First Generation Pokemon Challenge Runs

[neen]

Ever do a run of a game with a custom ruleset? oh yeah? was it pokemon red or blue? well, this is the thread for you.

Started a new run on pokemon blue. going to use a custom ruleset:

-every slot on main team is permanent, which means no pc usage for pokemon storage. pc use for items is okay.
-every pokemon must have the word 'weed' in their name. so i think everyone except weedle needs a nickname.
-try to diversify types as much as possible since each slot is permanent. must have at least one pokemon that's able to use each hm or i think i may just brick myself.
-each pokemon on team must be exactly the same level before advancing (going to a new area, going into a gym, advancing story points, etc)


currently:

Bulbasaur (weedmon), lvl 8
Pikachu (weedchu), lvl 7
weedle (weedle), lvl 3

so i'm equalizing levels before doing anything else. because of my ruleset, i can't evolve weedle. so not giving him a nickname was a mistake.

edit: catching this weedle was a huge mistake and now i'm stuck with it for the entire game. shiiiit. it's nearly two hours in and i haven't even beaten brock

[Masked Hero]

Couldn't you change the Weedle's name when you get to the Name Rater? Of course, that is all the way in Lavender Town.

[neen]

Originally Posted by Masked Hero

Couldn't you change the Weedle's name when you get to the Name Rater? Of course, that is all the way in Lavender Town.

yeah, that's my problem. (i couldn't remember how the name rater guy worked.) but at any rate, yes, i could. but by the time i get to lavender town, i'll have been stuck with this weedle in my grip for the whole game and even then, that only means i can evolve him into kakuna at that point which is arguably even worse. i like that this ruleset is forcing me into strategic decisions but at the same time, i should have thought ahead before catching this weedle. if i can manage to evolve him into beedril, i think i'll be okay but it'll be a tough road to get there

also, having already used three of my slots so early on seems to be pretty bad. i need to be cognizant of which pokemon can learn which HMs since as far as i remember, each HM is necessary to advance.

this brings me to a cool thing with me and first gen pokemon. i have played it a lot but, there's often at least one to two years in between my playthroughs so i often forget important details. this helps keep it almost like a fresh experience each time, which is something i really value in games that i like. i often find myself lamenting that for each game i really like, i can only "play it the first time" once, and that's usually the most enjoyable experience for me.

but, with pokemon gen 1, i often forget so many of the important details, or deliberately or subconsciously don't learn or memorize them, AND each playthrough is so far apart, that every time i play it is as close to a first glorious playthrough as i can get. this way, i enjoy the game soooo much more every time i play it. i often find myself forgetting where to go or not knowing what to do to advance. it's so nice.

[neen]

currently:

bulbasaur (weedmon) lvl 12
pikachu (weedchu) lvl 13
weedle (weedle) lvl 13

beat brock at about the two hour mark. in-game timer now shows 2:52 and i'm at the route to the east of pewter, grinding through the trainers there en route to the next area (all were at same level before i left town). noting that i must equalize levels before advancing beyond route 3 and into mt. moon. i secretly love grinding

the brock fight wasn't too hard but, i did develop a nice strat. lead with weedle and string shot to get their speed low for one or two turns (make sure weedle doesn't die). then go with bulbasaur to use leech seed. then growl repeatedly to get the attack of the offensive pokemon down. at this point, the opponent is slow, and leech seed being online means that we get a guaranteed 1 damage and +1 HP every turn (which this early in the game, 1 HP actually matters). then the game grinds to a halt as we tackle every turn with bulbasaur while the geodude/onix uses defense curl or an attack. took awhile but i eventually won.

[neen]

i might end up resetting because of this god damned weedle. i need to think much further ahead with which mons i catch. i think the opening strat of picking bulbasaur and grinding in viridian forest for a pikachu is pretty solid. not sure what the optimal third team member is.

[neen]

yea, i ended up resetting just because of the weedle. because i didn't nickname him, i was locked into having it until lavender and even after getting the misty badge weedle was already showing he was waaay weaker.

i reset and did the same thing for the first two, bulbasaur (WEEDASAUR) and pikachu (WEEDACHU). i needed to allcaps the names since that's the way the game does it by default. that was another reason to reset.

e/ rather than choke the thread up with my own reports, i'll wait until a good amount of progress has been made.

what i really want to hear about are your pokemon challenge runs!

[Masked Hero]

Neen’s Weedle trouble has inspired me to start a Bug type only play-through. Trouble is, my GBA SP doesn’t have a charger, and my other Gameboys are all in the shed. I’ve got a copy of FireRed that will work on a DS though. Is that close enough for this thread?