Category Archives: Pokemon

Best Monotype Runs in Pokemon Ruby, Sapphire, Emerald, and ORAS

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pokemon-oras-box-art

A lot of fans consistently rate Pokémon OmegaRuby and AlphaSapphire (ORAS) as among the best (if not the best) Pokémon games in the franchise. The rerelease garnered an intense love of Hoenn, its Pokémon, and, surprisingly, the story. But what makes ORAS so amazing is that it gives trainers a chance to catch Pokémon with Egg moves and hidden abilities but also Pokémon not found in Hoenn. These National Pokémon, unlike a plethora of other games, can be caught before the Elite Four! As such, these games are fantastic for a Monotype Run (or Single Type Run). For this article, I’ve included all Hoenn games so Pokémon Ruby, Sapphire, Emerald, and ORAS.

Rules

  1. Only Pokémon of a certain type may be caught and trained.
  2. You must catch the first Pokémon available of that type if your starter does not match that type (you’ll then have to discard that starter).
  3. You may train a Pokémon that evolves to said type as long as you do it ASAP.
  4. No out-of-game trading allowed.
  5. Mega Pokémon count as long as you Mega Evolve them as soon as they appear on the battlefield.
  6. Only Pokémon caught before Elite Four are counted.

Monotype Chart Version 2.03

The Best Types

1200px-260swampert

The Hoenn games may just be the best games in the series for a Water-type run. You have an abundance of Water Pokémon with substantial diversity. Mudkip’s Water/Ground evolutions neutralizes the Electric weakness and gives some strong moveset variety. From there, you can train Magikarp/Wingull, Tentacool, Carvanha/Corpish, and more! If you have Sapphire, AlphaSapphire, or Emerald, you can even catch a Lotad early on and have it alongside Mudkip and Wingull before the first gym!

Ground, Psychic, and Flying are other excellent types as well. Although you won’t get much diversity for Ground Pokémon, you’ll still have the likes of Swampert, Flygon, Claydol, Camerupt, and Rhydon to play around with. The Psychic type has better diversity as you can catch and train Ralts, Meditite, Staryu, Natu, Solrock/Lunatone, and Girafarig. The Flying type, like Water, can give you early diversity but also provide some great hitters later on like Skarmory, Salamence, Gyarados, and Crobat.

From there, there are a plethora of types that you can catch very early on but may lack substantial diversity like Bug, Dark, Normal, Fire, Grass, Fighting, Poison, Fairy, and Ghost. If you have an ORAS game, however, the late game availability of random, national Pokémon, gives these types a fully-fledged out team. I’d say out of these options for an ORAS run I would choose Bug and Dark due to constant availability of these Pokémon throughout the game mixed in with some stellar late game Pokémon like Volcarona, Hydregion, and Drapion.

 

The Worst Types

As Hoenn is a tropical island, Ice types are quite rare (only two families) and available very late in the game making them one of the worst types in the entire series to do a run on. Although not as difficult, Dragon Pokémon are rare and the first Pokémon you can catch would be a Swablu well after the third gym. However, ORAS significantly changes this as Sceptile’s Mega Evolution is Grass/Dragon which makes it available from the start. The Dragon type becomes amazing as you can catch the likes of Hydregion, Garchomp, and the Lati@s in these games (just watch out for Ice moves!). Finally, Electric type is rather poor in these games due to their lackluster diversity and the first one you can catch is after the second gym in ORAS (but you can skip Brawly in RSE by giving Steven the letter, go to Route 110, catch your Electric Pokemon, then fight him).

 

Type Teams

Bug
Ideal Team: Dustox/Venomoth (ORAS)/Beedril (ORAS), Heracross, Volcarona (ORAS), Forretress (ORAS), Galvantula (ORAS), Armaldo/Crustle (ORAS)
Optional: Pinsir, Beautifly, Shedinja, Ninjask, Leavanny (ORAS), Parasect (ORAS), Kricketune (ORAS)
First Pokémon: Wurmple via Route 101
Covers Weaknesses? Yes

Dark
Ideal Team: Crawdaunt/Sharpedo, Honchkrow (ORAS), Krookodile (ORAS), Drapion (ORAS), Hydreigon (ORAS), Scrafty (ORAS)
Optional: Absol, Mightyena, Umbreon (ORAS), Zoroark (ORAS), Mega-Gyarados (ORAS), Spiritomb (ORAS), Sabeleye (S, E, AS), Shiftry (R, E, OR)/Cacturne
First Pokémon: Poochyena via Route 101
Covers Weaknesses? Yes for all versions except Pokemon Ruby

Dragon
Ideal Team: Salamence, Flygon/Garchomp (ORAS), Mega Sceptile (ORAS), Dragalge (OR), Lati@s (ORAS), Hydreigon (ORAS)
Optional: Altaria, Druddigon (ORAS), Haxorus (ORAS), Rayquaza (Emerald)
First Pokémon: Besides Teecko in ORAS, you can catch a Swablu in Route 114 after the third gym
Covers Weaknesses? No, Ice is not neutralized and, unless you have a Mega Altaria, Dragon is not neutralized.

Electric
Ideal Team: Manectric, Magneton/Magnezone, Lanturn, Galvantula (ORAS), Jolteon (ORAS), Eelektross (ORAS)
Optional: Minun/Plusle, Electabuzz (ORAS), Zebstrika (ORAS), Electrode, Luxray (ORAS)
First Pokémon: Electrike, Plusle, and Minun can be caught at Route 110 after the second gym in ORAS (as well as Magnemite by Horde).  In RSE you can skip the second gym by giving Steven the letter, take the boat to Slateport, and capturing your Pokemon on Route 110.
Covers Weaknesses? Yes for ORAS but in Ruby, Sapphire, and Emerald, Ground is not neutralized.

Fairy (ORAS only)
Ideal Team: Gardevoir, Wigglytuff, Mawile (OR)/Klefki, Azumarill, Mega-Altaria, Clefable
Optional: Whimsicott, Sylveon, Mega-Audino
First Pokémon: Ralts via Route 102 before the first gym
Covers Weaknesses? Yes 

Fighting
Ideal Team: Blaziken, Breloom, Heracross, Medicham (R, S, ORAS), Gallade (ORAS), Scrafty (ORAS)
Optional: Machoke, Hariyama, Hitmonchan (ORAS), Hitmonlee (ORAS), Hitmontop (ORAS), Throh (OR), Sawk (AS), Gurdurr (ORAS), Primeape (ORAS)
First Pokémon: Torchic via starter
Covers Weaknesses? No, Flying is not neutralized.

Fire
Ideal Team: Blaziken, Camerupt, Magcargo, Ninetales, Volcarona (ORAS), Arcanine (ORAS)
Optional: Torkoal, Flareon (ORAS), Magmar (ORAS), Rapidash (ORAS), Ninetales (ORAS), Darmanitan (ORAS), Primal Groudon (OR)
First Pokémon: Torchic via starter
Covers Weaknesses? No, Water and Ground not neutralized.  In OmegaRuby, Water can be taken care of due to Primal Groudon’s Ability.

Flying
Ideal Team: Gyarados, Salamence, Swellow, Ninjask, Skarmory, Xatu
Optional: Beautifly, Masquerain (R, S, ORAS), Pelipper, Crobat, Altaria, Tropius, Honchkrow (ORAS), Drifblim (ORAS), Mega-Pinsir (ORAS), Mandibuzz (ORAS), Chatot (ORAS), Unfezant (ORAS), Pidgeot (ORAS), Braviary (ORAS), Rayquaza (Emerald)
First Pokémon: Wurmple via Route 101
Covers Weaknesses? Yes 

Ghost
Ideal Team: Shedinja, Sableye (S, E, AS)/Spiritomb (ORAS), Drifblim (ORAS), Trevanant (ORAS), Froslass (ORAS), Jellicent (ORAS)
Optional: Banette, Dusclops, Cofagrigus (ORAS), Mismagius (ORAS)
First Pokémon: Nincada in Route 116 before the first gym
Covers Weaknesses? Yes for Sapphire, Emerald, and ORAS.  However, in Ruby, Ghost and Dark are not neutralized.

Grass
Ideal Team: Sceptile, Brleoom, Shiftry (R, E, OR)/Cacturne, Roserade/Roselia (R, S, ORAS)/Vileplume, Ludicolo (S, E, AS), Cradily
Optional: Tropius, Trevanant (ORAS), Leafeon (ORAS), Sawsbuck (ORAS), Whimsicott (ORAS), Parasect (ORAS), Tangrowth (ORAS), Sunflora (ORAS), Cherrim (ORAS), Lilligant (ORAS), Maractus (ORAS)
First Pokémon: Treecko via starter
Covers Weaknesses? Yes for Sapphire, Emerald, and AlphaSapphire. In other versions, Ice is not neutralized. 

Ground
Ideal Team: Swampert, Rhydon, Flygon/Garchomp (ORAS), Krookodile (ORAS), Camerupt, Excadrill (ORAS)
Optional: Graveler, Donphan, Claydol, Whiscash/Seismitoad (ORAS)/Gastrodon (ORAS), Dugtrio (ORAS), Groudon (Ruby and OR)
First Pokémon: Mudkip via starter
Covers Weaknesses? Yes

Ice
Ideal Team: Walrein, Glalie, Glaceon (ORAS), Beartic (ORAS), Dewgong (ORAS), Delibird (ORAS)
First Pokémon: Snorunt via Shoal Cave, before 7th gym
Covers Weaknesses? No, Rock is not neutralized and Ruby, Sapphire, and Emerald are additionally weak to Fighting.

Normal
Ideal Team: Slaking, Swellow, Girafarig, Exploud, Wigglytuff, Dodrio
Optional: Linoone, Kecleon, Zangoose (R, OR), Sawsbuck (ORAS), Porygon (ORAS), Delcatty, Spinda, Stoutland (ORAS), Chatot (ORAS), Unfezant (ORAS), Bouffalant (ORAS), Raticate (ORAS), Ambipom (ORAS), Pidgeot (ORAS), Lopunny (ORAS), Braviary (ORAS), Purugly (ORAS), Cinccino (ORAS), Audino (ORAS), Ditto (ORAS), Persian (ORAS), Stantler (ORAS)
First Pokémon: Zigzagoon in Route 101
Covers Weaknesses? Yes

Poison
Ideal Team: Dustox/Beedril (ORAS)/Venomoth (ORAS), Crobat, Tentacruel, Vileplume, Dragalge (OR), Drapion (ORAS)
Optional: Seviper (S, E, AS), Swalot, Roselia (R, S, ORAS), Muk, Weezing, Garbodor (ORAS)
First Pokémon: Wurmple via Route 101
Covers Weaknesses? Yes except for Ruby, Sapphire, and Emerald where Psychic is not neutralized.

Psychic
Ideal Team: Gardevoir, Medicham (R,S,ORAS)/Gallade (ORAS), Girafarig, Xatu, Claydol, Slowbro (ORAS)/Starmie
Optional: Lunatone (S, AS)/Solrock (R, E, OR), Lati@s (ORAS), Grumpig, Espeon (ORAS), Bronzong (ORAS), Gothitelle (ORAS), Hypno (ORAS), Beheeyem (ORAS), Musharna (ORAS), Unown (ORAS)
First Pokémon: Ralts via Route 102 before the first gym
Covers Weaknesses? Yes, except Emerald where Dark is not neutralized

Rock
Ideal Team: Rhydon, Aggron, Lunatone (S, AS)/Solrock (R, E, OR), Magcargo, Relicanth, Armaldo/Crustle (ORAS)
Optional: Graveler, Cradily, Boldore (ORAS), Barbaracle (ORAS)
First Pokémon: Geodude and Aron (RSE only) via Granite Cave shortly before the second gym
Covers Weaknesses? Yes

Steel
Ideal Team: Aggron, Skarmory, Magneton/Magnezone, Mawile (R, E, OR)/Klefki (ORAS), Bronzong (ORAS), Excadrill (ORAS)
Optional: Forretress (ORAS), Klinklank (ORAS),
First Pokémon: In RSE, Aron via Granite Cave shortly before the second gym.  However, in ORAS, the second floor basement is blocked off and you need a Mach Bike to access it.  As such Aron is acquired after the second gym (as well as Mawile in OR).  The earliest Steel Pokemon you can catch in ORAS is a Magnemite via Horde Encounter on Route 110, also after the second gym.
Covers Weaknesses? Yes 

Water
Ideal Team: Swampert, Gyarados, Ludicolo (S, E, AS)/Lanturn, Tentacruel, Sharpedo/Crawdaunt, Slowbro (ORAS)/Starmie
Optional: Pelipper, Azumaril, Milotic, Whiscash, Relicanth, Walrein, Wailord, Vaporeon (ORAS), Jellicent (ORAS), Seismitoad (ORAS), Gastrodon (ORAS), Kingler (ORAS), Clawitzer (AS), Lumineon (ORAS), Alomomola (ORAS), Dewgong (ORAS), Barbaracle (ORAS), Kyogre (Sapphire and AS)
First Pokémon: Mudkip via starter
Covers Weaknesses? Yes

Best Monotype Runs in Pokemon Red, Blue, Yellow, FireRed, and LeafGreen

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With the quasi-remake of Pokémon Red, Blue, and Yellow, “Pokémon Let’s Go!,” coming out this year I thought it would be a perfect opportunity to write another  Monotype Run article.  As mentioned before, a Monotype (or Single Type) Run in Pokémon is a playthrough where you only train a certain Pokémon type.  And boy howdy the Kanto games are probably the most difficult and/or frustrating games in the main series for a Monotype Run.  A low diversity and a low amount of available Pokémon make some types almost unplayable.  But there’s still some good ones out there so let’s take a look!

Rules

  1.   You can only catch and train Pokémon of a certain type.  Once you capture your first Pokemon of that type, disregard any previous Pokemon on your team.
  2.   If a Pokémon evolves to said type you may train it but evolve it ASAP.
  3.   No out-of-game trading allowed
  4.   Only Pokémon caught before the Elite Four are counted.

Monotype Chart Version 2.03

Best Types

143

The Normal type had its heyday in Generation 1.  Iconic Pokémon like Snorlax, Jigglypuff, and Tauros are all found in these games.  Of course, you have Normal Pokémon available immediately at Route 1 like Rattata and Pidgey so right away you have yourself a team (good luck with Brock, though!).  What’s more, you have a plethora of Flying/Normal Pokémon like Pidgeot, Dodrio, and Spearow that can protect you from fighters.  Normal Pokémon can also learn a diverse array of special moves so you can teach them the likes of Surf, Ice Beam, and Thunderbolt to take down any foe that stands in your way.

From Normal, we quickly fall into a range of types that range from pretty decent to meh.  There are tons of Water, Flying, and Poison Pokémon with great move diversity but watch out for their weaknesses.  Zapdos makes an Electric type run interesting but be prepared for low movepool diversity.  If you’re patient, you can catch a Geodude at Mount Moon and do a Rock type run.  The Rock type actually has all its weaknesses covered thanks to the fossil Pokémon but you won’t be playing with a full unique team.  And speaking of Geodude, a Ground type run would be another decent run thanks to the Nidorans being available fairly early on (just watch out for Water moves!).

Worst Types

Pic from Bulbapedia

It may not be a shock to you but Dragon, Ghost, and Ice types are just a generally bad idea all together.  There’s only one Ghost and Dragon family and they’re available mid and late game respectively (plus you would only be dealing with a Haunter if you didn’t trade).  Ice types are a little better as there are some decent Ice Pokémon but they’re available at best mid-game.  And God forbid you decide to do a Steel or Dark type run for FireRed and LeafGreen.  The only Steel type would be the Magnemite line (catchable after you can surf) and Gamefreak decided, for some reason, you couldn’t evolve an Eevee into an Umbreon so there’s no way you can catch and train a Dark type at all.

Type Teams

Bug
Ideal Team: Parasect, Venomoth, Scyther (Red, FireRed, Yellow)/Pinsir (Blue, Leafgreen, Yellow), Butterfree, Beedrill (all versions except Yellow)
First Pokémon: Caterpie and/or Weedle (except Yellow) via Viridian Forest.
Cover weaknesses?  No, Flying, Fire, and Rock not neutralized. 

Dark
lol

Dragon
Ideal Team: Dragonite
First Pokémon: Dratini via Safari Zone
Covers weaknesses?  No, Ice and Dragon not covered 

Electric
Ideal Team: Raichu/Pikachu, Electrode, Electabuzz (Red, FireRed), Magneton, Jolteon, Zapdos
First Pokémon: Pikachu in Viridian Forest or Pikachu as a starter in Yellow
Covers weaknesses?  Yes

Fighting
Ideal Team: Machoke, Hitmonlee/Hitmonchan, Primeape (all versions except Blue), Poliwrath
First Pokémon: In Yellow, FireRed and LeafGreen it’s Mankey on Route 3 before the first gym.  In Red, it’s Mankey via Route 5, after the second gym.  In Blue, it’s Machop in the Rock Tunnel after the second gym.
Covers weaknesses? No, Flying or Psychic not neutralized. 

Fire
Ideal Team: Charizard, Arcanine (Red, FireRed, Yellow)/Ninetales (Blue, LeafGreen, Yellow), Magmar (Blue, LeafGreen), Flareon, Rapidash, Moltres
First Pokémon: Charmander via starter or via Route 24 after Mt. Moon in Yellow.
Covers weaknesses? No, Rock or Water not neutralized. 

Flying
Ideal Team: Charizard, Dragonite, Aerodactyl, Gyarados, Zapdos, Articuno
Optional: Pidgeot, Fearow, Dodrio, Scyther (Red, FireRed, Yellow), Moltres, Butterfree, Golbat, Farfetch’d
First Pokémon: Charmander via starter or Pidgey (Yellow) via Route 1.
Covers weaknesses? No, Rock is not covered.

Ghost
Ideal Team: Haunter
First Pokémon: Gastly at Lavender Tower
Covers weaknesses? No, Ghost and Dark (and for that matter Psychic and Ground) are not covered

Grass
Ideal Team: Venusaur, Exeggutor, Vileplume (Red, FireRed, Yellow), Victreebel (Blue, LeafGreen, Yellow), Parasect, Tangela
First Pokémon: Bulbasaur via starter or Paras via Mt. Moon in Yellow
Covers weaknesses? No, Flying, Ice, or Fire not neutralized.

Ground
Ideal Team: Nidoking, Nidoqueen, Rhydon, Onix, Dugtrio, Sandslash (Blue, LeafGreen, and Yellow)
Optional: Graveler (or Golem if you can evolve it)
First Pokémon: Nidorans in Route 22 for RBY (pre-First Gym) and Route 3 for FRLG (just after first Gym)
Covers weaknesses? No, Water and Ice are not neutralized.

Ice
Ideal Team: Lapras, Articuno, Dewgong, Jynx (all versions except Yellow), Cloyster (all versions except LeafGreen)
First Pokémon: In every game except LeafGreen, Shellder via the Super Rod (from Route 12 from a fisherman), attainable after you complete Lavender Tower and move the Snorlax.  Shellder can be fished in various areas of Kanto.  In LeafGreen, use the Super Rod to fish a Poliwhirl (found in various areas) and trade it to an NPC in Cerulean City for his Jynx.
Covers weaknesses? No, Rock is not neutralized.

Normal
Ideal Team: Snorlax, Tauros, Clefable, Pidgeot, Chansey, Kangaskhan
Optional: Porygon, Fearow, Dodrio, Raticate, Persian (Blue, FRLG), Farfetch’d, Lickitung, Wigglytuff, Ditto
First Pokémon: Pidgey and Rattata in Route 1
Covers weaknesses? Yes!

Poison
Ideal Team: Venomoth, Golbat, Venusaur, Nidoking, Nidoqueen, Tentacruel
Optional: Vileplume (Red, FireRed, Yellow), Victreebel (Blue, LeafGreen, Yellow), Haunter, Weezing (all versions except Yellow), Arbok (Red, FireRed), Muk
First Pokémon: Bulbasaur via starter or Nidorans via Route 22 in Yellow
Covers weaknesses? No, Psychic not neutralized.

Psychic
Ideal Team: Hypno, Mr. Mime, Exeggutor, Jynx (all versions except Yellow), Starmie (all versions except FireRed), Slowbro (all versions except FireRed)
Optional: Kadabra
First Pokémon: Abra via Route 24 after Mount Moon for all versions except Pokemon Yellow, just before the second gym; in Pokemon Yellow you catch Abra in Route 5 after the second gym.
Covers weaknesses? No, Bug and Ghost are not neutralized.

Rock
Ideal Team: Graveler, Rhydon, Onix, Aerodactyl, Omastar/Kabutops
First Pokémon: Geodude at Mount Moon
Covers weaknesses? Surprisingly, yes.

Steel
Ideal Team: Magneton
First Pokémon: Magnemite via Power Plant through surfing (need the Soul Badge)
Covers weaknesses? No, Ground, Fighting, and Fire not neutralized.

Water
Ideal Team: Blastoise, Slowbro (all versions except FireRed), Poliwrath, Lapras, Tentacruel, Vaporeon
Optional: Starmie (all versions except FireRed), Gyrados, Omastar/Kabutops, Cloyster (all versions except LeafGreen), Dewgong, Golduck (all versions except LeafGreen), Kingler, Seadra, Seaking
First Pokémon: Squirtle via starter or Magikarp via the Pokecenter just before Mt. Moon in Yellow
Covers weaknesses? No, Electric is not neutralized.

 

The Best Pokemon Games for a Poison-Type Run

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Update 1/14/2020: This article now includes Sword and Shield

If you’re looking for a fun, and rather different, Single Type (or Monotype) run in Pokémon I would suggest the Poison Type. This is one of the few types that make a feasible run in Generation 1 due to their extraordinarily high abundance and diversity. Ever since then, these toxic monsters litter the games and make a wonderful monotype run in every generation with the exception of Black/White and its sequels. For this article, we will look at the best games for a Poison Run and the most common and/or useful poison type Pokémon you’ll run into during your playthroughs (along with some helpful moves to look out for).

As usual, the rules are as stated. You must catch the first Pokémon of that type ASAP and disregard all other types. A Pokémon that evolves into your type may be trained as long as you evolve it ASAP. Only Pokémon you can catch in your game are counted (i.e., no traded Pokémon). And only pre-Elite Four Pokémon are counted for the run.

Monotype Chart Version 2.03

The Worst Games

Just avoid Black and White. You can train only three unique Pokemon (Scolipede, Garbodor, and Amoongus), which all have subpar typing.  And the first Poison type you catch is after the second gym.  No thanks!  At least its sequels are much better for Poison.

The Best Games

Honestly, pick virtually any other game in the series and you’ll have a fun time. If you want more information, consult my type chart as seen here. Now, you’re going to watch out for Psychics, especially in early games, as Poison/Dark Pokemon are uncommon and unfortunately there’s no Poison/Steel or Poison/Psychic yet.

Nostalgia paints a rosy picture for all of us so take this for what you will but one of the best Poison-Type games would be Red, Blue, and Yellow. You can get a Bulbasaur as a starter (or get it later in Yellow), catch a Weedle in the forest and from there, pick up the Nidorans, catch a Zubat in Cerulean Cave, pick up a Bellsprout or Oddish if you’re feeling it, and then find a Gastly/Haunter in the Lavender Tower. Later on, you can find your Tentacool in the seas, Venonat in the Safari, and finally catch a Muk or Koffing in the Cinnabar Mansion. Lots of good choices!

But what if you hate Psychics and realllly want to defend yourself?

Generation 6, 7, and 8 are fantastic but the best games are Pokemon XY.  All these games have diversity and coverage necessary to block attacking types and give you great type coverage.  Sword and Shield have the wonderful Wild Area to give you a plethora of Poison Pokemon, while Sun and Moon can give you Alolan Muk (’nuff said).  XY though are the best as they have the highest diversity of Poison Pokemon in any game and the Pokemon they have are amazing!

I think if I had to choose I would go for Pokémon Y as you can catch a Skrelp and evolve it into a Dragalge! I love this Pokémon but it’s unfortunately rare. You can also get a Bulbasaur (with a mega bonus too!), Venipede, Croagunk, and Zubat fairly early on so that already gives you a good wide base of moves and abilities. Later on you can catch a Nidoran, Stunky, and Tentacool which further expands your movesets. Drapion fans are in luck as Skorupi is catchable with the setback that you won’t find one until late in the game. I’m not even counting other Poison Pokémon as well! So you got a lot of great choices going into it.

Poison Teams in Pokemon Games

Pokemon RBY and FRLG
Ideal Team: Venomoth, Golbat, Venusaur, Nidoking, Nidoqueen, Tentacruel
Optional: Vileplume (Red, FireRed, Yellow), Victreebel (Blue, LeafGreen, Yellow), Haunter, Weezing (all versions except Yellow), Arbok (Red, FireRed)
First available Pokémon: Bulbasaur via starter or Nidorans via Route 22 in Yellow
Covers weaknesses? No, Psychic not neutralized.

Pokemon GSC and HGSS
Ideal Team: Haunter, Venomoth, Tentacruel, Victreebel/Vileplume, Crobat, Nidoking/Nidoqueen
Optional: Muk, Weezing, Arbok, Ariados (G, C, HG), Beedril (S, C, SS)
First Pokémon: Weedle (S, C, SS) or Spinarak (G, C, HG) in Route 30.
Via Pokewalker Grimer and Koffing (Town Outskirts at 1500+ steps), Tentacool (Blue Lake at 0+ steps), Gastly (Dim Cave at 1000+ steps), Zubat (Dim Cave at 0+ steps), Venonat (Noisy Forest at 700+ steps), Oddish (Noisy Forest at 0+ steps), Bellsprout (Noisy Forest at 3000+ steps) and the Nidorans (Refreshing Field in 500+ steps) are available.
Covers Weaknesses? No, Psychic is not neutralized.

Pokemon RSE and ORAS
Ideal Team: Dustox/Beedril (ORAS)/Venomoth (ORAS), Crobat, Tentacruel, Vileplume, Dragalge (OR), Drapion (ORAS)
Optional: Seviper (S, E, AS), Swalot, Roselia (R, S, ORAS), Muk, Weezing, Garbodor (ORAS)
First Pokémon: Wurmple via Route 101
Covers Weaknesses? Yes except for Ruby, Sapphire, and Emerald where Psychic is not neutralized.

Pokemon DPP
Ideal Team: Roserade, Crobat, Drapion, Toxicroak, Tentacruel, Dustox
Optional: Haunter, Stuntank (Diamond)
First Pokémon: Zubat via Route 203 and 204 and Budew via Route 204 both of which can be caught before the first gym
Covers Weaknesses? Yes

Pokemon BW and B2W2
BW Ideal Team: Scolipede, Garbodor, Amoongus
First Pokémon: Venipede via Pinwheel Forest after second gym
Cover weaknesses?  No, Psychic is not neutralized.

B2W2 Ideal Team: Scolipede, Weezing, Muk, Crobat, Drapion, Roserade
Optional: Amoongus, Seviper, Garbodor
First Pokémon: Venipede via Route 20 in dark grass after the first gym
Cover weaknesses? Yes

Pokemon XY
Ideal Team: Venusaur, Nidoking/Nidoqueen, Drapion/Skuntank, Scolipede, Toxicroak, Dragalge (Y)/Tentacruel
Optional: Beedrill, Roserade, Vileplume, Swalot, Crobat, Seviper, Haunter, Arbok, Amoonguss, Garbodor, Ariados, Qwilfish
First Pokémon: Weedle via Route 2 in X or Santalune Forest in Y.  Both before the first gym
Weaknesses Covered? Yes

Pokemon SM and USUM
SM Ideal Team: Muk, Crobat, Tentacruel/Toxapex, Gengar (S.O.S. by Haunter in Thrifty Megamark after the Ula’ula Trials), Roserade (scan), Scolipede (scan)
Optional: Victreebel (scan), Ariados, Garbodor, Salazzle
First Pokémon: Spinarak via Route 1
Cover weaknesses? Yes

USUM Ideal Team: Muk, Dragalge (UM)/Salazzle, Crobat, Tentacruel/Toxapex, Gengar (S.O.S. by Haunter in Thrifty Megamark after the Ula’ula Trials), Venusaur (scan)
Optional: Garbodor, Arbok, Salazzle, Ariados, Beedril (scan)
First Pokémon: Spinarak via Route 1
Cover weaknesses? Yes

Pokemon SWSH
Ideal Team: Drapion, Roserade, Toxapex, Weezing, Toxicroak (Shield)/Toxtricity, Gengar
Optional: Vileplume, Skuntank, Garbodor, Salazzle (Shield), Qwilfish, Toxtricity, Eternatus
First Pokémon:  You can always find Stunky in random encounters at North Lake Miloch.  Keep an eye out for Oddish, Gastly, Budew, and Roselia as they can be found throughout the Wild Area.  Finally, Den 29/86 at East Lake Axewell will always spawn Poison Pokemon for Max Raid Battles.
Weaknesses Covered? Yes, and it’s taken care of before the first gym!

MVP (Most Valuable Pokémon)

Crobat Line

Considered one of the most pestilent, annoying Pokémon, Zubat, and its evolutions, can be found in almost every single game naturally except BW and SWSH. There’s a reason many players dread going into the caves! But to the Poison Type fan, Zubat is a blessing. Not only are they usually found early on but they offer a valuable immunity to Poison’s hated Ground weakness. Zubat’s final evolution, Crobat, is also a solid Pokémon to train. Incredible speed and a wide range of support moves makes Crobat a great partner when tackling your respective region. Oh, and Crobat has the highest stats of any non-Mega, non-Legendary Poison Pokémon. That’s pretty awesome! Plus, Crobat gets a subjective boost as you need to love and support your bat to be its very best! Love it.

Available in: RBY and FRLG (Golbat), GSC and HGSS, RSE and ORAS, DPP, B2W2, XY, SM and USUM

Tentacruel

Similar to the ubiquitous Zubat, you can find Tentacool in almost every game. Unlike Zubat though, Tentacool does not neutralize any weaknesses but the trade-off is pretty great. Tentracruel is a great wall that has decent special attack. Teaching Tentacruel Surf and Ice Beam is a smart way to handle Ground types (and Giga Drain as well in some games!). Tentacruel also learns Toxic Spikes which really hones in that Poison mentality.

Available in: RBY and FRLG, GSC and HGSS, RSE and ORAS, DPP, XY, SM and USUM

Poison/Grass Pokemon

Unfortunately from here, Poison Pokémon are more scattered throughout the games so any I list from now on must be taken with exceptions. That being said, these four itchy and allergenic Pokémon you will more than likely find on your journey. Grass/Poison Pokémon serves as a decent wall for different types and offers a nice neutralization towards Ground moves. Poison status and Leech Seed/Drain moves can make short work of walls while gaining you a nifty HP boost in return. Venusaur is obviously the top choice here as it’s the strongest of the four and, if you’re playing in later generations, can go Mega. That being said, if you want to venom-up your creepy Poison team, I would get a Victreebel ASAP!

Available in: Every game

Poison/Dark Pokemon

One of the best type combos in the games, Poison/Dark is a fantastic combination for Poison Pokemon as that Dark type makes them immune (!) to Psychic attacks!  But the other reason why they’re here on our list is their prevalence.  Drapion, Skuntank, and Alolan Muk are catchable in every game starting from Pokemon Diamond and Pearl onwards with the exception being Pokemon Black and White.  These three can also fight your enemies well.  For instance, Alolan Muk can learn Rock Slide and Flamethrower, Drapion can learn Fire Fang, Aerial Ace, Iron Tail, and Rock Slide, and Skuntank can learn Iron Tail and Flamethrower.

Disadvantages?  Hm, well, they sometimes show up late in the games.  Um, Muk and Drapion’s move diversity is good…but Skuntank’s is okay.  They also have a…Ground weakness…?  But it’s just the one so just…not fight against a Steelix?  These Pokemon are also strong (Muk and Drapion have 500 Total Base Stats while Skuntank has 479) but nothing to write home about.  Really, the only major qualm I have is they don’t show up in earlier games.  At least you can train an Alolan Muk in Let’s Go Pikachu!

Available in: DPP (Skuntank in Diamond and Drapion for all), B2W2 (Drapion), XY (Drapion and Skuntank), ORAS (Drapion), SM and USUM (Muk), SWSH (Drapion and Skuntank)

Nidoking/Nidoqueen

As much as I love the Nidorans, they are unfortunately not that common in the main games; Kanto, Johto, and Kalos are pretty much the main regions you can catch them. That being said, they are great for their nice stats, lovely designs, and a STAB Earthquake bonus. The Nidorans also learn a bunch of moves through TMs like Thunderbolt, Flamethrower, Ice Beam, and Surf. Finally, they both learn moves naturally that can combat weaknesses like Nidoking’s Megahorn and Nidoqueen’s Crunch (but only for Generation 3 and on).

Available in: RBY and FRLG, GSC and HGSS, XY

Scolipede (and other Bug/Poison Pokémon)

Bug/Poison Pokémon are honestly a mixed bag. On the one hand, they’re (usually) available early on, they neutralize Ground weakness and have a STAB, super effective move against Psychics. On the other hand, their stats range from average to poor and what Bug moves they do learn are usually weak (or in early Generations practically nonexistent). Scolipede is the exception to this rule, although mainly available in Black/White and X/Y, Scolipede is a fast, hard-hitting Bug Pokémon that can learn Megahorn naturally and learn some decent TMs, like Earthquake. If you can’t catch a Venipede but still want a Bug, go for the likes of Venomoth or even Dustox. In later generations, they can learn Giga Drain along with Bug Buzz and the incredible Quiver Dance.

Available in: Every game

gengar

Gengar/Haunter

So I honestly hesitate to put Gengar on here as although it is a strong Pokémon, there’s some unfortunate setbacks. First, trading. If you’re going solo you’re basically stuck with a Haunter. Now if you love Haunter that’s not a big deal! I honestly have taken Haunter to the  Elite Four several times and I love that creepy ghost. So if that doesn’t bother you then good!  Fortunately, in Sun/Moon and USUM you can catch a Gengar in the Thrifty Megamart!! After the Ula’ula Trials, go back to the mart, find a Haunter, and have it call for a Gengar via S.O.S.  It may take a few tries but it’s definitely going to be worth it.  Gengar is amazing.  You can also catch a Gengar in the Wild Areas which is amaaaaaazing.

Second, the game appearances. Gengar has a spotty record of locations as it’s entirely absent from Hoenn and basically nonexistent in Unova. Other than that you’re looking at a Pokémon that surprisingly has some early-in-game locations as seen in Johto, Sinnoh, Alola, and Galar.

There’s also a weird sticking point for its ability. Gastly and Haunter have Levitate which is amazing for those Ground moves. Gengar though lost its Levitate ability in Generation VII so be prepared to suffer a OHKO from an Earthquake attack as Gengar’s defenses are low. However, Gengar is a beast! He can learn an amazing array of moves like Shadow Ball, Psychic, Thunderbolt, Dazzling Beam, Energy Ball, and the list goes on. He’s fast as well and that special defense is pretty good. If you can get your hands on a Gengar you’re going to have a stellar time on your Poison Run!

Available in: RBY and FRLG (Haunter), GSC and HGSS (Haunter), DPP (Haunter), XY (Haunter), SM and USUM (Gengar), SWSH (Gengar)

Best Monotype Runs in Pokemon Gold, Silver, Crystal, HG, and SS

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Update 12/5/2019-This article now contains links to my other Single Type Run articles located at the bottom of this page.  I also added more details on the Pokewalker routes.

Pokémon Gold and Silver remains one of the top rated and favorite games in the Pokémon franchise for fans all around. Their popularity was heavily boosted with Heartgold and Soulsilver which, at the time, modernized the games and brought with it Pokémon that could follow you wherever you go. And now, with the rerelease of Pokémon Gold and Silver on the Virtual Console, I thought it was time to revisit these games but this time ask the crucial question, what are the best types for a Monotype (or Single Type) Run?

The full list of teams are located below but first, let’s set some rules

Rules

  1. Only Pokémon of a certain type may be caught and trained.
  2. You must catch the first Pokémon available of that type if your starter does not match that type (you’ll then have to discard that starter).
  3. You may train a Pokémon that evolves to said type as long as you do it ASAP.
  4. No out-of-game trading allowed.
  5. Only Pokémon caught before Elite Four are counted.

Monotype Chart Version 2.03

Best Types

Image from bulbapedia

Generation 2 has an advantage over its predecessor as it’s building off of most of the original 150 Pokémon with the addition of a 100 new Pokémon that bring more type diversity. As such, there are a lot more fun runs to choose in these games compared to Red, Blue, Yellow, FireRed, and LeafGreen. The best type for a Single Type Run is probably the Water type. A huge diversity of Water Pokémon available throughout the game makes this a fun type to play as there are many different team combinations. Most notably, this generation introduced Quagsire which neutralizes Water’s weakness to Electricity and can be caught after the first gym. The Flying type is probably the second best as you can catch about ten different type combinations and there’s a new catchable, Flying Pokémon after each gym battle. If you have HGSS, evolve that Togepi and get a Togekiss for some sweet elemental attacks!  Other types do very well including Ground, Bug, Normal, Poison, and, if you are generous, Grass, Psychic and Rock. Check out the list of team combinations below.

Worst Types

Image from bulbapedia

The usual suspects for a bad Single Type Run are found here namely Dragon and Ice. Dragon’s especially bad as you can only catch a Dratini after the final gym and you can’t get a Kingdra unless you trade for one. Ice is very funky though as although the weaknesses are neutralized regardless of the game, the first Ice Pokémon you can catch is the Union Cave Lapras after you get the Surf HM (which is activated after the 4th gym). So you’ll be playing awhile without any Ice Pokémon. Ghost is also not that swell as despite Gastly’s pre-first gym availability, the next Ghost Pokémon you can catch is Misdreavus at Mount Silver, so basically at the end of the game!  However, if you’re playing HGSS, you can catch one in the Safari Zone but still…not that good of a team.

Since Gold and Silver introduced Dark and Steel it’s no surprise that there is a rather low and late diversity of them in these games. You have some pretty big handicaps as Steelix and Scizor are basically off the table unless you have a trading partner. Then there’s poor Dark as many of the famous Dark Pokémon (Houndoom, Tyranitar, and Sneasel) are available after you beat the Elite Four.  Although once you finally catch that Murkrow, you won’t have to worry about Fighting and Bug attacks (also you can catch a Larvitar in HGSS via the Safari)!

Pokewalker

Before I list Type Team Combinations, I should talk about the Pokewalker. As mentioned before, HG and SS are basically the same game as Gold and Silver with some tweaks, graphics update, and other gameplay features which doesn’t affect a route’s Pokémon. But the Pokewalker, Arceus bless this device, makes it so you can catch some Pokémon as early as the first route. Sure, you might have to do a lot of walking but it will be worth it! The Pokewalker makes it so you can catch Electric, Steel, Psychic, Fighting, Dark, Ice, and even Dragon Pokémon right from the get-go! All these Pokémon are Pokémon you can still catch before the Elite Four so you won’t change your team diversity but at least you can get them earlier. This means you can do a feasible Ice type Run as you can catch a Shelldar and a Smoochum fairly early on. If you still have your Pokewalker, give HG and SS a go because a lot of types become more fun for a Monotype Run. I’ll make special mention of the types that are affected by the Pokewalker below.

Type Teams

Bug
Ideal Team: Heracross, Venomoth, Shuckle, Parasect, Scyther/Yanmega, Forretress
Optional: Butterfree (G, C, HG), Beedril (S, C, SS), Ledian (S, C, SS), Ariados (G, C, HG)
First Pokémon: Caterpie (G, C, HG)/Weedle (S, C, SS)/Ledyba (S, C, SS)/Spinarak (G, C, HG) in Route 30 before the first gym. Venonat and Paras via Pokewalker in Noisy Forest at 700+ steps.
Covers Weaknesses? Yes

Dark
Ideal Team: Murkrow, Umbreon, Tyranitar (HGSS via Safari)
First Pokémon: Eevee given by Bill in Goldenrod after the third gym or Murkrow via Pokewalker in Suburban Area at 1000+ steps.
Covers Weaknesses? Yes, thanks to Murkrow and Fairy not being introduced yet

Dragon
Ideal Team: Dragonite
First Pokémon: Dratini via Dragon Den after the eighth gym or bought at the Goldenrod Game Corner after the second gym. Via Pokewalker in Blue Lake at 5000+ steps.
Covers Weaknesses? No

Electric
Ideal Team: Raikou, Ampharos (G, S, HG, SS), Magneton, Lanturn, Electrode, Jolteon
First Pokémon: Mareep via Route 32 after first gym (except Crystal which would be Magnemite Route 38 after the second gym).  Via Pokewalker Magnemite (Suburban Area at 1000+ steps), Elekid (Suburban Area at 5000+ steps), and Voltorb (Town Outskirts at 3000+ steps) are available.
Covers Weaknesses? No, Ground is not neutralized.

Fighting
Ideal Team: Primeape (C, G, HG)/Machoke, Poliwrath, Heracross, Hitmontop, Hitmonchan, Hitmonlee
First Pokémon: Heracross via headbutting trees after the second gym, Poliwag in Crystal via Route 30 before the first gym, or Machop via Pokewalker (Rugged Road at 1000+ steps and Dim Cave at 0+ steps).
Covers Weaknesses? Psychic and Flying not neutralized.

Fire
Ideal Team: Typhlosion, Magmar, Ninetales (S, SS)/Arcanine (G, C, HG), Flareon/Magcargo (HGSS), Rapidash, Ho-Oh (G, HG), Entei
First Pokémon: Cyndaquil via starter
Covers Weaknesses? No; Rock, Water, and Ground (besides Ho-Oh) are not covered
Note: In HGSS, you can get a Slugma Egg from Primo in Violet City center.  You’ll need to give him a phrase which is dependent on your Trainer ID which you can receive here.

Flying
Ideal Team: Gyarados, Dragonite, Gligar/Gliscor (G, C, HG)/Skarmory (S, C, SS), Murkrow/Honchkrow, Jumpluff/Togekiss (HGSS), Xatu
Optional: Dodrio, Pidgeot, Spearow, Mantine (G, C, HG), Crobat, Yanma/Yanmega, Scyther, Ledian, Butterfree (G, C, HG), Farfetch’d, Ho-Oh (G, HG), Lugia (S, SS)
First Pokémon: Pidgey and Hoothoot via Route 29 before the first gym.
Via Pokewalker Pidgey (Refreshing Field at 0+ steps), Doduo (Refreshing Field at 2000+ steps), Spearow (Noisy Forest at 0+ steps), Hoothoot (Rugged Field at 0+ steps and Suburban Area at 0+ steps), Murkrow (Suburban Area at 1000+ steps), Zubat (Dim Cave at 0+ steps), and Dratini (Blue Lake at 5000+ steps) are available.
Covers Weaknesses? Yes, regardless of your version

Ghost
Ideal Team: Haunter, Misdreavus (HGSS via Safari Zone)
First Pokémon: Gastly via Sprout Tower (or at night via Route 30 in Crystal) before the first gym; Gastly can also be caught on the Pokewalker in Dim Cave at 1000+ steps.
Covers Weaknesses? No, Ghost and Dark not neutralized

Grass
Ideal Team: Meganium, Jumpluff, Victreebel/Vileplume, Exeggutor, Parasect, Tangela/Tangrowth
First Pokémon: Chikorita via starter
Covers Weaknesses? No, Flying, Ice, and Fire are not neutralized.

Ground
Ideal Team: Quagsire, Dugtrio, Rhydon, Nidoking/Nidoqueen, Mammoswine/Piloswine, Gligar (G, HG)
Optional: Graveler, Onix, Donphan (G, C, HG), Sandslash (G, C, HG or by slotmachines in S and SS)
First Pokémon: Geodude via the southern route of Route 46 before the first gym and in Crystal you can catch a Phanpy and Geodude on Route 46.
Via Pokewalker Geodude (Rugged Road in 0+ steps), Onix (Rugged Road in 4000+ steps or Dim Cave in 1000+ steps), the Nidorans (Refreshing Field in 500+ steps), and Wooper (Beautiful Beach in 0+ steps) are available.
Covers Weaknesses? Regardless of your version, all weaknesses are covered

Ice
Ideal Team: Piloswine/Mammoswine, Lapras, Dewgong, Cloyster, Jynx, Delibird (S, C, SS)
First Pokémon: Lapras in Union Cave after the fourth gym or Smoochum (Dim Cave at 5000+ steps) and Shelldar (Blue Lake at 500+ steps) via Pokewalker
Covers Weaknesses? Surprisingly yes

Normal
Ideal Team: Pidgeot, Clefable (HGSS via Safari)/Wigglytuff, Dodrio/Togekiss (HGSS), Girafarig, Miltank, Tauros
Optional: Stantler, Urasaring (S, C, SS), Fearow, Noctowl, Kangaskhan (HGSS via Pokewalker and Safari Zone), Lickitung/Lickilicki (HGSS), Ambipom (HGSS)/Aipom, Persian, Furret, Raticate, Ditto, Dunsparce, Farfetch’d
First Pokémon: Pidgey, Rattata, Sentret, and Hoothoot via Route 29 before the first gym. Via Pokewalker Pidgey (Refreshing Field at 0+ steps), Doduo (Refreshing Field at 2000+ steps), Spearow (Noisy Forest at 0+ steps), Hoothoot (Rugged Field at 0+ steps and Suburban Area at 0+ steps), Rattata (Suburban Area and Town Outskirts at 0+ steps), Sentret (Refreshing Field at 0+ steps), Furret (Town Outskirts at 0+ steps), and Kangaskhan (Refreshing Field at 3000+ steps) are available.
Covers Weaknesses? Yes

Poison
Ideal Team: Haunter, Venomoth, Tentacruel, Victreebel/Vileplume, Crobat, Nidoking/Nidoqueen
Optional: Muk, Weezing, Arbok, Ariados (G, C, HG), Beedril (S, C, SS)
First Pokémon: Weedle (S, C, SS) or Spinarak (G, C, HG) in Route 30.
Via Pokewalker Grimer and Koffing (Town Outskirts at 1500+ steps), Tentacool (Blue Lake at 0+ steps), Gastly (Dim Cave at 1000+ steps), Zubat (Dim Cave at 0+ steps), Venonat (Noisy Forest at 700+ steps), Oddish (Noisy Forest at 0+ steps), Bellsprout (Noisy Forest at 3000+ steps) and the Nidorans (Refreshing Field in 500+ steps) are available.
Covers Weaknesses? No, Psychic is not neutralized.

Psychic
Ideal Team: Espeon, Exeggutor, Girafarig, Xatu, Jynx, Starmie/Slowbro
Optional: Lugia (S, SS), Kadabra, Hypno, Wobbufett, Mr. Mime (HGSS via Safari), Unown
First Pokémon: Unown at the Ruins of Alph before the first gym; after Unown you can get a Slowpoke at the Slowpoke well before the second gym.
Via Pokewalker Abra (Town Outskirts at 5000+ steps), Wobbufett (Noisy Forest at 4000+ steps), Slowpoke (Beautiful Beach at 1000+ steps), Smoochum (Dim Cave at 5000+ steps), and Staryu (Beautiful Beach at 5000+ steps) are available.
Covers Weaknesses? No, Dark is not neutralized

Rock
Ideal Team: Tyranitar (HGSS via Safari), Rhydon, Shuckle, Sudowoodo, Corsola, Magcargo (HGSS)
Optional: Graveler, Onix
First Pokémon: Geodude via southern portion of Route 46 before the first gym; via Pokewalker Geodude (Rugged Road in 0+ steps) and Onix (Rugged Road in 4000+ steps or Dim Cave in 1000+ steps) are available.
Covers Weaknesses? Yes
Note: In HGSS, you can get a Slugma Egg from Primo in Violet City center.  You’ll need to give him a phrase which is dependent on your Trainer ID which you can receive here.

Steel
Ideal Team: Magneton, Forretress, Skarmory (S, C, SS)
First Pokémon: Pineco via headbutting trees after the second gym or Magnemite in Suburban Area at 1000+ steps via Pokewalker.
Covers Weaknesses? No, Fire is not neutralized

Water
Ideal Team: Feraligatr, Gyarados, Quagsire, Slowbro/Starmie, Tentacruel, Lanturn
Optional: Lapras/Dewgong/Cloyster, Vaporeon, Seaking, Golduck, Azumarill, Kingler, Corsola, Poliwrath, Octillery (S, G, HG, SS), Mantine (G, C, HG), Suicune
First Pokémon: Totodile via starter
Covers Weaknesses? Yes

Other Pokemon Games
Red/Blue/Yellow
Gold/Silver/Crystal
Ruby/Sapphire/Emerald
FireRed/LeafGreen
Diamond/Pearl/Platinum
HeartGold/SoulSilver
Black/White/Black2/White2
X/Y
OmegaRuby/AlphaSapphire
Sun/Moon
Ultra Sun/Ultra Moon
Pokemon Let’s Go Pikachu and Eevee
Sword/Shield

Types
Bug
Dark
Dragon
Electric
Fairy
Fighting
Fire
Flying
Ghost
Grass
Ground
Ice
Normal
Poison
Psychic
Rock
Steel
Water

Best Monotype Runs in Sun and Moon and USUM

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June 1st, 2019 Update: This article has been updated to include a Monotype Run for Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon. Since the games are very similar I didn’t think it was worth it to make an entirely new article altogether. When looking at the Type Teams look out for the USUM symbols for Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon.
There were also minor corrections on which Pokemon could be caught, I had to remove Heracross, for instance, as it couldn’t be caught until after the Elite Four.
Enjoy!

When Pokémon Sun and Moon was released I wanted to do another Monotype (or Single Type) Run analysis on these games similar to my earlier article on previous generations. The purpose of this project was to determine which types were the best for a Monotype Run in Pokémon Sun and Moon? With just two games to tackle, this question is easier to answer than before however, I had to change my setup as Trials and Kahunas were added and Gym Leaders were removed. I had to tackle this problem a little differently but I think I succeeded. If you want to find out what a team of Bug or Psychic Pokémon would be like in Pokémon Sun, Moon, or USUM just scroll down past these next few paragraphs and find that type.

Image from pokemon.com

RULES: As in my last article, a Monotype Run assumes you don’t trade (so no Golem or Alakazam for instance) to yourself on Pokémon Bank or to other players. If you’re doing a run like Electric, you must capture the first available Electric Pokémon (Pichu) and box your starter. You may capture a Pokémon that will evolve into a certain type (like Pichu for a Psychic-type run) but you must evolve it asap. Only Pokémon that can be caught before the Elite Four are counted (so no Lucario).

So overall, how did Sun and Moon do compared to earlier games? Unfortunately, although Sun/Moon provides players with a diverse set of Pokémon fairly early on, these games are worse at covering weaknesses than XY (but roughly the same as ORAS). XY scored 32 out of 36 (18 types times two games) for neutralizing cover as opposed to SM’s 25 out of 36. Mind you, this is still pretty good when compared to other generation-premiere games as the next best is Ruby/Sapphire with a score of 16 out of 34.
Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon fared better with its increase of 101 Pokemon in the games. They score 31 out of 36 with Pokemon type coverage. Read a few paragraphs below for more information.

Monotype Chart Version 2.03

What are great types for Pokemon Sun and Moon?

image from bulbagarden.net

image from bulbagarden.net

Right off the bat, the two types that are wonderful are Fairy and Ghost. This is the first time we have starters that evolve into these types. This combined with their neutral coverage makes them great types for a Monotype Run. This is one of the few times a Ghost-type run has neutral coverage so I urge you to try it out here. Also, you can catch a plethora of Ghost Pokémon on the first island including Drifloon, Gastly, Misdreavus, and Sableye; great Pokémon that will go far with you (this is also one of the few games where you can catch a Gengar in the wild!  No trading neaded!). Fairy types received a nice, mix bag of Pokémon such as Klefki’s weakness neutralization and Primarina and Mimikyu serving as back up. You can also get a Gardevoir via Island Scan in USUM.

I would argue that Sun and Moon are one of the best Pokémon games for an Ice-type run. You can get a Crabrawler somewhat early and from there you can get a Delibird, Shellder, and Smoochum (just USUM) and then an Eevee on Aklala Island. The biggest thing to consider is your Sandslash and Ninetales exclusives. Both of which neutralize certain weaknesses (Rock, Steel and Fighting respectively) but other Pokémon can cover them so it’s not a do-or-die situation. Also, this is one of the few games where you can do an Ice team with the Snow Warning ability. Catch and train a Vanillish and evolve it into a Vanilluxe for that sweet Hailstorm, your Froslass and other pokemon will benefit HUGELY from it. However, the biggest drawback of your Ice team is many of your powerhouses won’t be available until RIGHT before the Elite Four so that’s too bad.

I need to mention Fire type as well but only for Sun and Ultra Sun. There’s been only one game in the history of Pokémon where Fire’s weaknesses are neutralized and that’s Pokémon Black. Sun and US offers a second chance at a fun Fire-type run thanks primarily to the Sun-exclusive Turtonator. If you’re up for it, catch a Torkoal as well because starting this generation it can learn the ability Drought! Which is fantastic when you want to stop those water types! It will still be a difficult run but fun nonetheless. Look out for Charizard, btw, for Island Scan in USUM.

Electric, usually an okay type for a Monotype Run, is blessed with neutral coverage AND an early-available Pokémon via Pichu. Both of these things do not happen often for Electric, much less when they are together. If you’ve been holding out for a good Electric-type game, now’s the chance to try it out with such picks as Magnezone, Vikavolt, and the Alolan variants of Graveler and Raichu.

Finally, we have our usual types that do well for a Monotype Run such as Water, Normal, Steel and so forth. In particular, Water is probably the best type in Pokemon Sun and Moon for a Monotype Run. A huge diversity combined with a great starter makes Water Type stand above the rest. From Gyarados to Aquachnid, from Slowbro to Gastrodon, Sun and Moon gave us a type that can fill many rolls (special defense, physical attacker, status inflictor) and is there with us from the beginning. Pelipper also has the ability Drizzle in this generation which means you can run a Rain team which is quite rare! If you do that, keep an eye out with pokemon with abilities that use the rain. Oh, and pick up an Empoleon via Island Scan in USUM, lord knows how rare this penguin is so catch it if you’re doing a Water or Steel Type run!

What are poor types in Sun and Moon?

image from bulbagarden.net

As expected, some types took a hit and aren’t as efficient in a Monotype Run as in previous games. For instance, it takes a looooong time before you get a Rock Pokémon so that’s a big disadvantage. Bug’s probably the biggest loser here though as it’s great recent record has finally been broken with glaring weaknesses to Rock attacks. This isn’t to say that a Bug-type run is bad as you still get a lot of new and interesting Pokémon to work with such as Golisopod or Vikavolt, but you’ll have to work hard to make sure you aren’t being torn apart by hikers.

Fighting type also took a hit due to FINALLY losing a starter that gains it as a secondary type. It takes awhile before you catch your first Fighting Pokémon (Crabrawler) and your team will have to watch out for Flying Pokémon (usually, a Lucario would watch your back in previous games but not this time around, they’re available after the Elite Four).

What about USUM?
The increase in type variability lifts Bug type out of the slums and makes it a fantastic type again to train, so hooray! Volcarona and Forretress add some great resistances while providing some stellar support and attacking moves. With them plus Vikavolt, Golisopod and Armaldo (US only), this is probably the best Bug team out of all the games, enjoy it! Your other big winner is Psychic Type as it’s Dark weakness is neutralized. Gallade, Gardevoir, AND Malamar all came to the rescue to stop Dark moves!

Types

Bug
SM Ideal Team: Vikavolt, Golisopod/Aquachnid, Scolipede (scan), Masquerain, Romblebee
Optional: Parasect, Butterfree, Ledian
First Pokémon: Caterpie, Ledyba, Grubbin, and Spinarak via Route 1
Cover weaknesses? No, Rock is not neutralized in Sun and Moon

USUM Ideal Team: Vikavolt, Golisopod/Aquachnid, Volcarona, Forretress, Armaldo (US)/Masquerain, Romblebee
Optional: Parasect, Butterfree, Ledian, Ariados, Beedril (scan)
First Pokémon: Caterpie, Ledyba, Grubbin, and Spinarak via Route 1
Cover weaknesses? Yes, every type is taken care of

Dark
SM Ideal Team: Incineroar, Honchkrow, Muk, Pangoro, Hydregion (scan), Sabeleye
Optional: Krookodile, Absol, Weavile, Raticate, Sharpedo, Mandibuzz (Moon), Umbreon, Persian
First Pokémon: Litten via Starter
Cover weaknesses? Yes

USUM Ideal Team: Incineroar, Malamar, Bisharp, Honchkrow, Muk, Pangoro
Optional: Krookodile, Absol, Weavile, Raticate, Sharpedo/Crawdaunt/Greninja (scan), Tyranitar, Scrafty, Sabeleye, Mandibuzz (UM), Umbreon, Houndoom (US), Persian
First Pokémon: Litten via Starter
Cover weaknesses? Yes

Dragon
SM Ideal Team: Komomo-o, Garchomp, Exeggutor, Drampa (Moon)/Turtonator (Sun), Salamence, Hydreigon (scan)
Optional: Flygon, Haxorus (scan), Goodra
First Pokémon: Bagon via Route 3 (south of the bridge), shortly before the Melemele Grand Trial
Cover weaknesses? Pokemon Sun is weak to just Dragon moves. Pokemon Moon is weak to Dragon, Ice, and Fairy moves.

USUM Ideal Team: Tyrantrum (US)/Dragalge (UM), Komomo-o, Garchomp, Exeggutor, Drampa (UM)/Turtonator (US), Salamence/Noivern
Optional: Flygon, Haxorus (scan), Goodra
First Pokémon: Noibat in Verdant Cavern after the first trial is completed.
Cover weaknesses? Pokemon Ultra Sun is weak to just Dragon moves.  Pokemon Ultra Moon is weak to Dragon and Ice moves.

Electric
SM Ideal Team: Vikavolt, Golem, Magnezone, Raichu, Oricorio, Electabuzz
Optional: Togedemaru, Jolteon, Lanturn
First Pokémon: Pichu and Grubbin via Route 1
Cover weaknesses? Yes
Note: You can get an Alolan Golem via in-game trade at the Tapu Village Pokemon Center, you will need a Haunter.

USUM Ideal Team: Vikavolt, Graveler, Magnezone, Raichu, Oricorio, Electabuzz
Optional: Togedemaru, Jolteon, Lanturn, Ampharos, Manectric Dedenne
First Pokémon: Pichu and Grubbin via Route 1
Cover weaknesses? Yes

Fairy
SM Ideal Team: Primarina, Klefki, Mimikyu, Wigglytuff, Whimsicott (Sun)/Shiinotic, Sylveon
Optional: Granbul, Ninetales (Sun), Carbink, Ribombee, Azumaril (scan)
First Pokémon: Popplio via Starter
Cover weaknesses? Yes

USUM Ideal Team: Primarina, Klefki/Mawile, Mimikyu, Wigglytuff, Whimsicott (US)/Shiinotic, Gardevoir (scan)
Optional: Sylveon, Granbul, Ninetales (US), Carbink, Ribombee, Florges, Dedenne, Mr. Mime
First Pokémon: Popplio via Starter
Cover weaknesses? Yes

Fighting
SM Ideal Team: Crabominable, Emboar (scan), Poliwrath, Bewear, Kommo-o, Pangoro
Optional: Primeape, Passimian (Sun), Hariyama, Machoke
First Pokémon: Crabrawler and Makuhita via Route 2, just before the first trial
Cover weaknesses? No, Flying is not neutralized

USUM Ideal Team: Crabominable, Blaziken (scan), Poliwrath, Bewear, Kommo-o, Pangoro
Optional: Primeape, Passimian (US), Hariyama, Scrafty, Hawlucha, Gallade (scan), Infernape (scan), Chesnaught (scan), Machoke
First Pokémon: Crabrawler and Makuhita via Route 2, just before the first trial
Cover weaknesses? No, Flying is not neutralized

Fire
SM Ideal Team: Incineroar, Arcanine/Turtonator (Sun), Talonflame, Torkoal, Marowak, Emboar (scan)
Optional: Flareon, Chandelure (scan), Salazzle, Magmar, Typhlosion (scan), Oricorio
First Pokémon: Litten via Starter
Cover weaknesses? Only in Sun thanks to Turtonator. In Moon, Water is not neutralized. However, you can cut back on Water’s strength if you train a Torkoal which now can learn the ability Drought.

USUM Ideal Team: Incineroar, Arcanine/Turtonator (US), Charizard (scan), Torkoal, Marowak, Blaziken (scan)
Optional: Flareon, Chandelure (scan), Pyroar, Talonflame, Infernape (scan), Delphox (scan), Salazzle, Volcarona, Magmar, Houndoom (US), Oricorio
First Pokémon: Litten via Starter
Cover weaknesses? Only in Ultra Sun thanks to Turtonator. In Ultra Moon, Water is not neutralized. However, you can cut back on Water’s strength if you train a Torkoal which now can learn the ability Drought.

Flying
SM Ideal Team: Toucannon, Gyarados, Drifblim, Aerodactyl, Salamence, Skarmory
Optional: Braviary (Sun)/Mandibuzz (Moon), Crobat, Talonflame, Masquerain, Honchkrow, Minior, Fearow, Staraptor (scan), Oricorio (4 forms), Dartrix
First Pokémon: Rowlett via Starter
Cover weaknesses? Yes

USUM Ideal Team: Toucannon, Gyarados, Charizard (scan), Aerodactyl, Salamence, Skarmory
Optional: Braviary (US)/Mandibuzz (UM), Crobat, Talonflame, Masquerain, Honchkrow, Minior, Xatu, Tropius, Hawlucha, Noivern, Pidgeot, Fearow, Noctowl, Drifblim, Oricorio (4 forms), Dartrix
First Pokémon: Rowlett via Starter
Cover weaknesses? Yes

Ghost
SM Ideal Team: Decidueye, Sableye, Palossand, Aegislash(scan), Gengar (S.O.S. by Haunter in Thrifty Megamark after the Ula’ula Trials), Mimikyu
Optional: Trevanant, Dhelmise, Froslass, Drifblim, Chandelure (scan), Mismagius, Alolan Marowak, Oricorio
First Pokémon: Rowlett via Starter
Cover weaknesses? Yes

USUM Ideal Team: Decidueye, Sableye, Palossand/Golurk (US), Aegislash(scan), Gengar (S.O.S. by Haunter in Thrifty Megamark after the Ula’ula Trials), Mimikyu
Optional: Trevanant, Dhelmise, Froslass, Drifblim, Chandelure (scan), Mismagius, Banette, Jellicent, Alolan Marowak, Oricorio
First Pokémon: Rowlett via Starter
Cover weaknesses? Yes

Grass
SM Ideal Team: Decidueye, Whimsicott (Sun)/Shiinotic, Exeggutor, Roserade (scan), Dhelmise, Serperior (scan)
Optional: Victreebel (scan), Meganium (scan), Parasect, Leafeon, Trevenant
First Pokémon: Rowlet via Starter
Cover weaknesses? No, in Sun and Moon, Grass is weak to Flying and Ice

USUM Ideal Team: Decidueye, Whimsicott (US)/Shiinotic, Torterra (scan), Exeggutor, Venusaur (scan), Cradily (UM)/Chesnaught (scan)
Optional: Sceptile (scan), Dhelmise, Tropius, Parasect, Leafeon, Trevenant
First Pokémon: Rowlet via Starter
Cover weaknesses? No, In Ultra Sun, Grass is weak to Flying and Ice. In Ultra Moon, Grass is weak to Ice.

Ground
SM Ideal Team: Dugtrio, Gastrodon, Mamoswine (scan), Palossand, Krookodile, Garchomp
Optional: Mudsdale, Flygon, Rhydon (scan), 
First Pokémon: Diglett in Verdant Cavern after completion of first trial
Cover weaknesses? Yes

USUM Ideal Team: Dugtrio, Gastrodon, Mamoswine (scan), Palossand, Krookodile, Garchomp
Optional: Mudsdale, Flygon, Rhydon (scan), Claydol (UM), Golurk (US), Swampert (scan), Torterra (scan), Onix (scan)
First Pokémon: Diglett in Verdant Cavern after completion of first trial
Cover weaknesses? Yes

Ice
SM Ideal Team: Froslass, Vanilluxe, Sandslash(Moon)/Ninetales (Sun), Mamoswine (scan), Cloyster/Lapras/Walrein(scan), Crabominable
Optional: Delibird, Glaceon, Weavile
First Pokémon: Crabrawler via Route 2, just before the first trial
Cover weaknesses? Surprisingly yes regardless of version differences.

USUM Ideal Team: Jynx, Vanilluxe, Sandslash(UM)/Ninetales (US), Mamoswine (scan), Cloyster/Lapras/Walrein(scan), Crabominable
Optional: Delibird, Glaceon, Dewgong, Aurorus (UM), Weavile, Froslass
First Pokémon: Crabrawler via Route 2, just before the first trial
Cover weaknesses? Surprisingly yes regardless of version differences.

Normal

SM Ideal Team: Toucannon, Tauros/Drampa (Moon), Snorlax, Wigglytuff, Bewear, Oranguru (Moon)/Miltank
Optional: Raticate, Blissey, Braviary (Sun), Fearow, Staraptor (scan), Slaking (scan), Gumshoos, Smeargle, Spinda, Stoutland, Kangaskhan, Ditto, Komala
First Pokémon: Yungoos and Pikipek via Route 1
Cover weaknesses? Yes

USUM Ideal Team: Toucannon, Tauros/Drampa (UM), Snorlax, Wigglytuff, Bewear, Oranguru (UM)/Miltank
Optional: Raticate, Blissey, Pyroar, Pidgeot (scan), Lopunny, Braviary (US), Fearow, Gumshoos, Smeargle, Spinda, Stoutland, Kangaskhan, Ditto, Komala, Furfrou, Noctowl, Kecleon, Cinccino
First Pokémon: Yungoos, Pikipek, and Buneary via Route 1
Cover weaknesses? Yes

Poison
SM Ideal Team: Muk, Crobat, Tentacruel/Toxapex, Gengar (S.O.S. by Haunter in Thrifty Megamark after the Ula’ula Trials), Roserade (scan), Scolipede (scan)
Optional: Victreebel (scan), Ariados, Garbodor, Salazzle
First Pokémon: Spinarak via Route 1
Cover weaknesses? Yes

USUM Ideal Team: Muk, Dragalge (UM)/Salazzle, Crobat, Tentacruel/Toxapex, Gengar (S.O.S. by Haunter in Thrifty Megamark after the Ula’ula Trials), Venusaur (scan)
Optional: Garbodor, Arbok, Salazzle, Ariados, Beedril (scan)
First Pokémon: Spinarak via Route 1
Cover weaknesses? Yes

Psychic
SM Ideal Team: Oranguru (Moon)/Gothitelle (scan), Starmie, Espeon, Metagross, Raichu, Slowbro
Optional: Hypno, Kadabra, Bruxish, Oricorio, Reuniclus (scan)
First Pokémon: Pichu via Route 1
Cover weaknesses? No, Dark is not neutralized in Sun and Moon.

USUM Ideal Team: Oranguru (UM)/Malamar, Slowbro/Starmie, Gallade (scan), Metagross, Gardevoir (scan), Delphox (scan)
Optional: Hypno, Kadabra, Bruxish, Oricorio, Xatu, Claydol (UM), Beheeyem, Mr. Mime, Espeon, Raichu, Slowking (S.O.S. by Slowpoke in Kala’e Bay), Jynx
First Pokémon: Pichu via Route 1
Cover weaknesses? Yes, all weaknesses are neutralized.

Rock
SM Ideal Team: Rhydon(scan), Aerodactyl, Relicanth/Caracosta(Sun), Bastiodon(Moon)/Probopass, Lycanroc, Alolan Golem
Optional: Sudowoodo, Rampardos (Sun), Archeops (Moon), Carbink, Corsola, Boldore, Minior
First Pokémon: Bonsly via Route 1, after the Grand Trial
Cover weaknesses? Yes
Note: You can get an Alolan Golem via in-game trade at the Tapu Village Pokemon Center, you will need a Haunter.

USUM Ideal Team: Tyrantrum (US)/Lycanroc, Rhydon(scan), Tyranitar, Aerodactyl, Relicanth/Caracosta(US), Bastiodon(UM)/Probopass
Optional: Lycanroc, Sudowoodo, Rampardos (US), Archeops (UM), Omastar (US), Kabutops (UM), Graveler, Armaldo (US), Cradily (UM), Carbink, Aurorus (UM), Boldore, Corsola, Minior, Onix (scan)
First Pokémon: Bonsly via Route 1, after the Grand Trial
Cover weaknesses? Yes

Steel
SM Ideal Team: Metagross, Skarmory, Dugtrio, Bastiodon (Moon)/Probopass, Aegislash (scan), Klefki
Optional Pokémon: Sandslash (Moon), Togedemaru, Magnezone
First Pokémon: Magnemite near the Trainer School, before the first trial
Cover weaknesses? Yes

USUM Ideal Team: Metagross, Skarmory, Empoleon (scan), Dugtrio, Bastiodon (UM)/Probopass, Aegislash (scan)
Optional Pokémon: Sandslash (UM), Togedemaru, Klefki/Mawile, Forretress, Bisharp, Magnezone
First Pokémon: Magnemite near the Trainer School, before the first trial
Cover weaknesses? Yes

Water
SM Ideal Team: Primarina, Gyarados/Pelipper, Slowbro/Starmie/Bruxish, Gastrodon, Golisopod/Aquachnid, Lanturn
Optional: Whiscash, Poliwrath, Milotic, Lanturn, Sharpedo, Corsola/Relicanth/Caracosta (Sun), Azumaril (scan), Feraligatr (scan), Cloyster/Lapras/Walrein(scan), Golduck, Vaporeon, Politoed (S.O.S. by any Pokemon in the rain at Malie Garden)
First Pokémon: Popplio via Starter
Cover weaknesses? Yes. Also, heads up, Pelipper now knows the ability Drizzle. Take that into account if you want to make a rain team.

USUM Ideal Team: Primarina, Gyarados/Pelipper, Slowbro/Starmie/Bruxish, Gastrodon, Empoleon (scan), Golisopod/Aquachnid
Optional: Whiscash, Poliwrath, Milotic, Lanturn, Sharpedo/Crawdaunt/Greninja (scan), Tentacruel, Corsola/Relicanth/Caracosta(US), Omastar (US), Kabutops (UM), Jellicent, Clawitzer, Blastoise (scan), Swampert (scan), Cloyster/Lapras/Walrein(scan), Golduck, Vaporeon, Slowking (S.O.S. by Slowpoke in Kala’e Bay), Politoed (S.O.S. by any Pokemon in the rain at Malie Garden)
First Pokémon: Popplio via Starter
Cover weaknesses? Yes. Also, heads up, Pelipper now knows the ability Drizzle. Take that into account if you want to make a rain team.

Break the Ice (or how to improve the fragile Ice Type in Pokemon)

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Over the past few Pokémon generations, Gamefreak continuously tweaked and balanced Pokémon to the point that weak types (like Poison) were strengthened while other types (like Fighting) were checked.  New moves, abilities, and stat changes made weak or irrelevant Pokémon respectful.  But through it all, one type has remained virtually unchanged since Generation 2 and that’s the Ice type.

The Ice type is notorious for its great offensive lineup but abysmal defense.   The only type it resists is itself and it’s weak to Fire, Fighting, Rock, and Steel moves.  Keep in mind, Fighting, Fire, and Rock moves are plentiful due to the plethora of Pokémon that can learn them.  As such, many hardcore players favor fast, hard hitting Ice Pokémon, like Weavile, if they want to use them at all.  Meanwhile, defensive Ice Pokémon, like Avalugg or Cryogonal, can not fully live up to their tank desires.  Personally, I usually train dual-typed Ice Pokémon to mitigate their poor defenses.

Ice Pokémon as such, are in desperate need for an upgrade.  Gamefreak needs to fully realize this type and bring it into the fold as a well-rounded type.  But how can Gamefreak do that?  In order to answer this question I decided to do a quick analysis of all 18 types of Pokémon and determined which types could be nerfed in order to advance Ice Pokémon.

In short, I compared each types Super Effective (SE) to Not Very Effective (NVE) ratios for both offense and defense.  Some types are better defenders than attackers (e.g., Poison and Steel) while others are vice versa (e.g., Ground and Rock).  In our case, we want to up Ice type’s defense to be on par with the average type.  At the same time, however, we want to ensure that other types aren’t severely nerfed.  After a lot of tinkering, pondering and calculating, here’s what I came up with.

Changes to Ice Type

Steel normally damages Ice

Ice resists Ground

Ice resists Ghost

Hail boosts Ice Type’s defense by 50%

 

This may surprise some of you for my choices so I’ll break it down why I chose these types to improve Ice.  First off, Steel can just get out of here!  Steel is the best defensive type in the game, period.  As such, Steel does not need to be SE against three different types.  I love how Steel is powerful against Fairy as that really plays into the mythical history of fairies and forged weapons.  But Ice???  I don’t honestly see why it’s SE unless you’re a snowplow.  There are plenty of types out there that are only SE against two types such as Electric, Dark, and Poison so we can shove Steel into that category.

Ice losing its Steel weakness does not majorly affect Ice as Steel moves aren’t that common as mainly Steel Pokémon use them.  Plus, as mentioned before, Rock, Fire, and Fighting are very common moves so you can easily use these types to take down Ice (Steel Pokémon also commonly learn Rock moves).

Speaking of common attacking types, let’s talk about Ground!  Ice is already SE against Ground so it wouldn’t be surprising if Ice gained a resistance towards them as well.  Sooooo many type combos have this relationship including the famous precedent of Fire-Grass-Water.  Ground and Ice should be similar.  Ground also has the best SE to NVE ratio out of all the types being SE against five types with only two types resisting and a third with immunity.  I ask the court to look at Fighting for my justification as well.  Fighting has five SE and six NVE/immune defending types.  An added resistance would still not place Ground on the same level as Fire.  In short, Ice’s resistance towards Ground would not hugely impact Ground’s usefulness.

Which comes to my final type change, Ice resisting Ghost.  After I decided Ice should resist Ground I was debating whether to even add another resistance.  After all, the Ice Type is a GREAT offensive type.  It’s SE against Dragon, Grass, Flying, and Ground.  A great mixture that leads to quite a few 4x weaknesses.  When compared to other types, Ice is above average when it comes to attacking.  As such, Ice should still be below average when it comes to defense.  But here’s the thing, quite a few types have four or more resistances so having a third resistance would still place Ice in the below-average category.  But which type?

When I first started this project, I leaned heavy towards an Electric resistance as ice in real life conducts electricity rather poorly.  Electric also only has one weakness.  However, Electric already has a rather poor showing in the attacking category as only two types are weak to it whereas three resist and one is immune to it.  I eventually chose Ghost as only Normal and Dark can counter it.  Plus, when Gen VI rolled around, Gamefreak removed Steel’s resistance of Ghost giving it a mild boost.  As such, I don’t think it would harm Ghost that much if Ice gained a resistance out of it.

BTW, what’s the logic behind Ice resisting Ghost?  Well, I kind of feel like it would counter the shiver people get when their scared.  Since Ice types are already cold, they can’t shiver like Ghost Pokémon would want them to, hence, they resist Ghost attacks.

Finally, let’s talk about the weather!  Back in Gen V, weather teams were all the rage.  Thanks to the like of Hippowdon, Ninetales, Politoed, and Tyranitar, weather effects on the battlefield were common except for Hail.  Snow Stream may benefit Ice Type’s and their abilities but that’s about it.  Even Sandstorm gave Rock Pokémon a 50% boost in their special defense.  Why can’t we say the same thing about Hail?  With this addition, Ice Pokémon can “weather” out attacks and stay strong on the battlefield.

Who benefits the most out of this?

Obviously all Ice Pokémon would rejoice if they were to hear these news but these changes would benefit some Pokémon more than others specifically…

Defensive Ice Pokémon

Avalugg, Cloyster, and Cryogonal would now shine in their tanky roles.  Cloyster was already an effective tank but it had to use its Water typing to get an edge.  With this update, Cloyster now resists five types and is weak to four.  Cloyster can be used as an effective check towards such Pokémon as Scizor, Aegislash, and Excadrill.

Alolan Sandslash, fresh off of Sun and Moon, would benefit nicely as well with its 120 defense power.  A Ground weakness is now neutralized leaving a 4x weakness to Fire and Fighting.  This adds up Sandslash’s resistances and immunities to 11, a fantastic, defensive Pokémon.

Thick Fat Users

Thick Fat is an ability that halves damage from Ice and Fire attacks.  Dewgong, Mamoswine, and Walrein all have this ability which helps them tremendously.  The updated Ice Type would definitely benefit them especially Mamoswine.  Now, a Thick Fat Mamoswine would resist four types, be immune to one and be weak to three.  Mamoswine could finally be a decent switch-in against many Pokémon including prominent Ground and Steel types.

Former Ghost-weakness

Froslass and Jynx would now be one of the few Ghost and Psychic Pokémon that have normal resistance to their dreaded Ghost foes.  I feel like Froslass, with its average stats, would profit the most out of the two by gaining some sweet advantages.  Froslass can now Shadow Ball her Ghost comrades and serve as a decent counter to the likes of Golurk, Palossand, and Aegislash.  This is not to say that Jynx wouldn’t benefit as well as now she can serve as an effective status inflictor and a by-the-books offensive sweeper.

Hail users

We saved the best for last.  With a 50% boost in defense in Hail, Ice Pokémon can now become tough-as-nails in their weather.  Plus, many Ice Pokémon have abilities that directly benefit from Hail including Snow Cloak, Ice Body, and Slush Rush.

Let’s start first with Abomasnow.  Ice Pokémon hail their pine tree bro as he gets the party started with his sweet Snow Warning ability!  Abomasnow would be a great switch in to Rain Dance/Sandstorm teams as he could withstand oncoming Ground and Water attacks and dish out a 100% accurate Blizzard (plus it doesn’t hurt that he can Mega evolve).  After you got a decent Hailstorm brewing start throwing in your tanky Ice types to sow anger and discontent among your foes.  Ice Body users like Glaceon and Avalugg will be blessed by their increased defenses while a Walrein with Leftovers would be extraordinarily difficult to take down.

This scenario will make Hail a now viable weather scenario that could be taken seriously among hardcore players.  Hail would still not be as popular as Sandstorm and alike but at least it would be treated respectfully.

 

Could this ever happen?  It’s hard to say in all honesty.  Gamefreak’s continuous modification to Pokémon means anything’s on the table.  Maybe Ice wouldn’t gain these respective resistances but a new type could shake things up and make Ice defensively viable.  Granted, this probably won’t happen until the next Generation which would be awhile and that’s fine.  But until then, fingers crossed!

 

All images from pokemon wiki

Pokemon Go, the National Park Service, and Our Drive to Collect Them All

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Author’s note, this article does not necessarily reflect the views of the National Park Service or Fossil Butte National Monument. This is just my own personal opinion.

When I was a kid, I would bike to a nearby state park and walk through the woods in blissful delight. I would imagine myself walking through Viridian Woods, a fictional location in the Pokémon video games, and pretend I was catching forest Pokémon that lived in that forest such as Caterpies or Heracross. I would envision myself on a journey; to fight other trainers and travel across the land. This was only imagination but that never stopped me from hoping this might be true one day.

Image from http://www.forbes.com/sites/andyrobertson/2015/09/10/pokemon-go-ios/#518def687502

And now, Pokémon Go has given us that opportunity to get as close as we can to capture Pokémon in the real world. So many fans have responded positively to this App that its no wonder Nintendo’s shares have been soaring. There is a real sense of discovery, excitement, and wonder packaged in this app. And this app doesn’t take you to just localized areas in your city but across the country as well. To such places as the National Parks.

The National Park Service (NPS) is currently facing a rather perilous position on park visitation. On the one hand, such great and notable parks such as Yellowstone, Yosemite, and Grand Tetons are receiving too much love. The parks are super crowded and the park facilities are strained to their limit to deal with the massive amount of people that visit. On the other hand, some parks and monuments are facing too little visitation or simply aren’t viewed as parks as all. These parks go out of their way, whether it be social media, attending county fairs or visiting local communities, to connect to their local audience and attract those that live miles away. In my opinion, these are the parks that are on the forefront of innovation.

The NPS has had a history of adapting through perseverance. In the early 1900s, train companies would boast what national parks they go by, in the 1920s, roads were built and more eastern parks were established to attract a wider audience, in the 1960s, visitor centers and facilities were built to accommodate the large amount of visitors and in the modern age, parks are using social media to reach out in ways that would be impossible even 15 years ago. Our latest slogan, “Find Your Park,” encourages people from across the country to find nearby parks they should visit.

Now, who’s to say that the NPS shouldn’t use Pokémon Go or other geographic-depending apps?

Pokémon has had a surprising history of bringing people off the couch and together, even outside, since its birth. In fact, the main reason why Pokémon has yet to see a home console release is that the creators firmly believe it would devalue the branding (it is short for “Pocket Monsters” after all). Children would bring their Gameboys around and trade with each other. The DS generation got rid of cables and introduced global trading as well. It’s a very interactive game.

Image from http://bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/wiki/Pok%C3%A9walker

The Pokewalker was the best device that got people outside. The Pokewalker was compatible to Pokémon HeartGold and SoulSilver. You could transfer your Pokémon to this pedometer and walk around outside. Every step you took added another experience point to your Pokémon and as such, I would constantly find myself going that extra thousand steps to ensure my Pokémon would level up and get stronger. And now, people can do this not with the pedometer but with their phones! Hatching eggs and catching Pokémon is out there! They’re walking about ready to be caught! It’s exciting! And this is what the National Park Service should be capitalizing on.

Here’s the biggest reason why I think this could work.

At the National Park Service we sell such things as hiking medallions, pins, patches, and magnets. Each park, for the most part, have their own, unique, collectable items along with the iconic stamping stations. Visitors are incessant on acquiring these stamps and items. It’s sometimes one of the first things they do when they enter the visitor center. Two of the most common questions I answer are “Where’s the bathroom” and “Where’s the stamping station?” No other question even comes close to their popularity. The visitors desire to collect every stamp or item for each National Park they visit (sound familiar??).

And the best part? Sometimes, the stamp stations are the only reason why they come. And when they come they are surprised by what we have to offer. Beautiful fossils preserved almost to perfection. A whole ancient ecosystem of fishes, birds, early mammals, plants, and insects are at their beck and call. Leaves have their veins intact, fishes have their scales, and delicate feathers are still attached to their host. We are unusual, that’s why we are a national monument. That’s why we are here. That’s why you are stamping your station.

Pokémon Go has tapped into that same desire of Catching Them All. We get off our couches and computer chairs and go outside! It’s crazy! Every day I read so many fantastic things that are happening because of Pokémon Go. People are interacting with each other, discovering new places and walking so much their legs get sore. It’s fantastic!

And how do we combine these two? Well, this is the best part (and I’m surprised no one has thought of this yet to the best of my knowledge…)!

Image from http://onehallyu.com/topic/290600-favourite-pokemon-legendary-trio/

As of the writing of this article, we have 57 (counting the three in the upcoming games) Legendary Pokémon. And ALSO right now we have 58 national parks in the United States! That’s crazy! It’s like the stars aligned for us because what if we could find a legendary Pokémon for each of our national parks?

Think about it.

Our national parks are treasured for their uniqueness. There is nothing else like them in the world. As such we protect them to make sure they are preserved for future generations. Likewise, there is only one Legendary Pokémon (i.e., there can be multiple Pikachus but only one Mew). So what if you were to go to say Yellowstone and go through one of the trails and find Volcanion (which is essentially a geyser Pokémon). Or enjoy Denali and find Regice? How about Celebi at Great Smoky Mountains or Heatran at Hawai’i Volcanoes? If your desire to catch them all is that strong then visit us. And be amazed at what you have to find here.

Image from https://www.nps.gov/slbe/learn/education/classrooms/arrowhead.htm

The biggest downside to this though is that Pokémon Go could depreciate the value of parks and even outright insult them. People working at parks that are more scenic or scientifically inclined would likely not care as much about Pokémon Go visitors as those working at monuments that value an emotional event. I certainly cannot imagine a case where the NPS would embrace Pokémon Go at such sites as Flight 93, Battle of the Little Bighorn, or Boston African American National Historic Site and that’s fine. We don’t have to do that. It is a tricky subject and I’m certainly not the guy to try to resolve that situation.

But for those of you that believe that Pokémon Go will devalue the parks consider this. A passage from Interpreting our Heritage by Freeman Tilden, one of the greatest books about interpretation in the NPS.  In chapter 2 Tilden writes

“A roster of the reasons why people visit parks, museums, historic houses, and similar preserves, though a fascinating excursion into human psychology, need not detain us here. All interpreters know from their experiences that the reasons are so many and diverse that merely to name them all would take pages of this book.

I go upon the assumption that whatever their reasons for coming, the visitors are there. What we should determine, then, if we aim at establishing our first principle of interpretation is: now that the visitor is here, in what will be his chief interest, and inevitably his chief interest, while he is with us?

The answer is: The visitor’s chief interest is in whatever touches his personality, his experience and his ideals.”

And from there, we must connect, our experiences, our ideas, emotions, feelings, and attitudes towards the visitor. Pokémon Go can act as a gateway to the NPS. They are here so perhaps we may find some connection with them on a personal level (why can you find an Articuno at Glacier?). And before you do so ask yourself, what is Pokémon all about? How can it be related to the NPS?

For me the two are similar in that they are a sense of discovery, exploration, social connection, and wonder. It harkens back to what I was saying earlier of my childhood. Walking through the forest and catching that caterpie. Now, I can do that for real.

And as for you. Will you Find Your Park today and decide to Catch Them All?

P.S.  Check this video by the National Park Service Director Jonathan Jarvis.  That’s awesome!

The Best Pokémon Games and Types for a Monotype Run

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11/28/2022 Update: This article will soon include analysis from Pokemon Scarlet and Violet which an article dedicated to it is currently out.

Self-made video game challenges and runs have been a staple in recent gaming and can create exciting and new ways to replay your favorite games. There are a whole variety of them ranging from a no-kill run in Metal Gear Solid to only using your knife as a weapon in Resident Evil 4. Pokémon is no exception to this rule as one of the most famous video game challenges of all time is the Nuzlocke Run which actually makes the Pokémon games exceedingly difficult. Today, I offer you a different sort of run, one that although is not as challenging as a Nuzlocke Run, is still very enjoyable. I give you, a Monotype Run/Challenge.

Simply put, a Monotype Run (or Single Type Run) is where you catch Pokémon who only belong to a certain type whether it is Water, Bug, Dark, or Dragon. If a Pokémon does not have a type in that category then it’s out.   This is a great challenge I think because you can form a team around your favorite type(s) and not have to worry much about picking your favorites. Your team’s weaknesses are what make this challenging as you have to look out for moves or Pokémon that may defeat you. And to be fair, this isn’t exactly a brand new, exciting concept; many people have done this Run for a long time. That is why today, I’m going in depth and telling you what Pokémon games and types are the best for a Monotype Run. Let’s take a look!

If you want to cut right to the chase, just click the image below that will explain everything to you concisely. Below the chart I have written my methods in approaching this monumental task and the overall best games and types for a Monotype Run.

Monotype Chart Version 2.03

Before I analyzed a whole bunch of different pokedexes, I had to design a series of rules to make sure I kept my analysis consistent which are as follows.

  1. A type must be selected before starting the game. Upon playing the game the player must make all attempts to capture a Pokémon of that type as soon as possible. Once captured, the previous Pokémon of the party must be disregarded if they are not of that type.
  2. Pokémon that have yet to evolve into that type (e.g., Nidoran in a Ground type Run or Caterpie in a Flying type Run) may be caught but must be evolved as soon as possible.
  3. Trading is not allowed
  4. Only Pokemon caught before Elite Four are applicable for your team.
  5. Mega Evolutions that changes a Pokémon to your type are allowed provided you mega evolve the Pokémon as soon as their battle begins.

Of course, everyone has their own version of the rules and that’s totally fine! This is just how I approached the analysis.

In order to determine which Pokémon games are the best for a Monotype Run I had to design a categorizing system that was nonsubjective. What’s more, I had to find a simple but effective rating system that can satisfy all 516 possible combinations between typing and the games. This was solved by a dual grading system using numbers and letters. Every typing and video game combination has a letter (S-F) and number grade for how beneficial a Monotype Run would be. Numbers indicate a game’s type diversity by the amount of unique Pokémon of that type you can catch.  Letters indicate how early you can catch a Pokémon: S=Your first Pokémon is your starter; A=First Pokémon you can catch is before the 1st gym; B=Between the 1st-2nd gym; C=Between the 2nd-3rd gym; D=Between the 3rd-4th gym; F=After the 4th gym. For the Sun and Moon games I used the trials in place of gyms since they acted as similar milestones.  Finally, the asterisk symbol, “*”, represents a team that neutralizes all the weaknesses.  For example, if you were to do a Ground type run in Pokémon Red, you would have a 6A rating (i.e., you can catch at least six, fully-evolved Ground type Pokémon and the first Pokémon you can catch, the Nidorans, is before the first gym but you are exposed to your Ice and Water weaknesses).

As such, teams with a rating of *6A or higher are the Runs you are looking for. You can catch a Pokémon fairly early on and you can get a diversified team that has all of its weaknesses covered. A *6S rating is the best because you will have your Starter right from the getgo! Surprisingly, given all the strict guidelines, we see a huge amount of teams that can match these strict standards, especially in the later games.

For the purpose of saving a lot of headaches, trading was not included in the Monotype Run Chart. Trading defeats the purpose of the Run as it’s much easier to get a team of six Pokémon (especially in the later generations) that has all of its weaknesses covered. This is why a lot of games on the Chart (such as Generation One for Bug types) won’t have the full team even if they have the diversity needed (Scyther and Pinsir are version-exclusive Pokémon). Also, Pokémon catchable after the Elite Four were not included as, in my opinion, you’re at the end of the game. I imagine you win the challenge once you beat the Elite Four. True, some games have a lot of content after the Elite Four (such as the Johto games), but this is only after hours and hours of playing the games. Tyranitar in Gold/Silver is a great example as you can catch Larvitar at Mount Silver but that’s only after you acquired 16 badges (and by then, what’s the point?).

The Best and Worst Pokémon Games for a Monotype Run

By far, the best Pokémon games for a Monotype Run are Pokemon Sword and Shield, followed by Generation 6 and 7.  These later generations are fantastic as the amount of Pokemon you can catch in them is staggering.  SWSH wins out in the end though because of the Wild Area which is available after Route 2 and just hits you with a tsunami of Pokemon.  No joke, every type can be caught before the first gym.  No other game can claim that title.  If you have a Switch, go for SWSH and if not, there’s nothing wrong with either generation 6 or 7.

Sun, Moon, and USUM are really good.  First off, the level of diversity in Sun and Moon rivals ORAS while Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon have a team diversity almost on par with X and Y.  This means that many types are quite feasible for a Monotype Run although I would hesitate to choose Rock or Dragon types due to their availability of the end of the first island.  Ice types are actually doable in the game thanks to Crabrawler which is a welcome change of pace for them!  For more information about Sun and Moon and its sequels check out my in-depth article here.

The games to avoid would definitely be the Generation 1 games and that’s not surprising given the games’ initial lack of diversity. Pokémon Blue and Yellow only have one type that’s *6A or better (Normal) while Red has that and Electric. Ironically, the Electric type only sometimes acquires a *6A rating given their low diversity. If you want to do an Electric type Run in Yellow, catch a Pikachu and later catch a Magnemite, then Jolteon, Electabuzz, Voltorb, and Zapdos. I wouldn’t recommend this though given the mentioned Pokémon have a rather low movepool (look towards B2W2, USUM, and SWSH if you want a great Electric type Run).

The Best and Worst Types for a Monotype Run

Normal, Normal, Normal, Normal! The Normal type is the only type that has a 100% excellent rating. This is thanks to Normal type having only one weakness (Fighting) which it can easily cover! Oh, and guess what! The Normal/Flying type combination is the most common type combination in the games. Every generation (except Gen 8) has introduced one and you are more than likely to run into one in the game’s first route. Boom, Normal’s commonality combined with its low weaknesses and early route availability makes it the perfect type for a Monotype Run. I recommend going old school and do a Normal type Run in Generation 1 as you can catch a plethora of iconic Pokémon like Jigglypuff, Pidgey, Tauros, Kangaskhan, and Snorlax. You will have a fun time as they are strong and can learn a variety of moves.

If you don’t want Normal I would then recommend a Water type Run (although Ground, Bug, Fighting, Fairy, and Flying are also good). Again, their commonality and low amount of weaknesses make them a great type to do a Run. Water/Ground and Water/Flying Pokémon are surprisingly common and are introduced in almost every generation. These two potent combos cover Water type’s weaknesses and more than help you have a good time. Also, the Water type has the most superb ratings, a *6S or better, out of any type!  As Water type is one of the key starters in most of the games, it’s no wonder that Water teams are easy and fun to do.  If I were to recommend some games they would be Pokémon Sapphire, Emerald, and Alpha Sapphire. Pick Mudkip as your starter (Water/Ground), catch a Lotad (Water/Grass) in Route 102, and Wingull (Water/Flying) in Route 104 and you are set. From there, you are given a huge range of great Water Pokémon. Some off the top of my head are Gyarados, Crawdaunt, Sharpedo, Lanturn, Tentacruel, Marill, and Relicanth.

Ice and Dragon type are the worst types for a Monotype Run and have an average D+ and C- grade respectively. This is not surprising given they are usually available fairly late in the game and their diversity is rather lack luster. Surprisingly, Ice type neutralizes its weaknesses in GSC but is severely marred by their late game status. If you want to do an Ice type run go for SWSH thanks to the extreme early availability of Ice Pokemon in the Wild Area.  You can also do Pokemon SM and USUM thanks to Crabrawler’s early availability and the nice diversity of Ice types in those games.  The best Dragon game is definitely SWSH thanks to, again, the Wild Area which adds a lot of Dragon Pokemon in the Raids and you can neutralize your weaknesses thanks to Duraludon.

Trivia

-The worst Monotype Run is probably the Dark Type run in Pokemon LeafGreen and FireRed.  You CANNNOT catch ANY Dark Type Pokemon!   The game doesn’t even allow your Eevee to evolve into one which sucks.  This easily makes it the worst run in the entire series.

-In general, the sequel game in a series (Crystal, Emerald, Platinum, B2W2, and USUM) will have better runs due to an increase in diversity. The only exception to this is Pokémon Yellow.

-Remakes’ (FRLG, HGSS, BDSP) ratings are generally similar to their original games as Pokémon availability are usually the same. The major exception to this is ORAS which introduced the National Dex before the Elite Four and not after.

-If you want to do a Water type Run in Pokémon Yellow, your first Pokémon will be a Magikarp from the Pokecenter salesman outside of Mount Moon. Have fun!

Final Thoughts?

So that’s the article! I originally published it in February 2016 and have continuously update and change it as new games are made.  The amount of time I have sunk into this project is ridiculous but hopefully worth it, I consider my chart version 2.0 to be one of my best works.  Additionally, there’s so much research and data in this that some mistakes may have fallen through the cracks; if you spot something that’s incorrect, let me know! Happy playing!

Link to other Monotype Run Articles

Games
Red/Blue/Yellow
Gold/Silver/Crystal
Ruby/Sapphire/Emerald
FireRed/LeafGreen
Diamond/Pearl/Platinum
HeartGold/SoulSilver
Black/White/Black2/White2
X/Y
OmegaRuby/AlphaSapphire
Sun/Moon
Ultra Sun/Ultra Moon
Let’s Go Pikachu and Eevee
Sword/Shield
Scarlet/Violet

Types
Bug
Dark
Dragon
Electric
Fairy
Fighting
Fire
Flying
Ghost
Grass
Ground
Ice
Normal
Poison
Psychic
Rock
Steel
Water

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Crazy Theory: Missingno. is in Pokemon Sun and Moon

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Okay, crack theory time.

In the latest Pokémon Direct (February 26th, 2016), the Pokémon Company revealed that you can transfer your Pokémon in Red, Blue, and Yellow, from their Virtual Console games, to Pokémon Bank, and to the newly revealed upcoming games, Pokémon Sun and Moon. This is exciting news. As I’m sure you are aware, fans were very displeased when Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire were released as you couldn’t transfer your Pokémon from Generation 1 or 2 to these games. You had to leave your old Pokémon behind.

But now that’s changed. Not only can you replay the original Pokémon Red, Blue, and Yellow games, now you can play them and transfer them to new games and still be with them.

And in all of the excitement of transfers, I would like to bring up Missingno. which has been confirmed, via fan footage, that you can capture this “Pokémon” again in the new virtual console games. The question though begs to be asked, can you transfer this glitched Pokémon to Pokémon Bank?

In Generation 1 when you transfer Missingno. to Pokémon stadium, it can become a ditto or a substitute doll no matter what form. Will the same thing happen to Pokémon Bank? In this case, will Missingno. turn into a ditto upon upload?

I (like to) think not and here’s why. One, Nintendo knows that Missingno. exists as evidenced by their Customer Service account. Two, since they do know it exists, and the potential harm Missingno. can have on saved accounts, why would they bother to still keep it in the game? At the very least they probably programmed it so you can capture a Missingno. and still have infinite items without messing up your data.

As such, I propose my very crazy theory in that Missingno. will be an actual, for real Pokémon, in Pokémon Sun and Moon. Not only will it be a Pokémon, it will be an story driven Pokémon that the evil team will use to glitch the world into their favor. Maybe they won’t use it in Sun and Moon (perhaps in a sequel), but the possibilities of Missingno. are endless as the evil team could use this Pokémon to create infinite items, say Master Balls, and use the Pokémon to exploit the world you live in. And if they’re not careful, could throw the whole world out of whack. Super scary thought for sure.

Although the above scenario is highly unlikely, I still find the upcoming events of Missingno., Virtual Console, Pokémon Bank, and Sun and Moon quite interesting so keep an eye out for that when more information is revealed.

The Pokemon Riddle Challenge

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So last year, I talked about the Seven Deadly Sins Riddle Challenge that I gave to my friends on my 21st birthday.  I basically challenged my friends to solve seven riddles with each riddle based on  one of the Seven Deadly Sins.  If you solved all seven riddles then I rewarded you with a prize.  When everyone wanted a sequel, I decided to rehost the challenge again on my 22nd birthday but this time, with a little extra flair.  As you can guess from the title, that year’s Riddle Challenge theme was based on Pokémon and this one was really cool in my opinion.

In total, there were eight riddles, representing the eight gyms, and each riddle was based on a Pokémon type.  So for instance, a riddle that took place in a nearby state park was the Forest Badge and it represented Grass Type.

Now, this Pokémon-themed challenge would have been fine with just the badges but I had to take it one step further and make this challenge different from the previous year.  In this case, I printed out Pokémon cards that everyone would have.  These Pokémon (Gallade for instance) knew two attacks (Ice Punch and Psycho Cut) which the competitor could use against the badges.  If the competitor was stuck on a riddle and everyone else had already solved their riddle, they could use their Pokémon and bypass the badge to the next riddle.  There are three catches to this though; one, you can only use moves that are super effective against the badge (Gallade uses Ice Punch on the Forest Badge for instance), two, your Pokémon is used up and can’t be used anymore, and three, the final cash prize is cut by half.  I liked the cards so much I even made one for myself to join in the fun (mine was Porygon2).  It was great because so many people got attached to their Pokémon and did not want to use it up even when they were stuck on their riddle (one of my friends was so excited when he got Garbodor while another was confused what the hell a Hippowdon was).  I liked that.  Once I passed out a Pokémon to everyone at my 22nd birthday party, I talked about the usual rules and the first riddle to the challenge.

Unfortunately, I can’t find the original card which makes me very sad. I love Porygon2 and it’s among my favorite Pokemon. It had the moves Thunderbolt and Ice Beam. Image from http://bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/wiki/Porygon2_(Pok%C3%A9mon)

Unfortunately, I do not remember all of the Pokémon riddles and the original file that had all of them I think I lost when my old computer crashed on me.  Nonetheless, here are the ones I remembered along with a few in their original state (which you can try at home if you want!).

Badges

Metamorphous Badge-Bug Type.  Here is the riddle in its original form.

“I am famous.

Or do you not know?

Do I have to take you on a wondrous, whimsical trip, in order for you to understand?  I have given you all an invitation to this event and you came with no hesitation.

I am the son of four men!

Certainly, that idiot up there on that pile of dirt understands perfectly clear.  People don’t particularly adore the idiot but he sees the celestial body setting on the horizon and even his own two pupils!  He sees the Earth revolve around its axis.  Revolve, revolve, revolve.

I contain many stories of all sorts, both good memories and bad ones as well.

It has always been my dream to be an author.  But what should I write?  When I figure out, can I give you a sample of it?  It should be good!  True, it is about as long as War and Peace but I think you would like it!

I know my dads’ lives quite well, from their innocent beginnings to their climatic end.

There’s a girl that I adore, how I love her, how I need her!  But alas, she’s too fat.

My favorite numbers are five and six!

What’s that from afar?  It looks like a whole bunch of single people!  They haven’t been in a relationship in a while so they’re kind of sad.  Emily was one of them, that’s why no one showed up to her funeral.

Don’t you know who I am?

I am Humpty Dumpty!

 

Where can you find me?  Well, for starters, my neighbor is Earth!  I’m at a place where the host is a crazy addict whose a bit of a dork.  I hold your riddle!  Come and find me!”

Image from http://bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/wiki/Dustox_(Pok%C3%A9mon)

­The answer to this riddle?  The Beetles!  The riddle was hid in the Magical Mystery Tour album in a record store.

Granite Badge-Rock Type.  Pretty standard, this riddle was located in the geology building on campus.  I used the student lounge room and hid it in one of the never-used drawers.  The riddle was a series of codes and letters that filled out the location of the riddle (address, room number, drawer number, etc.)

Forest Badge-Grass Type.  Mentioned this one before but this one was more of a challenge than a riddle as it depended on the first 8 out of 10 people to find the riddle.  The riddle was a simple word game and the trainer had to guess what grass-type Pokémon the words spell out.

Spectre Badge-Ghost Type.  One of my favorite, and most longwinded, of the riddles!  The trainer is given five names, arranged in a pentagram, and that’s it.  The five names are actually tombstones in a local cemetery and the five names surround a tombstone of a person whom a campus library was named after.  I placed a flower basket on that tombstone and it had a code which took the trainer to a book in the said library, inside the book was the next riddle (the book btw, was Legend of the Sleepy Hollow).

Stratigraphic Badge-Ground Type.  The last of the eight riddles, the trainer was simply given the phrase “TM28” along with six Pokémon.  The Pokémon represented latitudinal and longitudinal coordinates based on their pokedex number and “TM28” is the Pokémon move, Dig.  The trainer had to go to this spot and dig up the treasure.

Freedom Badge-Flying Type.  I actually have the original riddle right here “Follow, from beginning to end, the flight of the Jayhawk and on its doorsteps you will find the next riddle.”

The University of Kansas has a lot of Jayhawks, but this riddle talks about our mascot’s evolution which can be seen on the Union Floor.  If you follow their path, you are taken to the doorsteps of the Art Museum which is where I hid the next riddle.

This was the best image I could find on the internet that had the floor….so yeah…storm troopers! Anyway, you can see one of the jayhawks where they are standing. Image from http://www.kualumni.org/tag/kansas-union/

Antidote Badge-Poison Type.  Finally, we get to the Antidote Badge, maybe my actual favorite riddle of the eight.  In this challenge, instead of trainers trying to find a riddle, they are trying to solve a logic puzzle as seen below.  I’ll set out the rules and guidelines, but basically there are nine potions but only one of them is the antidote. You have to drink the antidote (with some exceptions) to move on.  Trainers have to tell me which potion they drink in person and I tell them if they drank the antidote or a poison.  Take a look

Poison Table 2

“Explanation:

There are nine potions in total and they are laid out in the table in front of you as seen in the diagram above.  6 of the potions are poisonous and will kill you instantly (these potions are known as the “Regulars”).  1 is the Antidote which allows you to go on to the next riddle if you choose to drink it.  1 is the Slow Poison which allows you 15 seconds to live before you die.  Finally, 1 is the Sacrifice Potion; the Sacrifice Potion gives you two options, either forfeit your Pokemon or choose another competitor to die in your place.  Either option will allow you to move on to the next riddle.

The Slow Poison is special in that you’re given the chance to correct your mistake by either A. drink the Antidote/Sacrifice Potion or B. use your Pokemon to save you from your error.  You are only given 15 seconds to decide though.

All nine potions have two statements that will help you determine which of them is the Antidote.  However, one of their statements is false and the other is true.  It is thus your duty to sort out the truths from the lies and narrow the selection down.

Some of the statements may seem confusing to this paragraph sorts out any inquires you may have.

  • For example, Green’s first statement is “The Slow Potion is not below me or to my right,” therefore, if this was true then the Slow Potion is not Blue, Purple or Brown. If this was false then the Slow Potion is either Blue, Purple or Brown.
  • “Rows” are the horizontal layers.
  • For other statements that mention several potions at once you will have to think carefully on. For example, Yellow’s second statement is “For Red, Blue, Green and Black.  All but one is a ‘Regular’.” If this was true then one of the four potions would be a special potion (the Antidote, the Slow Poison or the Sacrifice Potion) and the rest would be “Regulars.”  If this statement was false then it could be that more than one of them was a special potion or maybe none of them was a special potion.
  • Primary Colors are Red, Blue, Yellow. Secondary Colors are Green, Purple and Orange.”

I was later told by my friends that there are actually two solutions to this puzzle, whoops!  But that’s okay, this was my first shot in making a puzzle like this and it was fuuuuuuun.  I really liked this one because the trainer can be a dick if he or she wanted and kill someone else with the poison so they could eliminate competition.  No one did that, of course, but I figured I would throw it in.  I enjoy this riddle so see if you can figure it out!

In the end, this challenge was a lot of fun and my friends and I enjoyed it a lot.  I didn’t do another Birthday Riddle Challenge after this as I was kind of burnt out on riddles but still, it was great and I had a splendid time.