, Neuro's sweep is stopped by Sturdy, but it's able to get rid of Magneton and Tree (now a Toxicroak) sweep Heliolisk into next month. 5 badges and Thunderbolt!

Day 4

 Today's objective: Cream Rival (done, thank you X-Scissor wiping out Meowstic who doesn't have Psychic moves in one hit), then get to Drapion because Skorupi sucks.

In the process, I manage to catch a Modest Haunter. Where the hell was THAT two runs ago?

I do finally get an Attack+ Skorupi and switched up my Super Training slightly - instead of letting the bags build up I switched back and forth. It seemed to work, since I got 10 straight Attack L bags at one point.

In an attempt to have Skorupi pick on things its own size, I heard there were loose trainers around Lumiose so I skate around like an idiot trying to find them. Only one I missed was Kirila dude, but I may use those before the Gym in future runs. Also got a second Destiny Knot for some reason...

Route 14: Easy peasy, but there's not enough trainers on the route to get Skorupi to 40. To the gym, where he makes it to 39 before going down at the hands of that fiend Mr Mime. (He had Dig at that point and Mawile isn't an Intimidator, so Dig was a two-shot). Thallium finishes Sylveon and we have badge 6 - and Thallium has Dazzling Gleam, so I'm no longer totally screwed by Dragons.

After the Poke Ball factory and Route 15, I actually managed to run out of Heart Scales (never did go back for a fresh set) getting D.D.T his Fangs and Cross Poison onto Corrision for a second STAB. And here we are.

Still not sure what's going to happen with the Ice run's 6th slot, but I am leaning more toward Beartic and damn what happens with the MGarde. If I want something slow I'll just use Mega-Aboma.

Poison Day 2: Accursed Random Number Generation

Current status: Saved in Shalour City, just got Tentacool so the team is almost complete. It currently rests as follows:

Viscous the Ivysaur - a few exp from becoming a Venusaur - Razor Leaf, Nature Power, Venoshock, Rock Smash
Scolipede - Bug Bite, Poison Jab, Rollout, Rock Smash
Tree the Croagunk - Poison Jab, Low Sweep, Thief, Dig
Corrosive the Crobat - Return, Aerial Ace, Thief, Astonish
"Neuro" the Nidoking (Docile, Sheer Force) - Bulldoze, Poison Jab, Double Kick, Rock Tomb
"Thallium" the Tentacool (Rash, Clear Body) - Surf, Venoshock, Infestation, Toxic Spikes - currently in need of a Super Training run

I had some trouble with getting Corrosive and Tree up to speed, until I took a trip over to Glittering Cave. Aside from the Lunatone and Solrock I tried to pick off for their stones (no dice there), everything else went down pretty quickly.

Note: I think Dry Skin might actually cause rain to occur more often while Tree's in the lead slot, because I've never seen it rain on the western routes before.

Anyway, into Cyllage City, and the Rock gym - although Poison would have some problems, Tree actually managed to solo Grant. Rock Smash OHKOed Amaura, and then two Bulldozes and a Def-down Rock Smash did in Tyrunt. Bite resistance helped here.

By the time I got to Route 11, it was Nido-hunting time and it only took a couple of Honey to get a Hustle Nidoran (turns into Sheer Force). I evolved Nidorino in Reflection Cave, but Hustle didn't actually come back to bite me like I thought it would. Now, there's the matter of getting those big special move TMs on him so that Sheer Force will actually do something. As well, I'm thinking I maybe should have leveled up that Stunky I caught. Ah well.

As I feared, the Rival's Meowstic ran a train across half the team before Tree of all things brought it down. A few attacks later, I was in the gym and basically let Tree beat down Mienfoo and Machoke, leaving Hawlucha to the one flying thing faster than it - Corrosive. One quick Mega Evo tutorial and Surf acquisition later, it's saved out.

Next run preview: My sixth slot for the next run is either Beartic or Avalugg. Beartic helps create an obvious theme and has good Speed to go with its attack, whereas Avalugg's horrible speed gives him a good shot at 150 power Gyro Ball against MegaGardevoir. Of course, the fact that I can't get a second Pokemon for that run until... well, right where I am with the Poison run is probably going to cause me to rip my hair out.

Poison Day 1: Punchy, Whippy, Run Around The Mappy

So I'm saved in Connecting Cave, about to take the run down to Route 8 and all the joy that entails. I learned that if I take Froakie, I don't have to worry about Panpour, so win-win there.

The team as it stands:
Zubat (Corrosion) - Naughty nature, Inner Focus - Supersonic, Astonish, Bite, Wing Attack - L15
Caught it, Super Trained it, but I haven't even gone through the TM list for it to see what it can learn (for among other things, Return). It's in a Luxury Ball, so I'm going to hope that speeds up the inevitable evo process.

Croagunk (Tree) - Naughty, Dry Skin - Poison Sting, Bulldoze, Astonish, Thief - L18
The name is actually borrowed from the theme song of Metal Gear Solid 3. Yes, I know. Moveset is slightly odd right now, and I can't wait to pick up Rock Smash (in things that will never be said again by anyone).

Ivysaur (Viscous) - Mild - Tackle, Sleep Powder, Venoshock, Razor Leaf - L21
I'm aware of the irony of keeping Sleep Powder and then using a move that doubles in power when Poisoned, there's no need to point that out. I needed both of them to get past Snorlax anyway.

I'm carrying two Bugs as well: Beedrill and Venipede at L21. Beedrill's getting dropped once I get to 6 Pokemon because getting it is a PITA, and Venipede's about to start outclassing it majorly even as Modest.

I may actually try to get a Modest (or at least SA boosting) NidoranM/Nidorino since the only move Sheer Force would boost on the physical size is Rock Slide whereas I have the elemental trio, Earth Power *and* Sludge Bomb on the special end.

Lastly, I think I know what the next run on the Special end is, and it's going to come from the "Let's get this over with" department.

Type Preview: Poison

By the power of Democracy - and it was about as effective as the Twitch version, winning by a whole vote - Poison has emerged as the winner and my next type. Long the punching bag of the type chart, Poison got a necessary buff by becoming strong against Fairy and has a laundry list of types that it can pair with.

The key is, the Poison type is still a bit of a punching bag with a LOT of junk to wade through.

Type Effectiveness:
Attacking: Super effects Grass and Fairy, not very effective against Poison, Ground, Rock, and Ghost. No effect on Steel.
Defending: Super effected by Ground and Psychic. Resists Grass, Fighting, Poison, Bug and Fairy.

Dual types:
Water, Grass, Fighting, Ground, Flying, Bug, Ghost, Dragon and Dark are all available in the Kalos Dex... and I can use them all, except for Dragon because that involves Skrelp who isn't available in X.

Probable final team:
Bulbasaur/Ivysaur/Venusaur: Hi, built in Mega and it's given to you, have fun. I'm torn on which way to go with it, probably going to go mixed since the SA is quite high and the movepool leans heavy on the physical.

Croagunk/Toxicroak: I've always been intrigued by having a Pokemon THAT ridiculously weak to Psychic, and since I'll have built in defenses, why not? At the very least, I'll have stray-Ground move warning with Anticipation.

Zubat/Golbat/Crobat: Another happy-evolve, but I don't have a time threat to run around with. Provides Fly support, is LIGHTNING fast and surprisingly powerful.

Nidorino/Nidoking: I might drive myself crazy trying to find a good natured one with something that ISN'T Rivalry, let alone going for the possibility of Sheer Force off the hordes. Also, it's nice to have something for that bloody Electric gym.

Tentacool/Tentacruel: Like I said, I don't have access to Skrelp/Dragalgae. So I need something that can Surf. As it turns out, Tentacruel can also use, of all things, Dazzling Gleam. Who knew?

Skorupi/Drapion: At the very least, I appreciate the opportunity to learn how to spell Drapion. Largely here for its Psychic immunity, and either will be immune to crits or gets triple damage off them, plus its Fire Fang is probably more powerful than the comparable Skuntank's Flamethrower.

Why not use...?
Beedrill - Did not get enough of a stat boost to hang around.
Roserade, Vileplume, Victreebel, Amoongus - All outclassed by MegaVenusaur.
Swalot - Creates a considerably sized vacuum.
Scolipede - Better than Beedrill, will probably be here for a while before I get access to Drapion.
Seviper - Simply put, getting one in X will take for-bloody-ever.
Qwilfish - Inferior Tentacruel.
Nidoqueen - Defense is good for competitive, but I prefer offensive efficency for ingame runs.
Gengar - If I feel the need to grab a second Mega I'll bring it in, but I'm not sure where it'll fit and this run is going to be self-sufficient for once so I'm trying to avoid trade evos.
Arbok, Garbodor - Stat issues and come after the team's locked in.
Ariados - Way too late, way too weak.

Major Battle Expectations:
Viola: I should have a Beedrill here, and he'll resist Bug, so I should win by attrition.
Grant: Ivysaur lunchtime, if it can get past Amaura. Croagunk has STAB Rock Smashes for backup.
Korrina: Everybody resists Fighting, but I'm going to have some trouble getting past Hawlucha...?
Ramos: All Grass. Next. Hopefully I have a Crobat here for Fly.
Clemont: Nidoking's reason for membership.
Valerie: The other easy Gym, once I can get past Mawile.
Olympia: Drapion is going to eat the place alive. Crobat's also going to get to tee off with X-Scissor.
Wulfric: Toxicroak should be good here, but I'm sensing some Avalugg problems.

Rival: The main one will get stuck with Chesnaught for an easy win, the other is going to have Delphox at the end but I should be able to get past it with Tentacruel.
Team Flare: They all use Poisons and things weak to Ground. sup Nidoking
Elite 4: Steel's definitely last again (christ, three in a row), probably going Fire first this time.
Champion: oh god the champ has a Psychic going Mega I'm so boned

Trainer:
In the name of stereotype busting, I'll go female this time. For the name, my NFR co-host Austen decided on Pamela, though if she ends up looking like [massive Danganronpa spoiler redacted], I'm not going to complain.