2006 TPM RBY Monotype Challenge

[Blademaster]

So, what, you're saying you could do a Mono-Steel run in Yellow version with Sandshrew, Diglett and Magnemite? That's not really a monotype challenge, just a Themed run...

You got a better idea? I'm not going to pick Steel outright, but if someone else picked it for me, what other option do I have?

That's why we have digital downloads for RBY in the Nintendo eShop now, for the new-gen transferability.

Oh really? Sweet.

Rock.

Awwww, you suck. Oh well, I'm a man of my word.


Name: Ash
Type: Rock
Reason: Mr. E is a jerk.
Badges: 1
Progress:


Alright, so, like I said, I'm going to be using glitches if need be in order to perform this run. Unfortunately, there's no glitches that can net you a Rock Pokemon any earlier than Mt. Moon. It's theoretically possible to encounter a Rhydon if you can find a Pokemon with a low enough Sp. Atk., but I couldn't find any Pokemon with a Sp. Atk. low enough for that, so Geodude was going to be my starter.

So, I basically speedran my way through the early game, beelining for the grass north of Pallet Town so I could meet Prof. Oak and get Pikachu. After roflstomping Gary (I got lazy with the names, shut up.), I headed straight to Viridian City for Oak's package and then straight back, got a Pokedex, and headed off to start my game. From there, I avoided every Trainer I possibly could on my way to Pewter City; I think the only Trainer I actually fought was that Bug Trainer near the end of Viridian Forest that is pretty much literally blocking your path. I wanted to preserve as many Trainers as I could to feed Geodude EXP later. To that end, I tried doing the Brock skip glitch so I could leave Brock unfought and just beat a few Trainers at the base of Mt. Moon instead, then enter Mt. Moon, catch a Geodude, and go back to start my run.

Unfortunately, the Brock skip glitch doesn't work in Yellow. So, unable to acquire a Rock Pokemon before Brock and unable to skip him, I had no choice but to beat him and get a BoulderBadge first. How did I beat Brock with a Level 7 Pikachu, then? Well, since I couldn't acquire a Rock type to fight him with, I was going to have to grind my way to a high enough level that Pikachu could learn Quick Attack and attrition Brock to death...

Nah, just kidding. That'd take WAY too long. See, since I couldn't find a Rock Pokemon to fight Brock with, I decided that the Pokemon I beat Brock with was irrelevant. So, I decided to catch a Level 100 Nidoking and brush Brock aside that way. Generating a Level 1 Nidoking was easy enough, but waiting for him to hurt himself with Thrash so I could catch him was a pain in the ass, since he just dodged all Pokeballs at full HP and Pikachu couldn't hurt him thanks to his immunity to Thundershock. After about 20 minutes, I managed to catch him, and one wild Pidgey fight later, he was at Level 100. Brock's Pokemon fell in one hit each, as did every Pokemon belonging to those pipsqueaks on Route 3 that I had to fight. I made it to Mt. Moon and finally caught a Level 10 Geodude.

NOW my run could finally begin. I retraced my steps back to Route 1 and talked to everyone on the way through to Viridian City, then took a detour towards Indigo Plateau to fight Gary... who didn't show up. Did I accidentally fight him while trying to level up Pikachu before giving up on that idea? Fuck, oh well, whatever. The Trainers in Viridan Forest, Route 3, and Mt. Moon provided plenty of EXP. Nothing else of real interest happened in Pewter City or at the base of Mt. Moon, though I DID accidentally wind up buying a Magikarp from that fucking peddler in the Pokemon Center while hammering A to get through dialogue boxes. Oh well, money is common as dirt in Pokemon games.

Mt. Moon presented what I guess I could call Geodude's first actual challenge. It's not so much that the Trainers here were difficult, but there were enough of them that Geodude simply ran out of PP pretty quickly, especially due to Rock Throw's abysmal accuracy and the high frequency of Sand Attacks that Geodude had to swallow. By the end of the first floor, I had to use my Escape Rope to return to the Pokemon Center. Also, there was a Trainer with an Oddish and a Bellsprout that Geodude simply couldn't compete with. I left her alone and progressed through the rest of the area, kicking Team Rocket's collective ass and acquiring a Dome Fossil for later. I'll explain why I chose it over the Helix Fossil in a future update.

With all that done, I left Mt. Moon and entered Cerulean City, where there was again little to do before tackling the Gym. The Gym that specializes in the type that Geodude has a x4 weakness to. Oh dear. I'm going to need more EXP, and possibly (but hopefully not) more overpowered glitch Pokemon. Let's try the former first, shall we? Heading north to Nugget Bridge, I ran into Gary again and proceeded to bury his team under rocks, netting enough EXP to bring Geodude to Level 24. One Rare Candy later, and my Geodude evolved into a Graveler. Hopefully that'll give me the edge I need against Misty and her Trainers.

Hopefully.


Pokemon:

Name: GRAVELER
Level: 25
Moves: Tackle, Defense Curl, Rock Throw, Selfdestruct
Team leader.

Name: PIKACHU
Level: 7
Moves: Thundershock, Growl, Tail Whip, ---
Team mascot.

Name: NIDOKING
Level: 100
Moves: Tackle, Horn Attack, Poison Sting, Thrash
Future HM User.

Name: MAGIKARP
Level: 5
Moves: Splash, ---, ---, ---
Mistake.


Next time: Misty, followed by hopefully more Pokemon. Not sure what route I'll take yet, but I'd like to acquire my other Rock Pokemon ASAP so they can acquire a healthy amount of EXP even in the later stages of the game.

[Poryhedron]

NOW my run could finally begin. I retraced my steps back to Route 1 and talked to everyone on the way through to Viridian City, then took a detour towards Indigo Plateau to fight Gary... who didn't show up. Did I accidentally fight him while trying to level up Pikachu before giving up on that idea? Fuck, oh well, whatever.

That battle is meant to happen before you beat Brock. Gary's dialogue mentions how you can't get past the first gate because you don't have any Badges. If you beat Brock without having fought Gary, he doesn't appear there...not until you've got all eight Badges, anyway.