Just in case people find this blog and wonder why I stopped posting Pokemon things: a friend passed away.
I was super active with the Pokemon video games for a bit. Thousands of hours, starting with Ruby & Sapphire. I think I had two Ruby games, a Sapphire, and a Japanese Sapphire game. On the bus, on the plane, at work, at home, out and about...organized & played in tournaments for it and the card game...it was great.
I changed up jobs in mid-2008 and left behind the organized play and card game - but a buddy and I would compare notes about breeding and IVs, trading our breeding pairs, battling late at night while his wife and kids were asleep. As time went on, we still battled. He needed some competition, who wasn't playing in the same tournaments he was in. I wrote posts here about things I was doing and about EVs & IVs.
And I stopped posting in 2014. I'd still play, but not as much and not as deeply. Eric and I would still battle in the late evenings, sometimes turning on voice chat through our DSes, otherwise just messaging. I'd see him at rock shows occasionally with his wife - great people.
In 2016, a windstorm kicked up in Seattle in mid-March. A tree fell on a moving car, killing the driver but his daughter survived. A freak accident, really. But it felt wrong. A friend later called me to tell me it was Eric. Instant emotional black hole. It's tough going to a rock show sometimes, and thinking "maybe Eric will be...oh wait, no". He was a vibrant personality and lives on in the people who knew him.
I still played the games when they came out. But I no longer had a late night battle buddy, someone who was training and breeding their Pokemon for a purpose. I played through Pokemon Quest, and got some good walking around with Pokemon Go for awhile...but the magic dulled a little. It's okay - people pass on. I do other things now that I didn't do before. I have all of those awesome memories of the great people I experienced Pokemon with - that'll be a lifetime right there.
Hopefully you learned something, landing here. Some of the mechanics might still be applicable, but use critical thinking — figure out what does and doesn't work still. Maybe start up your own blog, and talk about your experiences so that others can learn from your trials.
Good luck, my fellow Ace Trainers!
Thursday, February 28, 2019
Saturday, January 25, 2014
IV Crossovers
So you have a Destiny Knot, that will get you 5 of the parent IVs
transferred over. Hopefully the perfect IVs, but that's not something
you get to control. Of course, the more perfect IVs the parents have,
the more likely they'll pass it on to their children.
This is where crossover breeding is awesome. Imagine you want to make a powerful Blastoise - you and your friends brag about how awesome you are at breeding and battling...the bet is made. Whoever makes the best one in an hour, wins all of the breedings. You can get 5 perfect IVs fast, once you have some basic work done.
I recently did some IV crossover breeding. Starting with Newton, the 6 perfect IV male Electabuzz, I bred it with a female Cacnea. (Ideally, it's from another country so it breeds faster.) I eventually get a female Cacnea (let's call her Betsy) that has 3 perfect IVs from Newton, and then start breeding Betsy and Newton. Sadly, the breeding is slower now - Betsy and Newton are different Pokemon which slows it down, and the foreign mother's effect is gone. As time goes on, I'll get better Cacneas 4 & 5 perfect IVs. When I get a male Cacnea with 5, I retire Newton. With a male and female Cacnea with 5 perfect IVs each, it becomes random luck getting a baby with 6.
But! Cacnea is part of two egg groups - Human-like and Grass. I can take a female Grass Pokemon and breed it with my 5 perfect IV male Cacnea...and repeat the process I did with Newton. I would stay closer to Pokemon that have a 50/50 split for female to male...getting stuck breeding with a bad half is just painful. (I did some Corsolas once - the females were common, so I had 4 IVs easily. Males were rare, and I was stuck on 2 IVs.
So far, I've got 5 perfect IV males in multiple egg groups. I have a bunch of Human-like starts, taking advantage of Newton's perfect 6.
Eventually, I'll get a male 5-IV for each of the egg groups. If I bred all of the time, I'd probably do 6-IV, but that takes awhile and a bit of luck.
*Lower steps needed to hatch means faster breeding. Even more important if you're going for 6 perfect IVs.
This is where crossover breeding is awesome. Imagine you want to make a powerful Blastoise - you and your friends brag about how awesome you are at breeding and battling...the bet is made. Whoever makes the best one in an hour, wins all of the breedings. You can get 5 perfect IVs fast, once you have some basic work done.
I recently did some IV crossover breeding. Starting with Newton, the 6 perfect IV male Electabuzz, I bred it with a female Cacnea. (Ideally, it's from another country so it breeds faster.) I eventually get a female Cacnea (let's call her Betsy) that has 3 perfect IVs from Newton, and then start breeding Betsy and Newton. Sadly, the breeding is slower now - Betsy and Newton are different Pokemon which slows it down, and the foreign mother's effect is gone. As time goes on, I'll get better Cacneas 4 & 5 perfect IVs. When I get a male Cacnea with 5, I retire Newton. With a male and female Cacnea with 5 perfect IVs each, it becomes random luck getting a baby with 6.
But! Cacnea is part of two egg groups - Human-like and Grass. I can take a female Grass Pokemon and breed it with my 5 perfect IV male Cacnea...and repeat the process I did with Newton. I would stay closer to Pokemon that have a 50/50 split for female to male...getting stuck breeding with a bad half is just painful. (I did some Corsolas once - the females were common, so I had 4 IVs easily. Males were rare, and I was stuck on 2 IVs.
So far, I've got 5 perfect IV males in multiple egg groups. I have a bunch of Human-like starts, taking advantage of Newton's perfect 6.
- Meinfoo - Human-like & Field
- Cacnea - Human-like & Grass
- Illuminise - Human-like & Bug
- Skorupi - Bug & Water 3
- Dwebble (Bug/Mineral)
- Mareep (Field/Monster)
- Stunfisk (Water 1/Amorphous)
- Ekans (Field/Dragon)
- Clawitzer (Water 1/Water 3) - 3800 steps*.
- Dedenne (Field/Fairy)
- Woobat (Flying/Field) - 3800 steps*.
Eventually, I'll get a male 5-IV for each of the egg groups. If I bred all of the time, I'd probably do 6-IV, but that takes awhile and a bit of luck.
*Lower steps needed to hatch means faster breeding. Even more important if you're going for 6 perfect IVs.
Saturday, January 11, 2014
IV Breeding in Pokemon XY
I bred my first 6 perfect IV Pokemon the other day in Pokemon Y. It was nearly impossible before - you could do hundreds of breeding and not get one. The Destiny Knot is the key to your problems - talk to the maid at the hotel in Cyllage City.
The Destiny Knot is important - normally the parents will pass down 3 IVs, and the other 3 IVs are random. With one parent holding the Destiny Knot (and the other, probably holding an Everstone - passing down its Nature), you pass down 5 IVs from parents...only one completely random not related to anything else.
Imagine if you had two perfect IV parents - you'd pass down 5 IVs from them. The other one would be a 1/32 chance to be a 31. This is the story - the more perfect IVs you have on your parents, the more perfect IVs can be passed down.
My story of Newton, the perfect Elekid starts in my friend Eric's Safari. When you catch a Pokemon at a friend's safari, that Pokemon will start with at least 2 perfect IVs. In my case, my female (with the hidden Ability, Vital Spirit) started with 3. The father started with 2 different perfect IVs, but with the Adamant Nature. He held onto the Everstone, the mother held onto the Destiny Knot.
I retired the father for a 3 IV, then 4 IV child. How do you know how many perfect IVs you have? At the end of the game, you have access to Kloude City. There's a judge in the Pokemon Center who tells you how awesome your best IVs on the Pokemon are, with the perfect IVs being "can't be beat". I take 5 candidates at a time, and mark the IVs in the summary boxes so I can keep track of who has what.
Eventually, I got up to 5 perfect IVs on the mother for the stats I wanted. (Special Attack would not be necessary.) She had Vital Spirit. She's the almost perfect (IV) mom. I needed Fire Punch and Ice Punch, so I bred a 5 IV Electabuzz father (Everstone) with a Medicham (Destiny Knot)...so that the Meditite father would have some good IVs to breed back over once it had the punches needed.
15 minutes later, I was back breeding the Meditite into the Electabuzz stock again. I quickly had a 5 IV Electabuzz father with the punches again, so it was just a matter of time.
Newton was born. Sadly, he has the Static ability, but he's got beautiful IVs. Imagine this - next time I want a Human Like egg, Newton as the father and a Destiny Knot - perfect IVs are easily passed down. I've already branched into a Cacturne - which means I can pass IVs over into the Grass 1 egg pool easily now (it was also in the Human Like egg group).
Other useful things: Hatching O Power, which you can get in a cafe in Lumiose City, after you've found all of the other powers. Elekids don't breed - I had to level them to Electabuzz (30)...the fastest way I know of is the rotation battle in the 2 star restaurant in Lumiose. (Experience O Power lasts through all of the battles.)
Good luck!
The Destiny Knot is important - normally the parents will pass down 3 IVs, and the other 3 IVs are random. With one parent holding the Destiny Knot (and the other, probably holding an Everstone - passing down its Nature), you pass down 5 IVs from parents...only one completely random not related to anything else.
Imagine if you had two perfect IV parents - you'd pass down 5 IVs from them. The other one would be a 1/32 chance to be a 31. This is the story - the more perfect IVs you have on your parents, the more perfect IVs can be passed down.
My story of Newton, the perfect Elekid starts in my friend Eric's Safari. When you catch a Pokemon at a friend's safari, that Pokemon will start with at least 2 perfect IVs. In my case, my female (with the hidden Ability, Vital Spirit) started with 3. The father started with 2 different perfect IVs, but with the Adamant Nature. He held onto the Everstone, the mother held onto the Destiny Knot.
I retired the father for a 3 IV, then 4 IV child. How do you know how many perfect IVs you have? At the end of the game, you have access to Kloude City. There's a judge in the Pokemon Center who tells you how awesome your best IVs on the Pokemon are, with the perfect IVs being "can't be beat". I take 5 candidates at a time, and mark the IVs in the summary boxes so I can keep track of who has what.
Eventually, I got up to 5 perfect IVs on the mother for the stats I wanted. (Special Attack would not be necessary.) She had Vital Spirit. She's the almost perfect (IV) mom. I needed Fire Punch and Ice Punch, so I bred a 5 IV Electabuzz father (Everstone) with a Medicham (Destiny Knot)...so that the Meditite father would have some good IVs to breed back over once it had the punches needed.
15 minutes later, I was back breeding the Meditite into the Electabuzz stock again. I quickly had a 5 IV Electabuzz father with the punches again, so it was just a matter of time.
Newton was born. Sadly, he has the Static ability, but he's got beautiful IVs. Imagine this - next time I want a Human Like egg, Newton as the father and a Destiny Knot - perfect IVs are easily passed down. I've already branched into a Cacturne - which means I can pass IVs over into the Grass 1 egg pool easily now (it was also in the Human Like egg group).
Other useful things: Hatching O Power, which you can get in a cafe in Lumiose City, after you've found all of the other powers. Elekids don't breed - I had to level them to Electabuzz (30)...the fastest way I know of is the rotation battle in the 2 star restaurant in Lumiose. (Experience O Power lasts through all of the battles.)
Good luck!
Thursday, April 26, 2012
Moar downloads
Darkrai download starts for US users on May 9th!
Something I didn't know until just now, you can download Togekiss on your birthday month, based on your Trainer Card birthdate. This will continue until the end of August 2012.
Something I didn't know until just now, you can download Togekiss on your birthday month, based on your Trainer Card birthdate. This will continue until the end of August 2012.
Wednesday, April 13, 2011
In the next episode of "As the Dream World Turns..."
I don't have the strategy guide, which is a first for me...and I didn't follow Serebii religiously until the release. (When they were asked to take down the images, I lost interest in previews. Sad me.)
I heard loose rumors about Dream World - mostly that's where you get berries, as well as Pokemon that have special new abilities. Come to think of it, those are the two main selling points for me, having experienced it.
There's a current mini-game you can play on the Pokemon website, that gives you an evolved Eevee-lution for free - I'd suggest getting that soon.
On 4/12, it opened. Technically it's 4/13 in Japan, which is why the rest of us were..."oh my, it's early!" I got my Entralink code the first time I tried to go there, which I had to attach to my Pokemon Trainers' Club ID on their website.
Now the confusing part...
1. Get code. Get booted.
2. "Tuck in" Pokemon. Get booted.
3. Log in...Pokemon seems asleep - maybe I should switch it out, as no games are starting?
The real answer is no. Once your Pokemon is asleep, within the next 5 minutes or so you can go to the website Pokemon Global Link and you play there. Oh...you have to play on your computer, not the DS.
If you pull your Pokemon out of the Entralink, you're done for the day. You're also done if you click in the upper right corner. (It can also end after an hour.) My 4/12 attempt was aborted as I tried to switch napping Pokemon out - DON'T!
On 4/13, I started with 5 Haban Berries - I planted 3, put one on my trade rack, and fed one to the END TREE *important*. I crossed the rainbow bridge to the forest - this bridge will go away if you feed a berry to the END TREE. In the forest, you'll run into a variety of Pokemon - they'll offer you a variety of mini-games, and then you'll have the option of picking up that Pokemon at the END TREE. You can also find items and berries that are added to your treasure chest back at your house. The final step is the END TREE.
I keep saying END TREE, not because that's the name - it just kills your access to the forest, once you pick a Pokemon that you befriended. You only get one each day - I choose a female Tangela...female DW Pokemon can pass on their DW ability 40% of the time to its children. Once you choose, you're bounced back home and the rainbow bridge is gone.
You're supposed to be able to access game/trade pals' houses, but I wasn't able to see them. There's a chance that changing a setting in your Pokemon Trainers' Club profile (from Friends to Everyone) will let you access other players' gardens/houses. I changed mine after today's successful access of the DW.
So the quick summary of what happens:
1. Plant/Harvest Berries <10>
2. Walk around the forest, collecting things
3. Play some mini-games <10-30>
4. Collect a single Pokemon <50>
5. Water other people's gardens/trade racks. <10/1>
Some of these activities are good because they level up your Entralink <@500>, letting you find better things - Pokemon? items? berries? At 900 and 2100, your berry fields will add a row.
Hope this overview helps!
I heard loose rumors about Dream World - mostly that's where you get berries, as well as Pokemon that have special new abilities. Come to think of it, those are the two main selling points for me, having experienced it.
There's a current mini-game you can play on the Pokemon website, that gives you an evolved Eevee-lution for free - I'd suggest getting that soon.
On 4/12, it opened. Technically it's 4/13 in Japan, which is why the rest of us were..."oh my, it's early!" I got my Entralink code the first time I tried to go there, which I had to attach to my Pokemon Trainers' Club ID on their website.
Now the confusing part...
1. Get code. Get booted.
2. "Tuck in" Pokemon. Get booted.
3. Log in...Pokemon seems asleep - maybe I should switch it out, as no games are starting?
The real answer is no. Once your Pokemon is asleep, within the next 5 minutes or so you can go to the website Pokemon Global Link and you play there. Oh...you have to play on your computer, not the DS.
If you pull your Pokemon out of the Entralink, you're done for the day. You're also done if you click in the upper right corner. (It can also end after an hour.) My 4/12 attempt was aborted as I tried to switch napping Pokemon out - DON'T!
On 4/13, I started with 5 Haban Berries - I planted 3, put one on my trade rack, and fed one to the END TREE *important*. I crossed the rainbow bridge to the forest - this bridge will go away if you feed a berry to the END TREE. In the forest, you'll run into a variety of Pokemon - they'll offer you a variety of mini-games, and then you'll have the option of picking up that Pokemon at the END TREE. You can also find items and berries that are added to your treasure chest back at your house. The final step is the END TREE.
I keep saying END TREE, not because that's the name - it just kills your access to the forest, once you pick a Pokemon that you befriended. You only get one each day - I choose a female Tangela...female DW Pokemon can pass on their DW ability 40% of the time to its children. Once you choose, you're bounced back home and the rainbow bridge is gone.
You're supposed to be able to access game/trade pals' houses, but I wasn't able to see them. There's a chance that changing a setting in your Pokemon Trainers' Club profile (from Friends to Everyone) will let you access other players' gardens/houses. I changed mine after today's successful access of the DW.
So the quick summary of what happens:
1. Plant/Harvest Berries <10>
2. Walk around the forest, collecting things
3. Play some mini-games <10-30>
4. Collect a single Pokemon <50>
5. Water other people's gardens/trade racks. <10/1>
Some of these activities are good because they level up your Entralink <@500>, letting you find better things - Pokemon? items? berries? At 900 and 2100, your berry fields will add a row.
Hope this overview helps!
Monday, March 28, 2011
Pokemon Black (and White) IV talk
I picked up Pokemon Black on launch, and haven't been back to update this in awhile. I'll chat more about breeding once I do more of it.
1. There's a guy above the Subway, in Nimbasa who rates your Pokemon's IVs - great for making choices on which baby to level up...
If the IV total is between 0 and 90: "This Pokemon's potential is decent all around."
If the IV total is between 91 and 120: "This Pokemon's potential is above average overall."
If the IV total is between 121 and 150: "This Pokemon has relatively superior potential overall."
If the IV total is between 151 and 186: "This Pokemon has outstanding potential overall."
If the highest IV is between 0 and 15: "It's rather decent in that regard."
If the highest IV is between 16 and 25: "It's very good in that regard."
If the highest IV is between 26 and 30: "It's fantastic in that regard."
If the highest IV is 31: "It can't be better in that regard.
2. I did breed an Arbok in HG, to migrate it into Black...Dark Pulse doesn't exist as a TM, but I wanted it for my Hydreigon. Took forever, getting a male Arbok with a Timid nature. (I hadn't migrated any of the natured-Dittos yet, so the Arbok was responsible for the Dark Pulse and the Timid nature.) It's great that the everstone works on either the male or the female!
1. There's a guy above the Subway, in Nimbasa who rates your Pokemon's IVs - great for making choices on which baby to level up...
If the IV total is between 0 and 90: "This Pokemon's potential is decent all around."
If the IV total is between 91 and 120: "This Pokemon's potential is above average overall."
If the IV total is between 121 and 150: "This Pokemon has relatively superior potential overall."
If the IV total is between 151 and 186: "This Pokemon has outstanding potential overall."
If the highest IV is between 0 and 15: "It's rather decent in that regard."
If the highest IV is between 16 and 25: "It's very good in that regard."
If the highest IV is between 26 and 30: "It's fantastic in that regard."
If the highest IV is 31: "It can't be better in that regard.
2. I did breed an Arbok in HG, to migrate it into Black...Dark Pulse doesn't exist as a TM, but I wanted it for my Hydreigon. Took forever, getting a male Arbok with a Timid nature. (I hadn't migrated any of the natured-Dittos yet, so the Arbok was responsible for the Dark Pulse and the Timid nature.) It's great that the everstone works on either the male or the female!
Wednesday, January 5, 2011
Lots of updates
1. B/W has a release date of 3/6.
2. Celebi will be a Gamestop download from 2/27 to 3/7 for D/P/Pt/HG/SS. It will unlock a story in HG/SS, and will be transferable to B/W to unlock Zorua. [EDIT: Celebi will also unlock a battle with Giovanni in HG/SS...and be carrying the final Berry - Jaboca, #63! D/P/Pt reference added as well.]
3. "Ash's Pikachu" will be a TRU download from 1/30 to 2/7 for D/P/Pt/HG/SS. Level 50, unknown if it unlocks anything. Iron Tail, Volt Tackle, Quick Attack, Lightningbolt.
4. SHINY LEGENDARY DOGS!
These are downloads available at Gamestop, for D/P/Pt/HG/SS.
1/3 - 1/9: Raikou
1/17 - 1/23: Entei
1/31 - 2/7: Suicune
These will unlock Zoroark in B/W.
2. Celebi will be a Gamestop download from 2/27 to 3/7 for D/P/Pt/HG/SS. It will unlock a story in HG/SS, and will be transferable to B/W to unlock Zorua. [EDIT: Celebi will also unlock a battle with Giovanni in HG/SS...and be carrying the final Berry - Jaboca, #63! D/P/Pt reference added as well.]
3. "Ash's Pikachu" will be a TRU download from 1/30 to 2/7 for D/P/Pt/HG/SS. Level 50, unknown if it unlocks anything. Iron Tail, Volt Tackle, Quick Attack, Lightningbolt.
4. SHINY LEGENDARY DOGS!
These are downloads available at Gamestop, for D/P/Pt/HG/SS.
1/3 - 1/9: Raikou
1/17 - 1/23: Entei
1/31 - 2/7: Suicune
These will unlock Zoroark in B/W.
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