Part 33: Player Choices,

Player Choices, Part 1

Well, I best let the cat out of the bag now. A lot of the updates the past two months were delayed, primarily because I was doing a lot of catching, breeding, and training, primarily for this... I have a few of my signature Pokémon, who I'm sure would enjoy a chance in the spotlight. I forgot how I EVed some of them, so I'll probably un-EV them with berries in Emerald, check their IVs, then reset to figure out what they were later, so don't be worried if you think some of the spoilered text is missing. If you'd like any of them to join our team, let me know.


Commodore - Porygon: Trace, Calm w/ Scope Lens (Lv. 50, Poké Ball):
Thunderbolt, Ice Beam, Recover, Thunder Wave [Pokémon LeafGreen]
 EVs: 252 HP, 172 Def, 86 SpA. IVs: 23 / 25 / 16 / 26 / 31 / 25 (HP Grass 61)  
Porygon Base Stats: 65/60/70/85/75/40
Porygon2 is better in terms of every stat than Porygon, but, to be honest, I just like the way Porygon looks more; it's one of my signature Pokémon. The EVs are distributed to balance both physical and special defenses, maximizing its low HP, then giving anything else it has to bolster its Special Attack. Trace will select the ability one of the two opposing Pokémon has, making it its own until Porygon switches out. This Porygon is a BoltBeamer; it has both Thunderbolt and Ice Beam, a combination resisted only by Magneton, Lanturn, and Shedinja (as well as Magnemite and Chinchou), where Chinchou and Lanturn can actually heal by taking the Electric attack if it has the Volt Absorb ability.


Silverclaw - Metagross: Clear Body, Jolly w/ Scope Lens (Lv. 50, Poké Ball):
Rock Slide, Meteor Mash, Earthquake, Sludge Bomb [Pokémon Emerald]
 EVs: 252 HP, 252 Atk, 6 Spe. IVs: 15 / 21 / 20 / 3 / 2 / 28 (HP Rock 61)  
Metagross Base Stats: 80/135/130/95/90/70
You've seen how monstrous Metagross can be from the last Snag-based update. Another of my signature Pokémon, this set actually favors Choice Band, but I prefer the freedom of move choice on it, opting for a Scope Lens instead. The use of Scope Lens is not much liked by some circles of player-versus-player, namely due to it increasing the chance of critical hits on a "luck-based" principle. Its function is that of a Physical Sweeper.


Supernova - Starmie: Natural Cure, Modest w/ Scope Lens (Lv. 50, Dive Ball):
Surf, Ice Beam, Thunderbolt, Psychic [Pokémon Emerald]
 EVs: 6 HP, 252 SpA, 252 Spe. 
Starmie Base Stats: 60/75/85/100/85/115
Starmie has always been one of GameFreak's favorites, or so it would seem by its stats and movepool. Again, Ice Beam and Thunderbolt offer excellent type coverage; Surf and Psychic work off of both Special STABs on a Pokémon with already high Special Attack and Speed stats. If you've ever wondered what a Special Sweeper is, Starmie is a sterling example. You will note it is also a Boltbeamer.


Celadonia - Swellow: Guts, Adamant w/ Choice Band (Lv. 50, F, Great Ball):
Quick Attack, Return, Aerial Ace, Facade [Pokémon Emerald]
 EVs: 6 HP, 252 Atk, 252 Spe. 
Swellow Base Stats: 60/85/60/50/50/125
Another Physical Sweeper, it is lacking in type diversity (as well as a good physical Hidden Power to offer it another option). Its strongest asset is its great Speed, followed by its better-than-average Attack; all other stats are lackluster. It still holds a special place to me, though.


SOLROCK - Solrock: Levitate, Careful w/ Choice Band (Lv. 50, Repeat Ball):
Earthquake, Rock Slide, Shadow Ball, Explosion [Pokémon Emerald]
Solrock Base Stats: 70/95/85/55/65/70
Not too sure why I added Solrock to this, but I've always found it to be a fun Pokémon. Levitate ignores the Ground weakness brought on by its Rock-type. Like a few others in Ruby and Sapphite, Solrock has a counterpart Pokémon: Lunatone. The former is more physically-oriented, the latter specially-oriented. The set listed lets it work as a Choice Bander, a specialized physical-attacking Pokémon that substitutes being able to switch moves while active for a 50% boost to its Attack.


LUNATONE - Lunatone: Levitate, Relaxed w/ Salac Berry (Lv. 50, Timer Ball)
Psychic, Ice Beam, Cosmic Power, Baton Pass
 EVs: 252 HP, 128 Def, 130 SpD. IVs: ? 
Lunatone Base Stats: 70/55/65/95/85/70
The EVs again balance its defense stats while maximizing HP; one would usually prefer to maximize one defense at the cost of being weaker to the other side of the spectrum, but Cosmic Power boosts Defense and Special Defense by one stage each. After one or two Cosmic Powers, the Salac Berry is likely to activate (from HP being below 25%, from being attacked), boosting Speed by one stage. This can allow Lunatone to Baton Pass these boosts to another teammate, thus called a Baton Passer. It can defend itself decently with Psychic and Ice Beam, if pressed into using it, although some consider Hypnosis (to put the opponent to sleep) to be more useful than the type coverage offered by Ice Beam.


Whitney D8 - Miltank: Thick Fat, Impish w/ Leftovers (Lv. 50, F, Safari Ball):
Milk Drink, Attract, Stomp, Rollout [Pokémon Emerald]
 EVs: 100 HP, 100 Def, 100 Atk. IVs: 24 / 29 / 11 / 28 / 27 / 0 (HP Water 52)  
Miltank Base Stats: 95/80/105/40/70/100
If you've ever played Pokémon Gold, Silver, or Crystal, you've seen this set before: Gym Leader Whitney uses it to greatly-annoying efficiency. It's certainly not the best set for a Miltank, but it is one of the most hair-pulling ones. The role it fits is what most people call an Annoyer, but would be more accurately called a Disabler; the former stalls with non-attacking moves, the latter simply try to nullify its opponent's attacks before damaging with its own. Substituting Stomp or Attract with Heal Bell, learned by level-up, would chance the role of this Pokémon to a Cleric, or "Beller", used for curing teammates of status conditions they would otherwise be unable to remove, a subdivision of Supporter. Miltank is, fittingly enough, also considered a Tank, capable of taking hits on one side of the spectrum as well as doing respectable damage by itself. (A Wall is usually good at taking one type of attacks, sometimes both, but is not good at doing damage by attacking.)


MJR. MAGMA - Slugma: Flame Body, Rash w/ Charcoal (Lv. 50, M, Premier Ball)
Yawn, Overheat, Rock Slide, SelfDestruct [Pokémon Emerald]
Slugma Base Stats: 40/40/40/70/40/20
Major Magma is a far more self-harming soldier than its colonel counterpart. SelfDestruct is a tutor-only move that functions like Explosion, only with 200 base power instead of 250. Overheat is a 140 base power, 90% Accuracy Fire-type attack that drops the user's Special Attack by two stages. Major Magma's plan is usually get in, Overheat, then Self-Destruct; its stats don't lend it to using Yawn or Rock Slide without fainting, but are there just in case.

Heck, if you want me to use something that I haven't listed, and isn't shiny or a legendary Pokémon, chances are I can catch one and have it trained in time for the next video. I won't be transferring anything over Lv. 50 over, to keep things somewhat interesting; overleveling can reduce the challenge of the game, as demonstrated before, though that isn't always a bad thing. I've also got a few Lv. 100 brutes in the wings, if you want to see them, but I doubt that'd provide much interest.