Name: Seth
Type: Bug
With Chuck's and Jasmine's Badges secured, I made my next move a return to Cianwood, to train my team by clearing out Routes 47 and 48. Then, with that done, I flew to Ecruteak and headed east, clearing out every part of Mt. Mortar that I could reach without Waterfall.
As I was doing this, the need for various HMs and my outsized number of battlers and HMers became annoying. I realized that, given the locations of certain late-game HMs, I could make Hydronaut redundant until Blackthorne by giving Surf to EarthMover for now...but shortly after that, it also occurred to me that Beedrill was underperforming. I studied the matter and concluded that, ultimately, the only thing Beedrill stood out for in this party was poison. Poisoning the opponent wasn't really my style in the long run, especially since it prevents Butterfree from putting the enemy to sleep, and there aren't really any targets that Poison-type moves are great against...that Bug-type moves aren't also great against.
So, in Mahogany Town, I deposited Beedrill and went up Route 42 with three battlers, which meant each earned EXP four-thirds as fast. I had Butterfree put the Red Gyarados to sleep on Turn 1, and then Psybeamed it to death while it slumbered. This convinced Lance to invite me on a Team Rocket-stomping tour of the Mahogany Rocket Base.
I was surprised to discover that, in Heart/Soul, each Persian statue can only activate once. With that revelation, I decided screw the switch, and battled the same two Rocket Grunts at every single Persian statue for extra EXP. I also made sure to fight every last Voltorb, Geodude and Koffing in the minefield. Just because I didn't care about the switch, though, didn't mean I didn't take the time to pummel the TR Scientist guarding it.
I proceeded to clear out the rest of the base in an orderly fashion (how exactly does your character know Petrel's imitation of Giovanni is bad? When did you ever see or hear Giovanni before this point in the game? Did his position as Viridian Gym Leader mean he appeared on TV now and then?) and recieved the Whirlpool HM from a grateful Lance. Then I headed down to the Gym, and between Brick Break and Metal Claw (with a what-the-heck Close Combat at the very end), dispatched the Ice-type trainers and won the Glacier Badge.
As I left the Gym, I got a call from Prof. Elm telling me about Team Rocket on the air. I checked my Pokégear and discovered that the rats were broadcasting on every possible frequency. It was time to head to Goldenrod and pull their plug!
Team:
L36
Psybeam, Sleep Powder, Gust, Silver Wind
L37
Brick Break, Aerial Ace, Close Combat, Leer
L38
Metal Claw, Wing Attack, Slash, Pursuit
Aviator L16
Fly, Cut, Aerial Ace, Thief
EarthMover L22
Dig, Strength, Surf, Rock Smash
Spelunker L6
Cut, Stun Spore, Rock Smash, Flash
...It's just recently occured to me that I haven't been doing a banner for this MTC...I'll have to whip something up.