Part 32: The Battle Factory

Part 29: The Battle Factory

Battle Factory



Welcome to the first of four Battle Frontier updates, since I can record this straight away and it's the only facility most people play cause they're scrubs.



The favorite battle style appears to be free-spirited and unrestrained. First, we will hold your POKEMON for safekeeping. You may then choose from our selection of POKEMON.



We'll go over what scientist dude was talking in just a moment, but here's the main draw of the Factory: you don't have to grind for hours making the perfect Pokemon, you can just use the same Pokemon used in the Frontier! This is a super fun way to battle, as well as learning what kind of Pokemon you'll be facing in the Frontier. Spoilers, because it's Gen 3 and this is GF's first attempt at a massive battle facility like this, the sets used for a lot of Pokemon are, uh, interesting. No Physical/Special split really sucks!



You've got important information on all three pages, so it's a fair amount to keep track of to make sure there's no funny business. I'll just be showing the moves, since you can probably guess the ability in most cases and you don't remember what most natures do. It'd be weird if you did. First up is a mixed Rapidash, since, being Gen 3, a lot of Pokemon still have awful movesets, so they had to get creative in a lot of cases.



Not bad, but nothing too crazy either. Since we're at the start, we're not seeing the good stuff right off the bat. There are A LOT of Pokemon in this facility between both Level 50 and Open Level (60-100).



Two pretty good choices here. Like most battle facilities, setup sweepers are your best options, though using stuff like Swords Dance and Dragon Dance is better than using Calm Mind and Bulk Up, for instance. I'll try using fast and hard hitting Pokemon whenever possible.



While not amazing, I think we've got a pretty good set up. So let's get to battling!




Good start. We've got a fair few battles to get through in this facility and there's a lot of trainers to fight. Like a lot a lot. Different trainers appear at different battle streaks and have a set pool of Pokemon they draw from, depending on their class. In other facilities. In this one, trainers have completely random Pokemon that matches the specific group you're in, but more on that in a minute.



Like always, unless you have a resistance or immunity chilling in the back, switching in these facilities in a really bad idea. Better to just do as much damage as you can and then get a safe switch in. As always though, you'll have to play this by ear, there's never one perfect strategy to these places.



So since we're doing Open Level (which translates to Level 100 for this facility), all the Pokemon we'll be encountering will be from Group 3, the big main group you expect from this place, while Level 50 will slowly build up to always being Group 3. Containing all fully evolved Pokemon that don't appear in Group 2, each Pokemon has a minimum of 4 sets it can appear with, though some Pokemon, usually ones with large movepools, can have 8 sets, with Dragonite and Tyranitar having 10 sets. All legendaries you can use in here have 6 sets, with the Latis having 8. We'll go over the other groups when we encounter them during the Level 50 challenges.



As you'd expect, the first set a Pokemon can have is usually the worst and most typical set you'd expect, while the fourth set has a pretty good strategy and type coverage behind it. As we go up in streaks, like with Gen 4's Battle Factory, we'll encounter better Pokemon to use, but also stronger Pokemon to face.



You get some cool stuff from the start, like this Synchronize Lum Berry Espeon, but we'll be waiting for the good stuff later on.



Again, like with Gen 4's Battle Factory, you get interesting info on your opponent before you battle them. However, this info you get is a lot more vague and in the case of no type favouritism (which has no bearing on anything since everything is random in this place), all the info given can be useless unless you know what the hell he's talking about. Get used to this, btw. The second statement is determined by what moves the opponent has, but only a good chunk of moves are counted and split into seven different categories.



Oh yeah, these Frontier updates are basically really long Side Notes, so sometimes we'll have to strap in and go over what the hell is going on. Moves can be counted twice if more than one Pokemon has and when enough moves get counted in a category's threshold (three for the first four and two for the last three), then the corresponding statement is given, with those lower down given priority. If three or more categories go over the threshold, then it's given a special statement.



Because of how many moves are in each category and how vague the statements are, this info is basically useless, I paid no attention to it during my streak and you should do the same. This does crop up more in the Double Battle streak since there's an extra Pokemon to add on, but if you get a heads up on the type, great! Otherwise, just mash past these useless textboxes.



If you liked the look of one of your opponent's Pokemon, then you can trade it! But you need to be paying attention during battle to see if it's a good idea, since you get no additional info when you go for the swap. Hopefully we'll get a Pokemon in the next battle we'll want.



Now that's what I'm talking about! There are certain Pokemon that you should always go for when they pop up, since it makes this facility much less of a headache. Though you have to actually survive the encounter with them.



Well this isn't going amazingly so far, but you never know.



So this Salamence may have nearly completely swept me, but hey, we beat it.



FUCK. There's gonna be around 250 battles total to get all the Gold Symbols in this place. We lost at battle TWO. Good start.



Now that we've got the basics done and did a run to, uh, manipulate the RNG, let's actually do this.



It's always a shame when one of your Pokemon is missing good STAB, since that's usually what you need in a given situation, so Exploud is here to save the day.



So you might be surprised to learn I'll be abridging a lot of the battles we'll be going through, so I'll be showing off what someone we picked up can do, or something interesting that happened. The usual stuff.



Not the move I expected, but the AI has never been that amazing at the start of the streaks.



You should always pick up Marowak when you see it, since every set has a Thick Club.



Because seriously, look at the damage. On both sides. Ow. As you'd expect, every Pokemon has 255 EVs in two stats, or 170 EVs in three stats, as well as a set nature. You might think since we're solely seeing Pokemon from Group 3 they'll all have max IVs and all that? Well, no actually, the Pokemon you face are linked to your streak in the Battle Tower, so if you do this facility first, then every Pokemon you face will have 3 IVs max (aside from Trainer 7 who's upgraded to the next set, so they have 6 IVs). Otherwise, if you get to battle 100 for everything, then all Pokemon in the Factory will have 31 IVs from the start. This, however, does no apply to your Pokemon, they gain IVs as you go through the sets like normal, but if you trade a Pokemon, they'll have 3 IVs. It's not a huge deal, feel free to trade away, until you get up to the higher streaks.



Ludicolo is also a good pick, having a great typing and real good type coverage most of the time.



The interesting sets and the interesting AI make these early battles pretty, well, interesting.



In recognition of your wealth of knowledge and keen intelligence, we award you these Battle Point(s).



I don't know why they try and deal with the fact you can get 1 Battle Point, it looks super dumb. Also don't use square brackets if you type that out, since that's the strikethrough bbcode!





Here's our second batch, not bad, if physical in literally every way (bar one).




I think we'll be just fine, these two Pokemon are just BEASTS.



A few ups and downs, but man this team was fun, just blasting fools every which way. I mean, we have Megahorn on Heracross! Madness.



And that's one way to end the second streak. Pretty fun, but nothing too crazy happened, I don't think I swapped once.



Right, let's see some movesets of the third kind.





Hmm. I think the word for these is: meh? Sure, it's not awful, but these are some weird sets, man.



Endure, Reversal and Salac make for a real nice combo, but not using Normal STAB is a bit suspect. Ah we'll be fine.



It doesn't always work out though.



That's pretty nasty. Or it would be if it wasn't the foe's last Pokemon.



We struck fuckin gold with this Heracross. LOOK AT THAT SET. It's so beautiful I could cry.



That's right, Meganium has an Endure Flail Salac Berry set. Neat. Well anyway, it's the end of the third stre-



Oh, my... sorry to keep you waiting. I have a message from this facility's boss, the FACTORY HEAD. He says, "We're going to do it! Come here right now!"



Now this is a bit early. While Gen 4 was pretty rigid in when you faced the Frontier Brains, Gen 3 has a lot more variety, so you only need to wait until the 21st battle before fighting the Frontier Brain! Let's do this!!!

"which is why I'm the FACTORY HEAD!"

I had a look at your Battle Swap data. You seem to have the right idea, but you're still square in your head! Listen up, okay? Knowledge isn't only about reading books or doing desk work. Just doing that sort of thing... it may as well be useless! You have to experience things with your heart and your body, understand? I'll take you on under the same conditions as you. I'll be using rental POKEMON, too! Shake out every last bit of your knowledge and bring it on!

VS Frontier Brain




Factory Head Noland/Datsura
From knowledge, and Datsura (moonflower) and data.



Our first Frontier Brain can be real tough, or a massive pushover, it all depends on what Pokemon he has, which could be any Group 3 Pokemon with their third set. This is a pretty bad start for us.



He's got a pretty interesting Skarmory, with Fly, Curse, Toxic and Rest, holding a Chesto Berry. An important note is gender and abilities are random, so you could get lucky with that, or not at all.



We need every advantage we can get against this guy, 3v3 singles does not offer much room for mistakes.



Good job there, what's next?



Raichu is a cool choice, with Thunder, Iron Tail, Rain Dance and Attract with Static and a Cheri Berry. We should expect some lightning bolts in a moment.




Thankfully we have a Ground type, so this won't be too tough.



Alright, he didn't have anything hugely scary, as this Muk has Sludge Bomb, Thunderbolt, Flamethrower and Ice Punch with a Lum Berry. If you remember your stats right, Muk has a 65 base SpAtk, so, uh, yeah.



Let's use Heracross again and finish this up.

Battle Factory




Next time, I'll come after you hard. No holds barred, understand? You keep up your studies!

"seven matches in a row!"


Alright, we got our first symbol! Only 13 left to go...





Now we're getting to the good stuff. Sure, the fourth sets aren't perfect, but most of the time they're pretty damn solid, so I'm happy with them.



While Houndoom is super frail, it's also super powerful, so hell yeah, let's use doom doggy.



It can take down Water types pretty easily, especially if they use Ice moves for some strange reason.




Unsurprisingly the other two are also amazing, so this streak went by in a flash. We've got some powerful mons, so it's great fun using them.



Fifth streak go!





Ooh, legendaries are gonna start appearing, so this is gonna be fun. That's its third set in comparison to everyone else with their fourth set.



Not as crazy as the last streak, but still pretty good.




This Wailord was a nightmare. I think I just stalled it out of Rests.



This Ludicolo is pretty, heh, COOL!



Let's steal it.



Of course, since we can use legendaries now, so too can the opponent.



We wanna grab them when we see them.



That sure is a Bug Catcher's Pokemon.



All the legendaries!!!



It is overkill, but we're done with streak five!



We're getting there. Sixth streak!





Now we've got a real mix of sets, from Clefable's third set, to Gengar's third of eight sets, to Gardevoir's first set, to Exploud's second set.



While it's not an amazing Entei, I just can't keep away from them.




I want to murder everyone who comes up with these sets.



Alright fuckin Brightpowder.



Oh man where did this Ludicolo come from? I am as surprised as you are.



I should keep a counter of how many times Focus Band activates. Ding!



And here we are, at the 42nd battle, it's our final fight with Noland. It's one less set compared to Thorton, so hey, we get let off easy here.



Hey, hey! How's it going? You keeping up with your studies? ...Oh? You've taken on a harder look than the last time I saw you. Now, this should be fun! I'm getting excited, hey! All right! Bring it on!

VS Frontier Brain



Huh, being outsped by an Exploud. Interesting. Well this Exploud set of Overheat, Ice Beam, Thunderpunch and Extrasensory has max Speed, so it's not too surprising, since this Latios set doesn't have max Speed investment.



No point fainting when I know what it's gonna go for, so let's switch.



Who then outspeeds Exploud. Max Speed Entei baby!




We're not gonna get very far here, so let's use best pineapple. This Gyarados has Return, Earthquake, Dragon Dance and Rest with a Chesto Berry.



We should get rid of it before it starts using Return and wrecks us. A +2 Gyarados is nothing to mess with.



I think we'll be perfectly fine, since we were blessed with a punching duck.



Look at that crazy strategy, this would be bad if we didn't have anything to take out this mon in two hits.



But we can get it stuck in a Rest loop and deal with it from there.



Oh we're gonna play this game are we? This Manectric has Thunderbolt, Quick Attack, Flash and Roar with a Magnet.



Thankfully it's not using Double Team, so if Ludicolo goes down, either of our other mons can take it down.



Oh no, is this the end for Ludicolo?



Please, always have faith in SALSA.

Battle Factory




Pfft, man! That's absolutely the last time I lose to you! We have to do this again, hey?



There we go, that's our first facility done! While I may have made that look pretty easy, I got lucky with the mons I got when it came to fighting Noland. If I didn't have that great rentals, or Noland had some nasty stuff, then you can get super screwed. Now it's not a huge problem for me, I'll be save stating all day erry day, but this is definitely a facility where you need to be a bit lucky. Still, it's a ton of fun and if you're gonna ignore the rest of the shitty facilities, then this is definitely one to play. Anyway, next time, I think we should go do some postgame, yeah?