Pokemon Shuffle

[The Warden]

Truth be told, competitions and escalations have both been getting basically retarded in concept these days. I mean, I'm doing the 121-129 run of Primarina, and the barriers are funking retarded. You basically have 0 option but rely on Barrier Bash mons to remove the retarded barrier ceiling, except, A) Barrier Bash is funking random, and B) I have been deliberately withheld said Barrier Bash mons. I had a column dump 15 mons in total, and not ONE of them was the Raikou I needed. You basically need 2-3 Barrier Bash mons to ensure any kind of victory, and heaven help you if they aren't super effective.

 

Granted, barriers are and always will be the most retarded mechanic, since they can do one thing no other disruption could possibly do: Invalidate column movement. Unlike breakables, unbreakables, clouds, and non-support, barriers prevent movement. Barriers at the top of a stage are a death sentence, because they completely invalidate a column until removed. And that's easier said than done quite often. (funking Mesprit.)

[Flame Dragon]

So, I VERY nearly missed the competition. I'd totally forgot and at 12:57 ran on and did it. I ended up getting #808. Not bad for a rushed run.

 

Anyway, new week stuff.

Solgaleo, Alolan Raichu, and Decidueye are up for grabs. Good luck.

[The Warden]

Sometimes it's easy to forget there is the competition on. I was ranked 122 by the end, so that's a tier 2 win for me. I did pretty ludicrously well in one run and gained 75k, putting me into tier 1, but I got bumped down to tier 2 later. Honestly though, if that Ash-Greninja had activated Unity Power on my last move instead of doing the usual bugger all, I think I would have gotten 82k and a very comfy spot in tier 1, but cest la vie I guess. It already did multiple triggers on 4 match prior, so I guess I was asking too much for one more activation. Stil, 4/8 is pretty nice now that I have 10 RMLs kicking about for the next competition, which will most likely involve Decidueye and Sceptile.

 

I failed to beat stage 140 of Primarina though, but I gotta say GS went out of their way to make her even more insufferable than Incineroar was. I just hope they didn't try to make Decidueye even more annoying than her.

[Flame Dragon]

Trying for Solgaleo

Try 6500 item run with Charizard Y thinking it would clear the frozen blocks at the top. Failed

Try 6500 item run with Cam. Clear. 19% catch rate. Fail. 38% catch rate. Fail. Fail. Fail. Reset

Try again. Win. 22% catch rate. Fail. 44% catch rate. Fail. Fail. Fail. Reset.

Try 7300 item run. Win. 22% catch rate. Fail. 44% catch rate. Success.

 

THAT WAS SO DUMB!!!

[evilfusion]

I didn't cheap out on Solgaleo, remembering how AWFUL Lunala had been. Caught him easily, 40% rate, using Camerupt, DD, and Attack Up.

 

Competition wise, I had gotten Tier 2 with a score of about 75k. That's all I really wanted, and I immediately put 5 of the RML into Sceptile (I had NOT used RMLs on Swampert). For whatever reason, I always found Swampert underwhelming as a Mega compared to Sceptile and Blaziken.

 

My hunch is that this could be because the things Water is SE against is covered by other types with more flexible Mega options (Fire is also covered by Ground and Rock, such as Camerupt and T-tar), and Swampert is restricted to all-Water for best effects. Fire and Grass usually don't MIND being mono-type because their Mega options aren't so flexible.

 

And of course, Fire has Pyre. Water has Big Wave, but Big Wave is only on a Skill-Swap Mudkip, which needs 10 RML to be good. Grass has Sleep Charm via Shaymin, so the stupidly potent Sceptile combos is extra vicious.

 

Working on the Escalation Battle. Plan on using the RMLs earned on Bellossom, as that's a pretty good Grass Poke that uses RMLs and seems to be highly regarded because of Mind Zap. I had previously used RMLs on Virizion during the last Escalation Battle. There aren't many other Pokes right now that I feel MUST get RMLs, apart from some of the 10 ones, and I don't have 10 to spare.

[The Warden]

I used 3 RMLs on Xerneas, just to get his cap to 15 since he had been sitting awkwardly on 12 for a bit. Otherwise I'm hoarding them for the inevitable Primarina competitive, and my Speedups are for when I get M-Salamance. *Sighs* All this special stage stuff has been robbing me blind in coins and hearts, especially with several straight weeks of safaris, new and very costly battles, escalations, stupidly low catch rates, and all the competitive battles. I have not made progress in the main story in months.

 

EDIT: *Sighs* I can't be the only one here who's utterly fed up with Great Balls failing excruciatingly often, right? I mean, it was a 62% chance to catch Solgaleo, it SHOULDN'T have demanded 3 Great Balls to do it. The first two only rolled ONCE! funking once. It basically just up and said "Nuh bruh" and funked me over. In fact, many catches shouldn't demand the number of Great Balls we throw. It's such a god damn waste of cash, it really is. I swear it's doing this sheet on purpose. I swear some of these catches are rigged to fail just to waste gold. 80% catch w/ Great Ball, needs 4 of them, because logic.

[The Warden]

Welp, we've got some new things to go over now. A-Muk, A-Exeggutor, and Lurantis have appeared, we have a new safari (bring bugs), and naturally the Primarina competitive stage, which I reckon will probably require Lurantis as well as Decidueye.

 

Also, from what I've seen, the easy safari mons (Bounsweet, Steenee, and Meowth) have a 2% per move bonus on their catch rate, but a low base. So don't expect to go over 22% on your catch chance.

[Flame Dragon]

I legit forgot what the overlap type was for Dark and Grass in terms of weaknesses. Anyway got SUPER lucky and found Tsareena super fast. Makes me happy since it means I can get back to money grinding sooner than later.

[evilfusion]

I actually completed the entire safari today. Tsareena wasn't TOO bad, found her within...I dunno, 20 hearts? Saw Persian about a half dozen times, Bounsweet more times than I ever wanted to, since I caught it on my first heart (19% chance). It was actually just Alola Meowth that evaded me forever, and I found and captured it just a few minutes ago.

 

Today in general, my luck with captures was great. Some Pokes I caught without Great Balls, despite a rough 20% chance, and if I did need a Great Ball (like Alola Meowth), it either triggered Super Capture, or only required the one.

 

So all I have left to do this week is the Competition, which will probably be awful and expensive as usual. I'm otherwise completely caught up, including S Ranks.

[The Warden]

I really do love how no matter what catch chance it is, these cunting pokemon always demand I use no less than 3 great balls, because they IMMEDIATELY break out of the first two. I'm not shitting you, the last 3 mons I've used great balls on have ALWAYS immediately broken out of the first 2. It's funking ridiculous.

[evilfusion]

You know how I said the Competition would probably be super expensive and awful?

 

It is. But in the opposite way than expected. Scores can get ABSURDLY high. The only items available are Complexity -1 and Mega Start. There is no forced support or blocks, so Complexity will make it a 3 mon stage.

 

But the disruptions are not THAT stupid, but they're all weird Grass-types like Leafeon, Rotom-M, etc. Sceptile doesn't mind too much.

 

Here's the strategy I recommend. M-Sceptile, Shaymin (Sleep Charm), and Tangrowth (Sleep Combo) - Requires Skill Swap.

 

Activate Sleep Charm ASAP. This is annoying RNG-dependant because only a 5 match on SL4 or 5 is reliable (98 and 100%, respectively), and at SL5, a 3 match is 30%, 4 match is 55%, 5 is 100.

 

This stops the spawning disruptions (but even if those disruptions happen, Sceptile clears them out fairly easily, although it CAN slow you down). Then activate Sleep Combo in every subsequent turn, and don't forget to activate Sleep Charm again after 3 turns. Sleep Combo adds a 1.5x multiplier to the combo, in addition to the 1.5x multiplier that already applies to Sleeping Pokemon. Combined with being a 3 mon stage and Sceptile's combo making, scores can get stupidly high.

 

Even on runs when Sleep Charm hated me, getting scores of 50-70k were fairly easy. With decent RNG, scoring around 90-100k.

 

BUT...That type of score doesn't mean much. What you really want is a score between 120-150k. I got a score of just under 179k in one run with amazing RNG (but not flawless). I doubt I'll get anything less than Tier 2, but I'm high Tier 1 right now. This is not a super easy score, but it's VERY achievable. The best scores at this time are between 200-300k.

 

Also, my Tangrowth was only Level 6. That probably made a huge difference. 8 BP is tiny, but super effective damage means 16 damage, plus all the combo modifiers, plus the 1.5/2.25 damage modifier, plus just the sheer number of times it matches in a game...

 

But seriously. If you have a Shaymin at Skill Level 5, use this strategy. It is almost unquestionably the best one.

[Flame Dragon]

I actually have my Shaymin at level 4 so this is actually a pretty useful strat for me. I have a ton of skill swaps so burning one for Tangrowth is fine. Just wish I'd spent the past couple weeks grinding up Tangrowth's level and not Decidueye. Also sucks that its such an expensive comp since I currently only have 26K gold, no gems, want to do more of Decidueye's EB, and STILL have some main stages to clear.

[evilfusion]

I actually have my Shaymin at level 4 so this is actually a pretty useful strat for me. I have a ton of skill swaps so burning one for Tangrowth is fine. Just wish I'd spent the past couple weeks grinding up Tangrowth's level and not Decidueye. Also sucks that its such an expensive comp since I currently only have 26K gold, no gems, want to do more of Decidueye's EB, and STILL have some main stages to clear.

 

TECHNICALLY, it's cheaper than than the previous two, because ONLY Complexity and Mega Start are available, for a total of 11k. Previous ones had Complexity, DD, Mega Start, or at least Attack Power Up.

 

That doesn't mean it's not pricey, but it is SOME consolation.

[Flame Dragon]

TECHNICALLY, it's cheaper than than the previous two, because ONLY Complexity and Mega Start are available, for a total of 11k. Previous ones had Complexity, DD, Mega Start, or at least Attack Power Up.

 

That doesn't mean it's not pricey, but it is SOME consolation.

Thats fair. But the ones without -1 Complexity were WAY cheaper. I'll likely only do a single real run since I REALLY want to finish these main stages some time soon.

[The Warden]

Go figure that I'd misjudge what to RML again, since I RMLed up my Virizion in preparation for this. Granted Shaymin doesn't take RMLs, so I guess it doesn't matter in the long run. Either way Imma wait for Magearna to experience up my Tangrowth before doing the competition.

 

Also, you know what would be funking GREAT? If megas like Rayquaza and Mewtwo-Y COULD NOT erase mons with less than three icons on the board. I say this because I am funking SICK of them erasing mons they just erased the last three funking times even though there were only two icons present each time. It's just a stupid, senseless waste of a mega effect when they repeatedly erase the same sheet with the least board presence.

[The Warden]

Okay guys, this is worth the double post. I was checking the log of mons recently updated to get RMLs, and Rayquaza is one of them. Ho-Oh and Arceus also can, as well as the Therians, Zekrom, and Reshiram. Naturally, Rayquaza is the biggest one here, so get on that seriously. Also, some stages now have free items. Be sure to rebeat them to acquire them.

 

Also, Goodra has gained Unity Power as a Skill Swap, Rayquaza got Shot Out (removes 2 non-support). Hitmonchan is something else. He can be swapped to Paralyze, Freeze, or Burn. Mamoswine has also gained Risk Taker as a Skill Swap ability.

[evilfusion]

Yeah, definitely a lot of decent stuff getting RMLs. I'm looking at my 10 (my score did get Tier 1. I hadn't kept track of my placement since last post) and actually unsure what I want to use them on. Rayquaza is an option, but I personally don't think he's a priority. His shtick is about creating combos via removal, and his own attack power is less significant.

 

I was giving RMLs to Donphan, so I might give him 5 more to finish him off. And I'm kind of leaning towards Ampharos, because he needs the attack buff. But then there's Ho-oh. Ugh...and I was just approaching a point where I felt I could hold onto RMLs due to running out of candidates for "must get them". And then they give us all these.

 

The Therians got 3 RML each, but Landorus-T only gets 106 max (up from 100), and the other 2 get 99 (up from 90). I gave my 2 free RML to Landorus, unlikely I'll give him a third unless I end up with a weird number in the future.

[Flame Dragon]

I knew we'd gotten more main stages (still haven't finished the last batch), but also getting more Skill Swap and RML stuff is a little surprising. I've been saving up some so I should be able to max out another 5 soon.

 

O, we got free RML sweet. Now to see who the max out next.

[The Warden]

Y'know, I just think it's nice that we're finally getting a break. Cause, i dunno bout you guys, but my wallet was getting stretched thin with bi-weekly competitive battles, escalations, safaris, and random Special Stage mons all demanding either items, or Great Balls because of stupid low catch chance. It's nice to finally have a moment to recuperate some funds.

[Flame Dragon]

Y'know, I just think it's nice that we're finally getting a break. Cause, i dunno bout you guys, but my wallet was getting stretched thin with bi-weekly competitive battles, escalations, safaris, and random Special Stage mons all demanding either items, or Great Balls because of stupid low catch chance. It's nice to finally have a moment to recuperate some funds.

Yea, I noticed that too. Once I finished the Pikachu stage I was like, "O wow, I can finally focus on the main stages for once". But first I need to grind up coins. I needed 7500 to catch Beautifly because 47% (think thats what it was) failed twice and I didn't want to play the stage again because the catch rate is TRASH and I ran good at least getting the critical capture chance.

[The Warden]

I feel the same now that I don't need to worry much about the Special stages. Also, for those interested, I checked the reddit and the next set of releases is going to include Daily Pokemon #8 (the quintet with Brionne), the Shiny Gyarados safari (so yay for a chance for exp items), Gyarados appearing, Thundurus-T, and Shiny Gyarados Pikachu. Also the one true god Arceus will also be reappearing, and will probably be hard as tits, as per usual. So, stuff to keep an eye on.

[evilfusion]

Yeah, it's nice to have an easy week. I actually started the week with about 70-80k gold, though, because I had almost the whole last week to grind due to doing so well in the competition, and being caught up on everything else. I'm now down to about 30k, but I've cleared all the main stages, and am just going back to start knocking out the S Ranks.

[Flame Dragon]

Yeah, it's nice to have an easy week. I actually started the week with about 70-80k gold, though, because I had almost the whole last week to grind due to doing so well in the competition, and being caught up on everything else. I'm now down to about 30k, but I've cleared all the main stages, and am just going back to start knocking out the S Ranks.

I was actually really happy to see the main stages only among to 20 more. Should have been obvious when I got to Mega Gallade and saw the area continued that it wouldn't be a ton more. I am waiting on doing Mega Gallade though since I have under 30K gold.

[The Warden]

Have you guys noticed that a lot of new pokemon these days typically just have damage abilities? I mean, not for nothing, it would help if there were more anti-disruption abilities in the mix. I mean, Ground currently has 3 strong Rock Break+ mons, but not a single Barrier Bash+ mon. Trapinch is their only barrier basher, and it' the first stage one, ergo the useless one.

[Flame Dragon]

So I've started the next batch of stages. Get to Dustox. Use Mega Start and +5 for the S rank and to have an easy catch. Win with 2 extra moves for the S rank. Throw Ball. Fail. Throw Great Ball at 64%. Fail. Again. Fail. Reset trick to get back the 5000 since another run with a great ball is cheaper. Fail the S rank on the next run. I at least got it with a move worth of give and caught it in 1 great ball. I hate probability.