How fast can I beat Pokémon Crystal with a Forretress only? - Pokémon Crystal Solo Challenge

Channel Membership: / @squidgy
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Overlays made with @kangaskdan 's help! Thanks Dan!
Challenge Results: docs.google.co...
Universal Pokémon Randomizer Changed Evos: pokehacks.dabo...
Chat/Comment Guidelines:
1: Respect each other, do not intentionally cause arguments and diffuse the situation immediately.
2: Please no backseat gaming. If I need help, I will ask the chat for help. A lot of the fun for myself and the viewers is coming up with the strategies on my own and solving problems in my own unique way.
3: Listen to the streamer. If I say stop, I mean stop, and move the discussion on.
4: Please don't reference other creators' in-jokes and running gags on my stream. Just as much as I wouldn't like another creator using my lore, I would find it disrespectful to use other creators' lore.
5: Moderators' and streamer's decisions are final.
The Rules:
1: The timer starts when walking away from Professor Elm after receiving the starter Pokémon.
2: Only the Challenge Pokémon may participate in battle.
3: No items in battle, except Balls from the bag.
4: No evasion-increasing TMs, and no Rest and Sleep Talk TMs until every other option has been exhausted.
5: No intentional uses of glitches or exploits, except the Teleport glitch after the SS Aqua.
6: No Rare Candies until facing Red. Rare Candies will be used in a 3-3-4 pattern.
7: Timer may be paused for breaks in recording, but no inputs may be made when the timer is paused.
8: Save states are permitted in the overworld, but no save states may be used mid-battle.
9: If the challenge Pokémon faints, the previous save state must be reloaded and progress regained.
#PokemonChallenge #PokemonCrystal #pokemonchallenges #CrystalChallenge

[@chocolatesnicky]

I would prefer to see any battle where a reset happens. I get caught off guard sometimes by the number of resets.

[@dipeshpatel4391]

I second this

[@Squidgy]

I think I'll recap any time the reset counter goes up, as that seems to be the general consensus of the comments section!

[@arnoldPLO5]

@@Squidgy I also like to see battles where resets happen or almost happen. But battles like the Kanto gym leaders can be skipped in my opinion.

[@Phil-S8]

Karen's Houndoom, Blue's Arcanine and Red's Charizard are going to be massive sticking points. Perhaps building up Rollout for a OHKO? Sandstorm? And obviously quick claw or curse will be super necessary. I am really looking forward to this one Squidgy 🙂

[@et34t34fdf]

Rollout, and then do HP bug? Could be an option.

[@Shujou2]

Where is that damn bug bite when ya need it

[@kylelundgren5133]

@@Shujou2 in gen 4

[@nick56677]

@@Shujou2 Or X-Scissor.

[@hekonaleeinos5510]

Wait, i didn't realized that Forretress couldn't learn Swift in Gen 2. Koga is cheating ! We believed it was only Lance, but the entire league is fraudulent. The plot thickens...

[@pyrotempestwing]

Swift is an Egg Move for Pineco with a Lediba, Ledian, or Yanma father. Edit: This is in Gen II, btw.

[@Squidgy]

Koga must've bred his Forretress, but that's still cheating in my eyes - I don't get to use egg moves at all in my runs!

[@hekonaleeinos5510]

@@Squidgy I realize now that i'm technically in the wrong, but i stand by my first comment, because i just think it's funny. Who will be the next to be unmasked as a "fraud" ? I amuse myself however i can.

[@Squidgy]

I've got my eyes on Jasmine. I think she gives her Steelix performance enchancing SecretPotions in order to boost her Steelix's accuracy with Iron Tail.

[@hekonaleeinos5510]

@@Squidgy Let's not even talk about Poliwrath's Dynamic Punch ; Chuck's not off the hook either.

[@W0lfMan26]

I want to see all random resets, you never know where/ what trainers will pose a roadblock. That's part of the fun in watching.

[@tintinotintin]

i will be happy to see your resets fights cause this adds to the video something important from your run

[@rhodahaque]

Reset battles would be great to see because as you say, the counter may jump without context. Plus, you'd be surprised which trainers warrant a reset or present a challenge, and I think it would be interesting to see.

[@Squidgy]

That's very true, Rhoda! I didn't expect the Bug Catcher in Bugsy's Gym to cause so many issues, but he was harder than Bugsy himself! I'll be keeping in all of the initial resets, and any subsequent interesting resets against trainers (and inevitably some wild Pokémon, too!).

[@MobileGamingChronicles]

15:28-15:35 well, like they say, if it's not 100% accurate, it's 50% accurate, but dang that's the one time we didn't want that to be true, because it almost always seems to hit when we don't want to be hit. 🤣🤣🤣

[@grayorganization]

Dude this is great content! Caught my first pineco on crystal (20 years later 😭) and wanted to see movesets. Then stayed for the whole video because I enjoyed it so much. Great content!!

[@RayD-TCG]

You're the first person to do a Forretress run. Thank you for being the first one to do this. The only other person to do a Pineco only run as well is Bard Breaker.

[@Squidgy]

I am curious to see whether Pineco would be easier or harder than Forretress, but we'll have to wait a bit for that, as I'm covering all the fully-evolved Pokémon first!

[@andrewjoseph2749]

If you have multiple resets from a trainer mention/show at least 1 of the losses.

[@leereid8702]

Higher rollout increases speed you'll notice sometimes level 4-5 rollout will hit first w/o quick claw

[@W0lfMan26]

21:14 Koga's Forretress knows swift which is only obtainable through breeding with ledyba/yanma. Just kinda interesting there.

[@Squidgy]

I kinda like that Game Freak put in trainers with Egg Moves - it's a very subtle hint to suggest that Pokémon can learn extra moves via a new method, but it could've done with being explained a little better!

[@rjthepoet500]

And we’re back! Another great run Squidgy!

[@Squidgy]

Thanks, RJ! This one was a toughie, but we made it through in the end!

[@rjthepoet500]

@@Squidgy fire types are so brutal when used correctly but you got through it and that’s what matters most!

[@hardboyled]

I think, when it comes down to Resets - it depends on the amount of resets you have to do: If you have to reset a lot of times at the same hurdle, then something like a montage would suffice in which you explain what happened. I like the idea of repeating a few runs with your new ruleset when you stop the timer while catching your HM Friends, but I don't think that you have to do it. Pokémon is a game with a lot of RNG and I'm not sure if it's going to make a lot of difference at the end - at least if you're not comparing Pokémon like Jynx and Electabuzz. I second the suggestion of Joshua Sims who also left a comment here. 😊 Besides that: Thanks for doing a run with Forretress! I thought for a long time that it's a trade evolution like Steelix or Scizor, but it's one of the (very few) Johto Mons which can be caught early and has the new Steel type, too. I also had to laugh when I read "Snake" on the screen. Lance is finally getting what he deserves: Being called out on his double standards! PS: Lance sent his LV50 Dragonite out, because he knows Fire Blast, which his other Dragonites don't. :)

[@Squidgy]

I'm trying to skip showing nearly-identical resets - especially at Red - but montages are a great idea for those incredibly tricky battles (like Clair was with Magcargo)! For Pokémon that I'm directly comparing, I'm going to give them the most advantageous start possible, by manipulating their DVs for best potential Hidden Power Type. I've got Miltank and Tauros coming up, and they have identical DVs to give them the best chance to face off against each toher. Forretress *feels* like a trade evolution, mostly because the other new Steel Pokémon were trade evos! It's a shame that Pineco's location was a bit of a mystery for most people, though, as it's a really fun Pokémon to play with! Lance will ALWAYS be called out in our videos here - the gloves are off and I am taking him down!!

[@manuelpavanello90]

Rollout is a staple, although (at a first glance) it is a little underrated

[@MobileGamingChronicles]

29:18-29:20 broooooooo! I'm surprised that didn't go ahead and one shot you from full health, that was STAB 4x weakness Fire Blast!

[@mikeguerrieri1918]

Finally home and settling down to watch this amazing video! Excited!!!

[@robertmcdonough2990]

Great video! Fortress is so good in team battling but solo run is wild!!

[@Squidgy]

Cheers, Robert! Forretress is brilliant in a supporting role, but having no STAB and no attacking moves really hindered him here!

[@DanBottiglieri]

Wow a Pokétuber who isn't Canadian! Good to see a fellow Brit. Good content! It's such a shame Forry has such an awful learnset in Gen II :(

[@Squidgy]

Forretress' learnset is really bad in Gen II, but at least he got Rollout! Without that, I reckon I'd have needed an extra 10-15 levels

[@TripleShizzle]

great run, agree it's nice to see where resets are happening and how you strategise around them

[@treyparkerofficial]

Thanks so much for doing this run for me! Absolutely amazing thank you!

[@Squidgy]

No worries!

[@MobileGamingChronicles]

Dang if the Rival's Haunter had Curse and used it when you missed all those Rollouts, you would've had the potential of a reset!

[@kangaskdan]

Self destruct and explosion in the level up moveset. This pokemon was made to lose. Oof!

[@Squidgy]

Forretress REALLY wanted to go boom!

[@MobileGamingChronicles]

I think just the resets in the major battles should matter, but it's up to you. I can see why including resets everywhere would matter, because it would show the true potential of the Pokemon, and make it easier to determine how it ranks outside of time, because you could have a Pokemon struggle in Johto a bit, but first try Red and have a slower time, then have another Pokemon sweep Johto, but take quite a few resets at Red, but still finish faster, although it could have a few more resets than the Pokemon that struggled a bit at Johto, let's say Johto took 8 resets, but the Pokemon that didn't reset once in Johto took like 10 resets at Red but still finished faster. Well, would it be fair to say the one that finished faster is the superior Pokemon? Because it had 2 more resets, and the one that struggled in Johto beat Red first try, although was there luck involved? If so, then the other Pokemon could be superior, although if the other Pokemon would only need one or two resets at best to beat Red reasonably, then it's up for debate on which is better.

[@baregrills5621]

Exciting stuff I've watched every single video this man has made. Man that Macargo run was awful

[@Metalhammer1993]

I'm for all resets. Because for some pokemon a weird optional or even mandatory trainer might be a surprising wall. Like when I did my starme run in red, I was completely surprised by the wrapping lass. She was literally harder to beat than surge. So I'd love to see all resets

[@Squidgy]

I've found a happy medium now - I'm showing every initial reset on a trainer, and then any interesting subsequent resets! I definitely don't like seeing the reset counter go up without explaining it

[@Metalhammer1993]

@Squidgy that's the smartest way to handle it. So we see every stop gap but you don't have to show like 8 resets against the same trainer

[@rjthepoet500]

To answer some of your questions: Yes i would like you to show all of the battles where you receive a reset. And yes i do like the idea of picking the better time for pokemon when picking up Hm friends. Side note: i had no idea struggle could miss either lol

[@Squidgy]

I'm glad you like the idea of retries for the older Pokémon. Ursaring is gunning for that top spot again!

[@lewissked8826]

Scizor would be pretty cool to see! Another amazing video brother!

[@Squidgy]

Out of all the Pokémon in Gen II, Scizor is the one giving me the most trouble from a content perspective! It's strong enough to go into Just the Battles, but it's an evolved Pokémon who keeps the same Base Stat Total as its pre-evolution, but it also evolves via trade, so I can't just level up a Scyther and have it as a normal run!

[@lewissked8826]

@@Squidgy very good points! Just be cool to see, happy with what ever you do, anything to take me away from life for 20-30 minutes 😂😂

[@Squidgy]

I'm lucky, I get to record, edit, voice, and do the Premieres, so I get 12-14 hours away from life with each video! :D

[@Mr_Maple]

You mentioned no interaction between electric and steel types, and unless I misunderstood what you meant, I wanted to point out that electric resists steel type attacks.

[@Squidgy]

You're absolutely right, it does! Steel comes up so infrequently in Johto that it completely slipped my mind!

[@andrewhaberkorn1687]

Its got a good typing its just doesn't have very reliable stab in gen 2. interesting run! I also think it's funny how you put a frowny face next to self destruct

[@Squidgy]

Selfdestruct was the *worst* move I could've learnt so early on! It wasted SO much time with trying to get Struggle!

[@andrewhaberkorn1687]

@@Squidgy yeah agreed

[@samrushin2476]

Predominantly defensive 'mons are always given a bit of short shrift when it comes to solo runs; they thrive with a team built around something like stall or otherwise using their strengths That said, Forretress has always been a gen 2 favourite of mine as the steel type seemed so new and amazing, having so many resistances AND an immunity It wasn't the fastest but it showed us what bugs can do when backed into a corner!

[@Squidgy]

Slow and defensive are always going to be slower - even if something can OHKO every Pokémon out there, its time will be lower than a fast Pokémon because it's taking a hit every turn. Forretress is a great Pokémon, though, and definitely got better in later generations. So much so that I actively shiny hunted Pineco in USUM!

[@samrushin2476]

@@Squidgy it's been a little while but I seem to remember it putting in a shift in my HG nuzlocke a few years ago Quality pokemon

[@SephieRothe]

Forretress is my favorite Pokémon

[@GoonieLord]

Only weakness is Fire 🔥 which is 4x weak

[@Muzgrob]

Wow. That was some luck at the end. I thought it was breaking 3 hours for sure.

[@Squidgy]

This was played very late night on stream, and I think the game gave me a huge stroke of luck so I could go and get some sleep!

[@relt1554]

I'd like to note that Lance's team's theme is actually "Pokemon that can learn Dragon Rage"

[@silverrey7379]

And Aerodactyl

[@andrewjoseph2749]

TM 23 in RBY is Dragon Rage and yes Aerodactyl can learn it, and in GSC it can learn TM 24 Dragon Breath

[@nick56677]

I agree about Steel needing either an advantage over Electric or weakness. I'd say Advantage because Steel rods can regulate electricity into the ground rendering it useless. Also in the pre-fairy era I see no reason to have a Steel-type attack in the arsenal (and steel is one of my fav types) since it's only Super Effective against Rock and Ice. Fighting type is also strong against those 2 PLUS 3 more types in Nornal, Dark and even Steel itself.

[@Squidgy]

Precisely - Steel's a pretty redundant offensive type. There are no great moves, Fighting covers everything it can do, but better, and there are barely any Steel-type Pokémon to utilise STAB with.

[@therustybucket221]

I think steel needs a weakness to electric, because it is still the best defensive type so giving it yet another boost would make it really unbalanced and giving it a weakness would give rock types some viability defensively

[@nick56677]

@@Squidgy That's exactly right. Hit the nail on the head there

[@nick56677]

@@therustybucket221 Nah, Steel already has 3 weaknesses. Doesn't need a 4th while Electric only has 1 weakness, it can afford to have 2 weaknesses

[@therustybucket221]

@@nick56677 steel is only weak to fighting, ground and fire. It could use a fourth - remember it resists dragon, fairy, normal, Ice, flying, bug, rock, psychic, steel, and grass. It also can’t be poisoned except by Sallazle or take any damage from poison moves. Why does it need another resistance?

[@mikeguerrieri1918]

When it comes to the different uses of your times based on pausing or not. I do like the pausing in between for HM friends so it doesn’t get in the way of what’s the run and time is really about which is about your main Pokémon. I would say for consistency sake to choose one method to use overall as to prevent inconsistency on Pokémon and how they got their times.

[@mikeguerrieri1918]

When it comes to showing resets I’d say just first attempt and last attempt which would be either your victory or last battle before deciding to level up. Could be funny in the future for certain situations to show them though.

[@Squidgy]

Cheers, Mike! I'll re-time everything where I haven't paused for HM Friends, and for the very early runs like Ursaring, I'll redo them as the routing is completely different. I reckon Ursaring might take top-spot off Girafarig with a rerun!

[@MobileGamingChronicles]

2 hours 50 minutes 40 seconds is the finish time!

[@vkingking]

I would like to see the battles where a reset occurs :) Shows the specific weak points of the pokemon

[@ktvx.94]

I think Spikes would've been good. You use it once and you can put all of those "almost OHKO but not quite" into range. The only time something else was more worth the moveslot was Giga Drain against Brock.

[@Phil-S8]

I personally thought Sandstorm would have been a good move to use over Spikes

[@Squidgy]

If I was to re-run, I would probably have taken Spikes, but under the pressure of the clock and with chat suggesting I shouldn't take it, I caved in to peer pressure! :D

[@anthonysilvers3203]

So Squidgy my forretress in crystal was named grenade it's moveset was hidden power (steel70bp), giga drain, explosion, protect took me forever to figure out the hidden power the hard way (it was on cartridge so no dv manipulation) Also i want to see all resets

[@Squidgy]

Oof, I dread to think how long it took you to figure out HP type on a genuine cart!

[@adventureoflinkmk2]

I also wanna question a water advantage to steel now that you mentioned electric.. metal gets corroded by water especially the salty kind

[@jakelib]

Elite Four member “Kog-er”

[@samrushin2476]

Would you consider doing separate runs for fully evolved pokemon from the start? Forretress against Bugsy, for example, would likely have no resets You'd get the tradeoff of not being able to delay evolution to get better moves earlier, but it could be interesting

[@Squidgy]

I'll be putting some of the fully-evolved Pokémon - like Forretress - in the Just the Battles series. Forretress is a great example of a Pokémon which could get a significantly better time because of a huge buff to stats, and a much better typing. Still gonna have to do the grind before Rival 2, though!

[@samrushin2476]

@@Squidgy fantastic Love your content as always, you put out very high quality videos at an astounding rate We'll find out in a few years you're actually three Mancunians in a trenchant editing videos as a team

[@Squidgy]

Heh! I wish there was a big team helping out! :D

[@joshuasims5421]

Would it be easier to just measure the time old runs took looking for HM friends and subtract it from their times? I personally don’t think it’s a bug deal if rule changes five new mons a minutes advantage, though that’s just me. Whatever you go with, looking forward to seeing it!

[@Squidgy]

For some runs, that'll definitely be easier, but I've significantly changed my routing (especially before Azalea Town, and through Kanto) since the first few runs, so it'd be interesting to see how much time that saves for them all.

[@gameplays1993]

A scizor run Would be Nice :)

[@Squidgy]

Scizor will be coming at some point, I just haven't settled on a format for it, though, as it has the same Base Stat Total as Scyther, so it's a bit of an odd case

[@dustinaskew1757]

I’d like to see all the resets.

[@justyouraveragechad9354]

I would like to see resets throughout the run. But if you get a bunch at the same trainer it's not necessary to show every reset.

[@shadowtitanx3962]

Yeah… Forretress is more of a PvP Mon than a Singleplayer Mon. Spikes and Rapid Spin are only useful in Singles PvP.

[@c.o.g.b.o.c.4528]

Love the videos man keep it up

[@Squidgy]

Thanks, bud!

[@MobileGamingChronicles]

1hp hype on Pidgeotto!

[@kingcygnus]

I’m sure someone else has commented this but electric does resist steel. At least in later gens. Idk how it interacts in earlier gens

[@AwildRia]

Run where you have 3 uses for every pokemon caught and 2 additional if the mon evolves at any point

[@Squidgy]

Please could you give me a bit more detail about that kind of run? It seems like it could be REALLY interesting to do something like that on a live stream!

[@AwildRia]

@@Squidgy Say you caught a Marill on R6 before Clay. It has 3 hearts, you use 2 on the gym trainers. Take time to max its friendship and managed use last heart on Clay. Marill evolves restoring it to 3 hearts then loses one because it fought in a battle. If it faints it would lose 2 hearts for the battle instead of one making it unusable unless it was fresh caught. Stones and rare candies are strategic advantages for full 3 heart refills if they are used evolve.

[@Terrados1337]

I admit, I like Forretress but I am fully aware it is not build for this kind of challenge :D Let's see how well it performs!

[@Terrados1337]

yeah, low speed with any double weakness against red, that was painful :D loved the vid!

[@Squidgy]

Thanks, bud! Forretress was definitely a tough Pokémon to work with, but I think we made a pretty good team by the end! If we had a slight buff to Sp.Def, then the entire run would've been surprisingly easy!

[@Terrados1337]

A strong gen2 pokemon? Gamefreak would rather eat a shoe :D I still love them to bits! Have a well deserved subscription good sir, I am off to devour the rest of your videos!

[@Squidgy]

Thanks, Terrados! Game Freak were incredibly reluctant to give Gen 2 Pokémon viable learnsets! Gligar immediately comes to mind - it's a super rare Pokémon, and if you find one, you're gonna have a bad time because it learns nothing useful.

[@jackruby6696]

I think if you just explain where the reset is from it would be good. But you don’t have to tbh. You including the resets just shows ur already being truthful

[@JoelStewart]

Struggle only missed because you were smokescreened

[@Squidgy]

I wasn't sure if Struggle bypassed accuracy checks in Gen 2!

[@NoisyBones]

I think if the battle that causes the reset is humorous or to prove a point about the Pokemons play style you should go in to more detail, but if it’s unremarkable then you can just mention ‘oh I reset at trainer x and y on this route’.

[@matt18ful]

Isn't the earthquake tm on the victory road?

[@Squidgy]

You're absolutely correct, TM26 is available at the very end of Victory Road. Unfortunately, Forretress can't learn TM26

[@PhibyMcBeth87]

Its really sad that lot good pokemon has so bad moveset in gen 2 🥺

[@kingryan1774]

I'd personally prefer to see all the resets.

[@jaryant]

I think you could get a better time on ursaring

[@Squidgy]

I 100% can get at least 5 minutes off Ursaring's time - my routing's changed so much since the first few runs, and I like to think I've become more skilled at playing since then, too.

[@dipeshpatel4391]

I would like to see any battle a reset happen, i wouldnt want the videos to be over 40min, 45 min is alot, so I would only put the hardest videos in the video. Like if there is a reset because of luck, its not as worth it to show compared to a roadblock. I also wouldnt mind you skipping kanto, except for Red, cause its really not interesting..

[@Squidgy]

40 minutes is sort of my hard limit for a video length these days, I find anything longer than that and it starts to drag. I'll be keeping Kanto in, though, as there are times where we get a few unexpected resets, and I think it's only fair to showcase every major battle for every Pokémon.

[@Dark_Aeon]

Shame that the gen 2 pokemon had horrible movesets. No good steel or bug moves for pineco :/

[@Squidgy]

You don't even need to qualify moves with their typing there! Barring Rollout, Pineco gets nothing good at all!

[@od4407]

Resets

[@kyle666vegan]

would rapid spin increase speed in this game?

[@Squidgy]

Unfortunately not - it's Base 20 and only clears things from the field. I believe Rapid Spin changed in Gen VIII, so a BDSP Pineco/Forretress run could take advantage of the buffed Rapid Spin

[@christophercouncil28]

Please do arbok

[@Squidgy]

I'll see if I can fit Arbok into my schedule at some point

[@veghesther3204]

However its lv up moves most of them suck.

[@GoonieLord]

Fortress was sadly garbage till gen 4

[@cmck362]

Pretty sure it's ok in competitive for gsc. Spikes, rapid spin, explosion, and protect/toxic/sandstorm. It had a niche.

[@adventureoflinkmk2]

I also wanna question a water advantage to steel now that you mentioned electric.. metal gets corroded by water especially the salty kind

[@Squidgy]

That is a very good point! Maybe every Steel-type is made from rustproof Stainless Steel!

[@adventureoflinkmk2]

@@Squidgy good point.. lol

[@adventureoflinkmk2]

@@Squidgy in fact I've always questioned steel's potential weakness to wooder and electricity since the day gen 2 was released in the states lol