Delcatty Only - Pokemon Emerald

Rules:
1. Only my starter in battle
2. No items in battle, except held items
3. No glitches, exploits, save states, or RNG manipulation
4. No evasion moves before level 100*
Rule details:
-- *In gen1, evasion boosting is allowed if the Pokemon does it through means other than learning the move by level up or TM. For example, using Mimic or Mirror Move to boost evasion is allowed. (This exception is to keep ranking consistent with my legacy videos.)
-- I am allowed to manipulate my starter
-- I play the game at 4x game speed
-- For fair comparisons all my Pokemon have perfect (or near perfect) DVs / IVs
-- I am allowed to catch HM users - I can use all field moves
-- All in-battle glitches are allowed in generation 1
-- In generation 1, I'm allowed to skip Marowak with the Poke Doll
-- Surge's trash-can-puzzle is automatically solved
-- The bike is allowed in gen1, banned in gen2, and allowed for bypassing terrain in gen3
-- Saving between league members is allowed
-- If the solo Pokemon faints and I choose to blackout it counts towards my reset counter
-- I can pause the game and timer to take breaks
-- The footage is sped up / slowed down to match the pace of my narration
-- The ability Pickup can only be used if the starter has it
Patreon: / scottsthoughts
KZbin memberships:
/ @scottsthoughtspokemon
Twitter: / psychicflying
Twitch: / scottsthoughtspokemon
Illustrations by / sarinavail
Thumbnail art by / brianlsart
STAB: bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/wi...
DVs / IVs: bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/wi...
Damage Calculations: bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/wi...
Gen1 Stat Calculator: pycosites.com/pkmn/stat_gen1.php
Gen2 Stat Calculator: pycosites.com/pkmn/stat_gen2.php
Gen1 Crit Rates: www.smogon.com/rb/articles/cr...
Learnsets: bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/wi...
Base Stats: bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/wi...)

[@thenerdbeast7375]

I'm convinced Delcatty is a gimmick Pokemon for the newly established contests of the generation, learning lots of different moves in order to use in contests.

[@ScottsThoughtsPokemon]

Seems like it

[@AdamAtYourService]

Makes sense. Considering the changes in the extras that come with these games, I hope Delcatty gets buffed in the future. So stylish.

[@1stCallipostle]

Even down to Skitty's anime appearances, it was all about contests. Very fair assumption

[@nicknorton95]

I had a cat who passed earlier this year who I also called nicknamed Bean. Love this video ❤️

[@TheDanishGuyReviews]

My favourite thing about Scott is how he picks a Mon I haven't thought of in years, and indeed would never use, either, and says "Let's see what this one's potential is."

[@blake2534]

I actually love Delcatty as a contest pokemon. Contests themselves actually gave a nice twist on pokemon I might not have considered for an actual main gameplay team.

[@Aliyah_666]

Honestly it's diverse move pool lends it to the contests.

[@melvint-p9500]

can’t you beat literally every contest by using defense curl + rollout on a geodude

[@RocketJo86]

​@@melvint-p9500 you can beat every gen 3 contest with an Icognito, Magikarp or Beldum, if you invest in the right Pokeblocks even. Best combo would be Dive and Surf, thou.

[@emperortoho]

@@RocketJo86 icognito???

[@RocketJo86]

@@emperortoho unnown, sorry. I'm German and sometimes I get the names mixed up, this one especially 😅

[@robertleite6650]

I love Churro! Also, I recently did a playthrough of Ruby and I saw the Hiker on the Cable Car ride first try. Hopefully you can eventually see him

[@craiggibbs9888]

Who else thought that the Bean preview was an actual picture, and then assumed that he was a pitch black kitto?

[@MichaelSotoCE]

Watching Scott miss sing 8x in a row against magneton when he could have possibly just 3 or 4 shot it😂 He never changes hahaha

[@excadream]

Actually frustrating...

[@sirjdog21]

I think the reason the moves like double slap haven't been updated in later gens is because in gen 4 they introduced the ability skill link which makes all multi hit moves hit the max making it pretty strong

[@ScottsThoughtsPokemon]

Ahhhh that is probably it. Didn’t know about that ability.

[@UnknownVir]

@@ScottsThoughtsPokemon Tail Slap is the better version, same accuracy as double slap (85%) but 10 more base power (25). That means it's more powerful than double-edge with Skill Link but with a chance to miss.

[@Arti_The_Great]

​@@UnknownVir not to mention no recoil

[@cameronbaker7279]

F*ck skill link cloyster...

[@melindamuller4466]

But then again, Bullet Seed got updated to 25 Base Power and 100% accuracy, Icicle Spear has the same stats; mainly the normal type versions of this type of move are terrible, Double Slap, Fury Swipes, Comet Punch and Barrage are all absolutely terrible.

[@c.m.9369]

If you redo this run at some point: Consider going with a different nature. If you use a nature that raises the Special Attack stat, you could really lean into its bolt-beam set, and get a HUGE return on repeated "Calm Minds". Your special attacks failed to get a one shot by only a slight bit so many times that it might really pay off. Although, I do understand that in the early game, this would make Delcatty even worse, so I don't know if it would actually be worth it. I just think in the second half of the run, having better Special Attack would be a lot better. So it might be worth considering.

[@rikaniebangbang]

I wonder how many Returns would turn into ranges though. He keeps Return until pretty late in the game so I'm not sure it's wise to weaken it after having to rely on physical damage for so long in the early game.

[@MayVeryWellBeep]

Delcatty did perform really well against Roxanne thanks to Attract. I think going for Attract before Sing would be better as this means that during the Sing misses you have a 50% chance for opponent not to move, then growl, and then just fish for good couple slap RNG and you could go in at a lower level. I'm not sure how far into the future it will be before Scott is optimising Emerald runs tho! Maybe never!

[@tylermiller5904]

I am new. Why does he start with evolved pokemon instead of evolving first form pokemon? Skitty is even weaker, yeah, but it at least learns moves.

[@glowcloudwheatproducts495]

Pokemon: *can't learn bullet seed* Roxanne: so you have chosen.... death

[@UnknownVir]

Skitty also has a hand on its tail which is why I personally thought double slap made sense. You make a good case for all cats having double bap though.

[@skeetermania3202]

It even does that in the anime.

[@UnknownVir]

@@skeetermania3202 Awesome! I didn't remember that (didn't watch much of the advanced generation or later)

[@Aliyah_666]

All cats are equipped to double slap with great efficacy lol 😂

[@shimauta1941]

29:00 - Sounds like you have a firestorm waiting to happen in that room. Please be careful with all those soft potentially flammable materials.

[@jaytaytay3205]

I seem to remember a video from earlier in the channel's life where Scott was a little apprehensive about getting a pet. This video was a joy to watch, and it's so wonderful to see how you've come to love your new fur baby. Churro is super cute!

[@ScottsThoughtsPokemon]

I’m a cat dad now!

[@toxicperson8936]

I’ve always loved Delcatty! Definitely one of my favorite normal types as well as one of my favorite Gen 3 ‘mons. It’s normalize ability isn’t great, but can surprise people when they aren’t thinking about it. I love using Thunder Wave on ground types, always catches people off guard. Also, I love the name Churro!

[@myggmastaren3365]

For some reason the early stone evolvers were always cursed with awful movepools, and it doesn't help that Delcatty won't get any useful moves before Roxxane

[@iBenjamin1000]

it's a trade off. give it a stone to get higher bst early vs keep it unevolved to get more moves.

[@perkypenguin1663]

I was terrified of how much of a wall Roxanne was gonna be for Delcatty, but I’m very impressed with the strategic way you beat her! Very clever! (Also your cat is very cute)

[@Sniwott]

Perky poggers (Scott edition)

[@perkypenguin1663]

@@Sniwott Sniwott POGGIES (Scott edition)

[@ScottsThoughtsPokemon]

Thanks!

[@abumpkininthesea749]

I have seen tons of Skitty runs, which are fun to watch but a Delcatty run!? Oh HFIL yeah I am so ready!

[@Zelgius1]

24:48 The Hiker is not the only one in Emerald, who has a 1/64 chance of appearing, Scott. In Emerald specificly, there is a 1/64 chance during the gondola ride, that a lone Zigzagoon can walk on the mountain. Because of a bug in the games code, you won't be able to see it by regular gameplay. ...,if you know what i mean.

[@MichaelTheBerserker]

I was hoping you were going to use the ability "Normalize" but then I realized it was introduced in gen 4. A normalize delcatty run would be super interesting and play out much differently I imagine.

[@ScottsThoughtsPokemon]

Normalize is such a bad ability. Like stab is nice, but coverage is better…

[@iantaakalla8180]

You know what would be cool? Finding a generation where there are no required Ghost types, then using Normalize Delcatty to finish the run. Sadly, I think the only possible run is in Sword and Delcatty is not available there.

[@Fallenhero4567]

Thanks Scott! I Just finish a solo Lugia White 2 playthrough. Now doing a solo Mawile playthrough.

[@ScottsThoughtsPokemon]

I hope Lugia did well! Have fun with Mawile, I hope it got better in later generations.

[@joshgregory1763]

I would like to see each attack's actual accuracy in your runs totalled together.

[@UnknownVir]

Total misses and expected misses would be great.

[@bridgesbane7032]

​​@@UnknownVir wouldn't expected misses just be the percentage the move has to miss? Like if a move has a 95% hit chance then it has a 5% miss chance? So you can expect 5 misses for every 100 attempts at the move.

[@joshsunderlage4368]

Delcatty is my favorite normal type pokemon! Thank you so much for making this video. This brightened my day!

[@littlehasman9369]

I absolutely love how your layout has progressed. You've managed to include a ton of relevant run information without cluttering the layout. 👍

[@ScottsThoughtsPokemon]

That’s been the goal! Glad I’ve managed to pull it off!

[@DinosaursSayRarr]

Scott i love the idea of showing us your kitty after each gym! As a cat lover myself, I absolutely loved this video. You are one of my all time favorite pokemon youtubers, and this just seals the deal.

[@DarkNia64]

Man, you are really setting some new KZbin standards with this HUD. The badge boost indicators at the bottom left are a brilliant touch.

[@sashasscribbles]

Aaaa those cat photos are adorableeee!!! I love Churro with all of my heart~ Though he has been an absolute gremlin during streams hehe Just had a thought that you could use the Thief TM for Pokemon that learn it to steal the white herb from Flannery's Torcoal, letting the overheat drop stick. Also tho why the heck does Delcatty not learn Thief or especially Cut? they both seem like super thematic moves for cat mons smh smh Loving the video so far! As always

[@Aliyah_666]

Cut sucks....slash would be better to fill this role. Plus that crit chance.

[@sashasscribbles]

@@Aliyah_666 Indeed but I'm more talking about playthroughs? Delcatty learning cut would give it another option before Roxanne. It should have both

[@drllbutters4487]

Scott, thank you for making these videos. Im grinding levels on kingdom hearts 3 and you’re getting me through it rn. ❤️

[@n64_kfp]

I've been looking forward to this video! Your cat is adorable and I love the name!

[@isaacwright1275]

Oh hell yeah, congrats on the cat, looks adorable. Love the videos and the channel. Keep up the great work mate.

[@mellysandshrew]

Aaaaa I've been waiting for this! Thank you for all the cat pics, he's so dang cute

[@lamiaprincess6371]

Whoa several things I want to say. First off! Churro is extremely cute. He definitely has big orange cat energy imo. Hopefully he is slightly more kind to your sound paneling XD Second, wow despite that kind of abysmal Roxanne time, Delcatty ended up doing really well. Just ends up really coming into its own toward the back half of the game. Though, eventually, we're gonna get you to remember what weaknesses Bug/Rock and Grass/Rock have. Third, ooooh MtG playmats! What kind, how did you get them etc. I wanna know the deets. Finally, thanks for the video as always. Cannot wait for the Milotic playthrough!

[@ScottsThoughtsPokemon]

They are just generic mtg play mats. Got them along time ago when I was regularly attending Friday night magic. They ended up turning into a mouse pad while I played competitive SC2 and now they are sound dampeners for recording Pokémon voice over!

[@jackruby6696]

Mabe Steven has several steel type Pokémon? I’ve always thought gym leaders keep several of the same Pokémon at different levels for the kids that challenge them.

[@Cleric_Guardian]

This is a super wholesome episode. Love it!

[@PenguinMafia336]

Churro is so precious. He looks like my cat Chester back home. Thanks for making my day Scott!

[@redwings13400]

kiiiitttttttt good kit wonderful kit I love your kit Also, I feel like chesto-resto-setup strats vs steven might become the new curse/return set you use for Red. That just seems to work really well when setting up on his skarmory, and I could see a ton of pokemon using that strategy really effectively.

[@bateltheassistant]

Decatty was really good, especially whenever it used its weakest stat in order to attack, I think that it would definitely earn a decent stab move after the physical special split. The early game was really rough for Delcatty with this kind of moveset ,but after gaining access to calm mind it's run was significantly better.😊 I'm not sure if teaching it substitute and pairing with rest would make the results any different in the late game. But overall I think the final moveset was the best for it ,the Steven fight was really easy with this set.🫡 Also the churo/Bean pictures were really adorable🙃it was nice to have them around. And I really liked the Delcatty art in thumbnail it's really fitting for the kind of run it had .😊

[@SubwaySandwichBossIngo]

I love you, Churro. A quality boy. As I watch this, my cat, Simon, who has recently come back from the vet with FANTASTIC results, is sitting on my lap, purring. Also, I love Delcatty, in my last Emerald playthrough I ended up using one. I don't care if it's "bad". I love cats, and so, I love Delcatty. Edit: I have to add this. But, your layouts for these videos are honestly the best layouts I have ever seen, for really any game. It's so informative and pretty to look at.

[@ScottsThoughtsPokemon]

Awww. I’m glad Simon came back from the vet with fantastic results. Give him a pet for me!

[@vallum12100]

The Whismer HP EV strat has carried so many of my gen 3 nuzlocke runs. Only encountering them in that cave makes it really easy to grind and count encounters. Being able to loop back on nuzlockes by gym 3 to grind up on them helps with the difficulty spike, and with the power belt so close, makes future use really easy to utilize for any emergency losses. I'm glad other people are seeing the light on how helpful HP EV grinding is really helpful, especially on nuzlockes!

[@bortzanator3018]

Hi Scott, did some digging because I love how obsessed you are with hoping to see a Hiker while riding the cable car. In gen3 you have a 1/64 chance to see either a Hiker, Camper, or Picnicker. Fun fact, in R/S, you also had a chance to see a pooch and in E you could see a zigzagoon. But the pokemon sightings were removed. I tried to find as many sources outside of anecdotal accounts online, but almost everywhere I look references the same 12 year old YT video. Anyways, according to the internet you will eventually see someone. Congrats on the new cat!

[@ScottsThoughtsPokemon]

There is still hope!

[@SurgingChaos19]

Not surprising to see Delcatty do so well even though Roxanne was obviously going to be a brick wall that required overleveling. Having access to BoltBeam in Gen 3 along with Calm Mind makes it so good in the late game.

[@XzenoStrike]

My brother and I called our late-cat, Cinnamon, Bean. When she was asleep she was almost perfectly shaped like a kidney bean

[@ScottsThoughtsPokemon]

Awwww

[@morgan4574]

I would die for Churro. I am new to the channel but i like what i see so i have liked and subbed! The only thing i can offer in terms of improvement is pkease dont turn off Move Animations! I know it adds time but im personally bored to tears without them even when im grinding and using the speedup. It also helps with situational awareness and prevents just skimming over text which i tend to do when im grinding

[@discgolfwes]

Scott and sleep tactics, name a more iconic duo

[@ScottsThoughtsPokemon]

Scott and Hypnosis specifically.

[@iantaakalla8180]

Scott and not remembering Venomoth’s typing?

[@blakeschwab7518]

aww your cat is a cutie. fun run. i legit loled irl when u got static proced twice in a row on that electrike.

[@GreenTense]

Wait, Ice is regular against rock, so cradily takes super effective damage from ice beam

[@ScottsThoughtsPokemon]

Yes

[@arckrokosz3123]

Omg!! My cat's name is Willow, but we also call her Bean. That's her nickname. What a cutie. Always happy to see new stuff from you! Also, to answer the question, the hiker is still in emerald. I have seen him many times, and my emerald file has 200 hours in it, that, and the fact that i have never played ruby and sapphire.

[@skunkynuggets6881]

I like how the first picture you show of Churro looks like he wasn't unlocked yet

[@rikaniebangbang]

Awww what a cute cat!

[@garryfischer3679]

This was a wild ride of a run haha great video Scotttttttt

[@evanmckeel5495]

Cool to see that you are beginning to develop a "template run" for this game like you have for Yellow. Also interesting how similar the early game is because of another Rock type gym

[@evanmckeel5495]

"Brocksanne"

[@evanmckeel5495]

Also, Pokemon with a disadvantage can skip the 2nd gym for now, and do the electric gym first instead (Just like Yellow).

[@midge2946]

Was just talking about Delcatty and Normalize with some friends today, actually. Poor thing's stats really are just so low... Churro's a real cutie though. And he has such good posture!

[@MrTiggeroo22]

ive never used Delcatty in my life. I'm surprised how good it is (also churro is very cute!) Him laying on his back sleeping is adorable

[@shimauta1941]

12:00 - That was a beautiful battle and an awesome defeat.

[@MadameTeqi]

Skitty was my mascot Pokemon for years and years, to the point where my oldest friends know me by that mon's name. I'm excited to see how its evolution does!

[@jptheflipper3825]

you did very well sir, I was expecting a far rougher run with low 100's of resets, but good luck and decent coverage got you through, I was expecting Steven to be far worse as well. Gen 3 is my home Gen and glad you've gotten used to it, the better movepools, the EV training and abilities, all add some fun a run. I wouldn't look down on Rock Smash though, I did a Poison Type only run recently and all I had to deal with Watson was Swalot with Rock Smash, it wasn't easy but it worked. have you got any bug runs planned for Emerald, I maintain Shedinja and Masquerain will be very fun, especially if allow Masquerain its egg or pre-evolution moves, bubblebeam and psybeam are a nasty early game combo

[@PrincessGoth574]

Churo is an angel

[@dr0g_Oakblood]

0:33 - honestly, I misheard that you did a teaser there initially, and was like, ah noice, ye got yerselves a noice little shadow gremlin, very good, a lovely little splotch of darkness. But of course, a little orange gremlin is fine too.

[@grundgutigertv6170]

Oh my gosh, I love this cat! Finally you do a run with it :3

[@scrubplaceholder6216]

Great vid m8. Loved the cat photo's!

[@optortoise202]

I’ve never been so excited for anything delcatty before 😂 I love the Bean

[@ArchonZach]

I saw someone do an emerald play through the other day and they saw a picnicker on the gondola so someone should show up eventually!

[@rc4780]

Many years ago when my cat died I was completely heartbroken. After a while I started a new game in Omega Ruby and figured I’d add a Delcatty and name him after Ollie and played through with him until the end of Omega Ruby. It was a nice way of keeping a part of him with me for a little bit longer.

[@kylesavage6319]

You didn’t want to go from “Juan” to “hwally” but went right into “Juanna” just prior. 😆 Great videos, been fun watching the progression!

[@aeolus7762]

Small note related to Cradily: it shows in your movepool that it is super effective with Ice Beam, and it is, which might have led to you beating Steven without resetting on Metagross!

[@thaliest8631]

It's a ginger cat! They are the wildest ones. Fun fact: Approximately 80% of all ginger cats are male; and we have a female ginger at home named Kitty!

[@batking2229]

That cat is so cute!!!! I'm doing an aron run in emerald, it's kinda fun lol. But it's fight with wattson was insane, especially cuz I had to restart the run. I accidentally got rid of mud slap for iron defense and since it has a really low special defense I took so much damage.

[@zedruumd2119]

Delcatty looks like it’s wearing one of those neck comforter pillows that people wear on airplanes, and that makes me happy.

[@shimauta1941]

Nice video Scott. Looking forward to the next one.

[@jakethesnake814]

Another Saturday, another Scott's Thoughts gem. Cheers!!

[@ktvx.94]

I was quite surprised to hear your cat being called Churro. Mine recently passed away, his name was Pancho which technically means hot dog but I just named him something I could quickly call, since I figured I'd be saying his name a lot either to praise, scold him or draw his attention.

[@ScottsThoughtsPokemon]

Sorry to hear about your loss.

[@frankieinjapan]

Those are some cute cats. Also Delcatty really put in the work and tried its best in the early game. Crazy luck 🤣

[@rennyjesus]

Churro is sooooo pretty!!!! 😊 I hope to see your updated art with Churro in your head 😂

[@wesleymcjunkin6643]

My family back in like 2017 rescued cats a momma cat and it’s 3 babies and we named them all after beans since my brother said the baby kittens looked like beans. We got all the cats home except we kept the cat named Garbanzo and his nickname is Banzo. Love the videos keep up the great work! 😊

[@ScottsThoughtsPokemon]

Awwww so sweet

[@marilynlucero9363]

I KNEW IT! Can't wait to see pics of the little baby! Edit: That is such a cute cat!

[@nlb137]

Why the heck did you try Solar Beam before using Shadow Ball? Super effective, uses your better attacking stat. You literally went out of your way to get it!

[@ScottsThoughtsPokemon]

I commonly forget Shadow Ball, which is what happened here. Yes I went out of my way to get it, but I also have ADHD.

[@anni321]

Churro is so cute! Thanks for the cat pics.

[@ZachFerg]

I'm happy you used me as a sacrificial piece in this video! A necessary sacrifice to appease the Dark Lord Kabutops! 😈

[@Luachra]

The hiker definitely exists in emerald! I watched a video today that had him on absolblogs, don’t give up hope!

[@sirgabid]

Omg my fav Pokemon ever :"0 along with photos of a cat? This is my world

[@Selet101]

just watched the Watson fight, and just as a note if something similar comes up on other pokemon, you could use Rock Smash to get a defense drop on the Manectric then switch to Double Slap. Unless Manectric can one shot you, you seemed to have a few turns on Manectric, so that defense drop could be critical on weaker pokemon like Delcatty.

[@ScottsThoughtsPokemon]

Very true! Good tip.

[@glowingpineapple619]

but then you would have to keep rock smash until lilycove ( i think) and that’s definitely not worth it

[@skeetermania3202]

@@ScottsThoughtsPokemon BTW, you don’t need to beat Winona to access the Move Deleter. Simply putting her off until even as far as beating both evil teams is an option, so if removing a pivotal move is urgent, do that first, then Teleport. This also saves time such that Lilycove is marked as a viable Fly location once you beat Winona.

[@Chogathable]

Have faith Scott, I played Emerald for the first time 2-3 months ago and I got the hiker on my first ride so it wasn't patched out.

[@123zetazeta]

churro is actually a commonplace breakfast food in Spain!! Chocolate con churros! Makes for a very good post-club bk, TRUST ME

[@Arcygenical]

Ooh, nothing beats a Scott's Thoughts upload. Can't wait to get off work tonight and watch. Hey, question, do you have a video editing suite you recommend for an absolute "I don't even have experience using windows movie maker from 2005" level of novice looking to enter the content creator scene?

[@ScottsThoughtsPokemon]

If you have a good computer or a Mac with an M1 or M2 chip, try DaVinci resolve. Don’t let Adobe steal your money. I honestly only use it because of the entire suite integration and I feel like it’s over priced and poorly maintained.

[@Chefvonbreezy]

Congratulations on the cat my dude. I have 2 myself. But man the lack of level up moveset 😂.

[@kandyeggs]

I love this channel, but since I have no money I’ve just gotta keep commenting: I finished my living dex of authentic gen one Pokémon on the 3DS Red and Blue! I, -despite my undefeated champion Leon level of directional sense- finally have a good grasp of how to navigate Kanto. I just finished one playthrough in Silver, and have come to the realization that a LOT of Johto Pokémon are basically locked behind NPCs telling you there’s an outbreak… but I DID manage to find a shiny! A Raticate, but I’ve been hoping for a shiny this entire time!

[@ScottsThoughtsPokemon]

Congrats on the shiny Raticate! Completing the living dex on the 3DS virtual console was so much fun when I did it. Hope you had a blast!

[@LITTLE1994]

Glad I'm not the only one loves Delcattys, let alome one in not only Emerald, but in XD Gale of Darkness.

[@paulnewton2284]

"A cat increases Happiness and decreases Productivity." A very worthwhile trade-off, I would say. Productivity is overrated.

[@justinsims655]

"That cat needed more than 9 lives." - Wattson

[@grahammcmullen5919]

Great video! Do you mind putting the Pokemon's name below the resets & badges and above their sprite on the left column? I'm familiar with gens 1 & 2 but not with other generations lol

[@jameswhite2308]

A solid strategy that I've found for Steven for Pokémon that can set up (and almost any other major trainer in the end game) is to teach Substitute to a Pokémon, use it against the skarmory and set up there. Skarm has a tendency to try an use Toxic or spikes, so setting up is often possible.

[@ScottsThoughtsPokemon]

Good idea! I’ll employ that strat in the future.

[@888Grim]

Excellent video as always, Churro is very cute =) 48:06 My Sandshrew =P

[@willjuhl6484]

My female cat's nickname is also Bean! Love your content, Scott! Keep up the amazing work

[@ScottsThoughtsPokemon]

Bean! Best cat name

[@Lava_Lizard]

I throughly enjoyed all the cat photos. 😊 Maybe we could get some of your other cats photos in another cat run playthrough please? 🙏 gotta be polite 😁

[@RandysOfWar]

I have been waiting for this video for so long! CAT REVEAL!

[@male_maid5951]

lovely cat picks. tongue out cats are super cute!

[@AlexiadFGC]

kitty pictures are by far the best birthday gift I could have asked for

[@ScottsThoughtsPokemon]

Happy belated birthday!

[@Undrave]

Churro looks like a good bean!

[@goodbyesheesha]

I've been super busy with work and I'm just catching up now. As a former foster and current owner of four black cats-- I approve! (anecdotally, I happen to be acquaintances with one of the best fosters in Alberta, so hit me up if you need MORE CATS)

[@ebilgaming]

I came for the awesome cats promised. Churro is gonna be the best beans to look at!!

[@shanoc5902]

Something that might be good to consider when it comes to sleep moves after gen 1, since the opponent can only lose 1, 2, or 3 attacks and you must always commit at least 1 attack to put them to sleep, there's an additional 1/3rd chance of the sleep being non-impactful to the battle. This means in the case of sing you have a 45% chance of being -1 turn, 18.3333% chance of being turn neutral, 18.333% chance of being +1 turn, and 18.333% chance of being +2 turns. This means that on average Sing would give you +0.55 turns. Since the pokemon gets to attack the turn it wakes up, you can also never sleep lock them as they will always get at least one move in before you can put them back to sleep (even if you were to use spore). It may be good to think of sleep moves as giving you anywhere from half an extra turn per PP to a full turn per PP (in the case of spore) and think about if that's going to be enough to flip the tide of battle, and even then you still need to consider that you will always take a hit for all but the final use of a sleep move on any given pokemon (either from a miss or it waking up), regardless of if you put them to sleep twice or ten times. So for example, Sing may give you on average about 8 more attacks than your opponent per battle, you should counter-balance it with if the 8-14 attacks you are guaranteed to take when using it would knock you out before you win. If you don't think that getting X free turns while taking (X/accuracy)-[number of sleep targets] hits would let you overcome a problem opponent, then perhaps training will be more beneficial as you'll probably need those levels regardless. That said, you're the one doing these runs, and I do get that fishing for better luck can really shave time off in the long run, but thought that looking at the numbers differently might prove useful for Gens 2+! Gen 1 math is obviously much more in favor of sleep since it can both last longer and waking up takes their entire turn. Apologies if this ramble isn't anywhere near as useful as I thought it was, just was watching the video and my started playing with the numbers when it felt like you may have been leaning on sing a bit too hard (not that you had many options).

[@ScottsThoughtsPokemon]

Great info! And it really is different than in gen1 where the Pokémon can’t attack the turn they wake up. Sleep lock can allow for sweeps that shouldn’t be possible. I do want to add that sleep can bypass certain permanent battle states. Without access to items, sleep can allow me to get around a predicted status (like Magneton’s thunder wave). Also, Sing can allow a Pokémon to progress to a specific point in a battle without taking damage. Where as just attacking would result in being damaged at that same point. If I was playing a regular playthrough a lot of these sleep tactics just don’t have the same kind of reward. An item can heal a status or a switch out can give you a better match up against a key foe.

[@shanoc5902]

Very good points!