[DS] How do you get 3,000 pikachus on a bus? POKEMON!

Well, you'd have to account for why a Leaf Stone never worked throughout all the previous versions. So an entirely new method was necessary.

Jam it back in, in the dark.

Originally Posted by Freelance Wolf

OMG Thanks!!!!

Okay I am confused about something though, concerning the Pal Park or whatever it's called.

From what I stated earlier, I have five Linoones in Sapphire that I use for Pick Up. I gave them all four letter 'Z' names, like Zero, Zack, etc. I want to bring them to Diamond for item hoarding. Sure, I can use those squirrels, but my Linoones are special to me >_> I select them one at a time and they end up in the Pal Park, right? Then I have to go running around the park and attempt to catch all five? Then once caught, I can now use them whenever I want?

Yeah. When you import a Pokemon from Ru/Sa, it's sent to the Pal Park, where it must be caught. The good news is that the balls have a 100% capture rate and that the Pokemon will be exactly as it was when it was in Ru/Sa. The downside is that once it's in D/P, it can't go back. Transport is one-way only.
There's no set time for how long it takes to find your Pokemon in Pal Park. I presume it's random, but I wonder if it makes you simply run around forever or if it sends an endless bevy of Rattatas and Pidgeys at you to keep dashing your hopes.

There are rumors that D/P can detect illegal Pokemon, such as ones caught with a Gameshark in places they don't normally appear, and mysteriously cause your Pokemon to "vanish" in transport, but this is unfounded. So if you used a Gameshark to catch anything, you should still be okay.
(And any smart Gameshark user will have used the Lavaridge Egg codes to acquire the Pokemon they desire, which circumvents any detection of hacking since eggs can hatch anywhere.)

Quote:

Oh and I caught two of those squirrels. They're pretty uncommon at night apparently, and both fortunately had Pick Up. I got Great Balls and Super Potions so far.

Meh. It's night time here and I'm outside the Windmill Valley place. I'm running into Pachirisu left and right. They don't seem that uncommon in Diamond at all.

Quote:

P.S. What Pokémon can learn Rock Smash and Cut? I need a HM slave!

I'm gonna guess that Bidoof is a good HM slave. It doesn't seem to be of much other use. Kricketot can learn Rock Smash and should be able to use Cut also, so that's also an option.

There's nowhere I can't reach.

1: EXP Share does not give Pokemon EV (Effort Value) points. I can vouch for this.

2: Macho Brace doubles the number of EV points the equipped Pokemon earns in battle. It doesn't have to defeat the opposing Pokemon; it simply has to take part in the battle. Thus, you can have a low-level Pokemon with Macho Brace begin, swap it out for something stronger, and still earn the EV points.

3: The Pokerus also doubles earned EV points. It functions identically to the Macho Brace, but can wear off. When you turn the game off, keep all Pokemon infected with the Pokerus in your PC.

4: The Macho Brace and the Pokerus can be stacked and the result is exponential. For example, a Pokemon with only the Macho Brace will earn 4 Speed EVs from fighting a Pikachu; 2 base, multiplied by two. The same is true for a Pokemon with only the Pokerus.

But if the Pokemon has both the Pokerus and the Macho Brace, it will earn 8 Speed EV points in one battle. (2 x 2) x 2 = 8.

This can make maxxing out your EVs much easier and faster.

5: Every Pokemon offers one specific EV type when faced in a wild battle. The type of point depends upon the respective Pokemon, but the type never changes within one species. All evolutions of the base species contribute the same type of EV point. The kind given is typically identical to the Pokemon's most outstanding stat score. I.E. Alakazam's best stat is Special Atk., so it gives Spec. Atk. EVs. Conversely, a Golem's best stat is Defense, so it gives Defense EVs.

6: The number of EV points a Pokemon offers is consistent with the number of evolutions within its line. Pokemon that do not evolve give 1 EV point. Pokemon that have one pre-evolution give 2 EV points. Pokemon with two pre-evolutions give 3 EV points.

7: Trainer battles do not give EV points.

8: All Pokemon have the capacity to earn a maximum of 510 EV points. However, no Pokemon can earn more than 252 points in any one category. All excess EV points earned after 252 do not count toward anything.

You may intentionally allocate these points into whichever stat score you choose. This is done by battling wild Pokemon. However, it's very difficult to make certain that the Pokemon you encounter will give the EV points you desire, so it can be a long process. You must choose the place you battle carefully.

You'll generally wish to make sure the EV points your Pokemon earns go into their best natural attribute. Giving a Golem lots of Special Atk. EVs is quite pointless, as its score will never be that high and it doesn't learn any moves that make a high Special Atk. worthwhile. Conversely, giving your Chansey a lot of HP EVs is certainly a good idea.
Sometimes, it's a good idea to put a bunch of EV points into a Pokemon's weakest defense attribute or Speed, to make it more resistant or faster.

9: A Pokemon's personality makes a difference in the maximum potential of its attributes. Most personalities raise a specific attribute by 10%, but at the expense of another attribute which is lowered by 10%. Hence, some personalities are never desirable, as they will reduce a Pokemon's defense scores and there are no times when this is useful. Personality is important to consider when deciding if you should bother EV training a Pokemon.

A handful of personalities have no effect on attribute scores whatsoever. The need for Pokemon with these personalities is very limited.

Also, the HP statistic is unaffected by personalities. Personalities will only factor in Attack, Defense, Special Attack, Special Defense, and Speed scores.

10: Pokemon freshly caught in the wild have no earned EV points. They do not gain them by having battled your own Pokemon before being caught.


That's the rudimentary 101 course on EVs.

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.

I guess I could be wrong, but I messed with the EXP Share in Ruby and didn't notice any EV effects. Perhaps I miscalculated or something has changed since then.

I dunno. I never needed the EXP Share to EV train, honestly.

I am a dolphin, do you want me on your body?

I just tried my luck at catching Pokemon with honey. The waiting game is a bit bothersome.

But it was worth it. I netted myself a Level 7 Heracross on my first go. After checking a chart, the only Pokemon rarer than Heracross is Munchlax, so I did pretty damned good. Gonna have to raise this sucker well.

I was speaking idiomatically.

Originally Posted by Lacerta

Any particular tree you got it from? Or was it just random?

It was the tree directly to the left of Eterna City. After catching the Heracross early in the morning, I slathered the tree again. About 30 minutes ago, I caught another Heracross.

I tried resetting the game to see if that made a difference. It seems that once the game decides what's gonna be in the tree that time, it's set. The level and gender may fluctuate but if it wants you to get a Heracross, you're getting a Heracross.

What kind of toxic man-thing is happening now?

Regarding the honey trees, I've surmised that the more violently the tree shakes, the rarer the Pokemon inside. So if it's shaking all over the place, your chances of finding a Heracross or Munchlax are good.

If it's not moving at all, congrats: you've got a Wurmple.

FELIPE NO

Okay. I went to the Elite Four and Cynthia tonight. It was a pretty awesome battle. It came down to Cynthia's Garchomp against my Empoleon. All our other Pokemon were finished. Cynthia's Garchomp knows Earthquake, but had only 25% life left and Cynthia had already used a Full Restore on it after my Alakazam did some work. My Empoleon knows Brine and had about 80% life left. But the Garchomp's speed was higher, so it got first attack. Naturally, it struck with Earthquake. If my Empoleon fainted, it was game-set-match. If my Empoleon survived, it'd finish off the Garchomp with a powered-up Brine.

Empoleon clung to life with about 15HP left, and counterattacked for the victory. Closest finish I've ever had in the final battle.

My team:
Empoleon - Lvl. 64
Machamp - Lvl. 58
Alakazam - Lvl. 56
Luxray - Lvl. 63
Gengar - Lvl. 55
Staraptor - Lvl. 49

I then went and opened up the National Dex, accessed Pal Park and grabbed my first set of six from Emerald. I'm now finding out what's so darned important in Snowpoint City.

Once Merv gets the wi-fi properties working correctly - or I just go get a wi-fi USB adaptor - I'll post my Friend Code and battle people.

What, you don't want my bikini-clad body?

I have learned an annoying fact today: While transferring Pokemon from your Ruby/Sapphire/Emerald/F.Red/L.Green carts, if you select a Pokemon that knows any Hidden Move (HM), such as Surf or Fly, you'll be prevented from sending it over.

The solution is fairly simple: Travel to Lilycove City and find the Move Deleter. Remove the Hidden Move, then store the Pokemon again. Once they're caught in Pal Park, they can relearn Surf.
It's a stupid process, probably designed to prevent cheating. I'm not sure why this rigamarole is necessary since Hidden Moves can't be used unless the owner has the corresponding badge. It's not like you could acquire a Pokemon with Surf over the GTS, then travel to forbidden areas.

Nobody told me all this, so it took me several days to figure out what the game meant when it said my Swampert knew a Hidden Move and couldn't be transported. I thought it was saying that the moveset was no longer possible, and therefore illegal, in D/P.

How ya doing, buddy?

Well, using the Wi-Fi connection in this house somehow depends upon Merv reconfiguring the software to support online play once again. Of course, doing this from a Linux base is probably more trouble than it's worth, so I'm waiting for him to switch his setup over to Windows once again.

Maybe when that happens, I can go online, get a damned friend code, create a Trainer Card, do some GTS stuff and actually battle people.

Or I could just order my own USB wi-fi adapter. But I hate spending the money when I don't absolutely have to.

There's nowhere I can't reach.

What is the "normal" method of obtaining a Spiritomb? I put the Odd Keystone in its place a long time ago and nothing has since come of it.

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.

I've begun to entertain a theory. I think GameFreaks may have revamped the combat system without making the change too obvious.

In all previous games, the potency of each attack was governed by one of your attack scores. Basically, all attacks referred to either the (regular) Attack stat or the Special Attack stat, and each attack typing (Ground, Flying, Psychic, etc.) was conveniently dedicated to one of the Attack stats, but never both.
If you wanted your Pokemon to use "Surf", you'd automatically know to make sure it had a good Special Attack stat. If it needed to know "Cross Chop", regular Attack was the essential number.

Now it doesn't seem so simple. I get the idea that each typing is no longer clearly divided between (regular) Attack and Special Attack. Now it seems that each damaging attack, no matter what is, is assigned a "category", either "Physical" or "Special", as if to denote that the Pokemon could either use it from afar or that the attack required contact for to be successful.

The trouble is that some moves that previously relied upon the regular Attack stat now seem to do less damage because they've been converted to the "Special" category.

Let's look at Alakazam and one of it's old movesets:

Alakazam
Psychic
Thunderpunch
Firepunch
Calm Mind

Under the old system, this moveset could prove lethal, since Zam's Special Attack stats are obscenely high. All Electric, Fire and Psychic moves relied upon the Special Attack to calculate damage.

I believe this has changed.

In D/P, both Thunderpunch and Firepunch are listed as "Physical" moves, which may well mean that their damage is calculated based upon the (regular) Attack stat. Where Zam was previously lethal with a Firepunch, it's now much less effective, since Zam's normal Attack scores are rather pathetic.

But consider Slaking, whose normal Attack power is absolutely destructive. Hyper Beam was a staple move for Slaking, but now Hyper Beam is categorized as "Special". Does this mean that Slaking can no longer deal strong damage with this move just because it has a very low Special Attack stat? Yet, Gardevoir, for all its Special Attack prowess, could suddenly wreck shop? It certainly seems possible now.

If I'm right, then I'm not sure I like the system. It feels like an excuse to placate whiny brats who howled about being unable to stick Fire attacks on their Linoone and still win duels.

However, I've no proof that I'm right. Maybe I'm reading into things too deeply. Has anyone else come across data that supports or disproves my notion? I hope I explained it clearly enough.

I am a dolphin, do you want me on your body?

Look, asshole, for years the battle system was done a certain way, and I wasn't exactly seeking out signs of an overhaul.

Remember before, some moves were still denoted as being physical, in the sense that they required contact to deal damage. This was represented through abilities like Poison Point and Rough Skin.
Thunderpunch, while still an Electric move that relied upon Sp.Attk. for damage calculation, could still trigger Poison Point. Thunderbolt, however, could not.

The trouble was that there was never any real notation as to which moves fell into those subcategories.

Thus, when I saw "Physical" and "Special", I took it to mean that the moves required contact. I figured they were making that part clear. That's all. There wasn't any clear indicator that Thunderpunch suddenly relied upon the normal Attack score. I even checked the manual to see if this was explained, which it wasn't.

So don't act all superior because it seemed self-evident to you. I'm sure it wasn't an instant realization the moment you played. As I've explained, I had a very good reason to think the way I did.

I was speaking idiomatically.

Here's something peculiar:

I've had no success in finding a Munchlax in the honey trees, so I figured I'd bring my Snorlax over from Ruby and breed it with a Ditto, the idea being that the offspring would naturally be a Munchlax.

The egg hatched tonight and inside was not a Munchlax but a fully evolved Snorlax, despite it being at Level 1.

And yet, my new Snorlax still knows all the TM moves its father knew: Curse, Rest, Return, Shadow Ball.

So what happened? Is it because the Snorlax breeded with a Ditto, or because the Snorlax is level 100? Is it because I've yet to find a Munchlax on my own?

I'm kinda befuddled here.

What kind of toxic man-thing is happening now?

Originally Posted by Generic Badass

(not to mention it's a pain in the ass to level Fire types, which I've been focusing on).

Actually, the grassy nook just north of the Resort Area (in the sections around the Battle Tower you can access after defeating becoming Champion) is infested with nothing but Grass and Bug types. They're all around level 50-55, but Fire types have an especially easy time levelling up there, as they all tend to be pretty fast, are resistant to many of the attacks and deal massive damage. My level 40 Rapidash was kicking ass with Ember in that section.

Iron Mountain pretty much sucks for Fire Types.

FELIPE NO

Holy shit.

I have just observed a strange phenomenon. I don't know if it's a glitch or whether I'm lucky.

I'm breeding Murkrow eggs. My Honchkrow is paired with a Skarmory. I'm told the two get along well.

I've been riding my bicycle up and down the long stretch of path between Route 210, down through Solaceon Town and into Route 209, then back again. This seems to be a quick, easy way to hatch eggs, especially with a Magmar in the party. (Flame Body!)

During this time, my Murkrow and Skarmory produced two new eggs. I went and dumped the rest of my team into the computer, then rode up and down some more. Within the next three minutes, I got three more eggs.

It should be noted that, as I'm going up and down, I've been advancing through the Poketch screens, rotating through the sequence until it arrives at the Breeding Watch screen again. As I've done this, most times whenever I get around to the Breeding screen, there's been another egg ready for me.

Is this some kind of glitch, or are my birds just super horny? Either way, I'll have my Jolly/Adamant Murkrow in no time.

How ya doing, buddy?

Originally Posted by RPG Maker

Certain amount of steps cause your Pokemon to produce an egg; thats how it works.

Must be a ridiculously low number for this pair then. I've just acquired six more eggs.

On the plus side, if anyone wants a Murkrow that knows Drill Peck, let me know. As soon as I get my USB wi-fi adapter, I'll shoot one over.

Jam it back in, in the dark.

Originally Posted by RABicle

I know I've had to re-wirte my prefered Shedinja moveset as Shadow Ball and Silver Wind are terrible now.

I hear that. My Slaking, Snorlax and Zangoose sets are now inferior for the same reason.

On the other hand, Gengar is now HIGHLY useable!

A shame the PokeTour never comes around here. I could do quite well.

There's nowhere I can't reach.

I finally got onto the wi-fi and registered a friend code. So now I can do funky things like battle and trade. I'm not really looking for anything at the moment, though.

I could battle, but you'd be facing a team of level 100 ringers that I imported from my Ruby and Emerald games. I've got some Pokemon that are around level 60, enough for a battle, but I don't know how effective they'll be.

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.

If anyone would like to have a Murkrow w/ Drill Peck (Believe me, I've got plenty!), I'm up for a trade. Honchkrow has some evil attack stats and Drill Peck only makes it nastier. I'll even attach a neat item to it. If you'd prefer to be the OT, I can send an Egg too. (I can make them by the dozens.)

I still need any of the following:

Skorupi
Turtwig
Chimchar
Shieldon
Glameow
Croagunk

Lucky Egg
Moon Stones
Any TMs above #50 that you're actually willing to part with.

Let me know if you're interested. I'm usually home in the afternoons and evening, Eastern time.


As for battling, I prefer informal battles, but tournaments are okay as long as people don't get all asinine. If you don't count Pokemon I transported from Ruby/Emerald, most of my regularly used fighters are around level 63. I'm slowly building myself a truly fightworthy Sinnoh Squad but that's gonna be a while, so I'll make do with the ragtag bunch I've got laying around.

I don't mind allowing some of the more uber Legendaries as long as they're not ungodly insane. Stuff like Articuno, Regirock, Metagross, Regice, Suicune, Mew, Entei, Jiraichi et al, those are fine. Jiraichi is actually pretty good.
It's when we get into the HOLYCRAP Pokemon like Kyogre, Lugia, Mewtwo, Rayquaza, Giratina and (eep!) Arceus, that I have reservations.
(If you actually have an Arceus, that's cool. I don't mind hacking as long as you're not giving your Pokemon impossible attack stats or illegal movesets.)

My caveat is that if you're going to use a Legendary, then you should be allowed no more than one on your team. This prevents Cloudiroth from mopping your Charizard all over the floor with his DEATH SQUADRON OF HOLY MOTHERFUCKING RAGE.

I am a dolphin, do you want me on your body?

I'm surprised that I forgot to mention Wobbuffet. That thing is truly unfair. There's a reason I named mine "Bodybag". Wobbuffet is banned in most tournaments.

Every Wobbuffet has just about the same moveset and its ability, Shadow Tag, prevents a bored combatant from switching out, even during the mirror match. It's just a time waster that unimaginative jerks like to throw into battles because it's basically a free KO in anything but the mirror match.

At least there are ways to counteract a Shedinja or Spiritomb. Not a ton, but they exist. Against a Wobbuffet, you're cooked. It'll Mirror Coat or Counter you, then apply a Destiny Bond until you relent and let it kill your Pokemon. Wobbuffet is absolutely no fun.

There's also a rule known as "Sleep Clause". I think it means that you can't tr to put more than one of the opponent's Pokemon to sleep at a time. If the sleeping Pokemon is K.O.d, then you're allowed to use a Sleep inducer again, but not until. (If it happens through incidental means, like Effect Spore, that's acceptable.) It's kind of a gentleman's arrangement, from my understanding. You adhere, expecting the opponent to not violate the pact as well.

EDIT: Tiers are nice and all, purely for reference's sake, but I've never been one to stack my team full of overused Pokemon just because it means I'm gonna shred the competition. When I say I prefer casual battles, I mean that I like adding a bit of variety to my team. Maybe Zangoose isn't high up on some peoples' lists but that doesn't mean it's worthless. I'd rather use Pokemon that I personally think are nifty than obsess over which team is going to grant the highest percentage of victory. I do train my Pokemon to be competitive, so rest assured, it's gonna be one hell of a Zangoose. Still, I get tired of seeing nothing but Gyarados, Tyranitar and Alakazam during battle. Yes, I'll use them at times but I'll also throw Lapras, Cacturne or Ninetales out if I think it'll make things interesting.

Tiers are for scrubs.

I was speaking idiomatically.

Originally Posted by RABicle

I have a huge favor to ask.
I need a Metang with Ice Punch. The only way to get Ice Punch onto it is to have it tutored in Emerald, which I don't have.

If someone has this and is willing to hand it over I will be forever in your debt. Maybe I can rush through Ruby and trade you a Metang in return or a legendary bird or something. Or suck your cock, I'm up for anything.

Just NEED Metang, below level 50, with Ice Punch. It's my dream.

UPDATE: I just noticed I have the first three regis at level 100. If someone can get me this (without hax) I'm prepared to trade them all for it.

There's no real rush though. I need it within a month, so you dedicated souls have time to speed play Emerald and save up the Battle Tower points to teach it Ice Punch.

AND MUST BE METANG! I dont want any of this Metagross shit. Beldum would be acceptable, maybe.

I can acquire this for you easily. I've got Beldums available and also the points to use in Emerald. Give me a little bit to work it up and I'll have it ready for you. I presume that you'd like a specific personality, perhaps Adamant or Jolly?

I don't need level 100 Regis (I imported mine from Ruby) but if you've got Chimchars, Turtwigs and Spiritombs you can spare, those would be fantastic. I'm also in need of a Lucky Egg.

But I can definitely make you a Metang with Ice Punch.

What kind of toxic man-thing is happening now?

Originally Posted by RABicle

:O That would be legendary Crash.

Give me time and I can get you Turtwigs and maybe Spirtombs. Can't garruntee anything regarding Chimchars though sorry.

I'm not too fussed about it's nature although I'd prefer Hasty or a neutral natured one. Anything in particular you're looking for in your Turtwig's and Spirtombs?

(and lol, I didn't realise Metagross could breed)

I intend to use the Turtwig and Spiritomb for breeding, so the natures don't matter too much. If you've a way to give them better moves that can be passed, that'd be cool. I've got a Ditto and can pass along most moves easily enough. If not, I know how to chain breed on my own.

If you have a Glameow too, that'd be cool. I can't get them and haven't obtained one yet.

I have the Metang ready, by the way. I found a Jolly one, since that enhances Attack. It's level 20 and now knows Ice Punch. It's never been in battle, since I fed it Rare Candies. You can EV train it however you like, if that's your plan. It's still low enough in level that the Rare Candies won't have any impact upon its final stats as long as all its EVs are filled soon.

FELIPE NO

Originally Posted by Ultima

My friend got me there, I'll probably never be able to get back but whatever. I've done pretty much everything so its not that I don't know what triggers I need to activate to get there, just that whenever I surf I get to a dead end near where the little island on the water route is.

You can teach a Pokemon "Fly" and get back to Snowpoint that way.

And you can't surf to the Battle Tower island. You have to complete the event after defeating the Elite 4. Your mother will tell you to meet your rival in Snowpoint City. Once there, he'll say he's going to take a ferry to the Battle Tower to prove his stuff. You should be able to take it too.

Once you visit the Battle Tower, you can Fly there.

There MAY be a caveat involved where you cannot access the Battle Tower until your Regional Dex is filled. I got mine complete by fighting every trainer I could find. It's possible that you need to scout every nook and cranny for trainers so you can complete your Regional Dex first.

Or just trade like mad over the GTS.

What, you don't want my bikini-clad body?

Originally Posted by RABicle

Crash just hold onto that Metang a little longer for me ok? I should have the National Dex and whatnot by the end of the weekend and a few piplups or spiritombs or whatever it was that you were after in return.

At this point, I'm looking for Glameow, Turtwig and Chimchar. And a Lucky Egg.

I got a Shieldon and Spiritomb.

But the Metang is ready whenever you are, still.


Also, totally building up a competitive team of Dark-type Pokemon. Why? Why not? More people should do that, honestly.

Jam it back in, in the dark.