How many Pokemon beat Falkner without Optional Battles? - Episode 17

Minimum Battles is the ultimate challenge. But how many Pokemon can beat the first Gym of Gen 2 on Minimum Battles?
On my main channel @RBYPokemonChallenges , I have already completed this challenge with all 151 Pokemon on Gen 1, but Gen 2 presents a massively different challenge - sleep and Wrap were nerfed, there's no Gen 1 miss (1/256 glitch), and all the trainers have better AI. But Minimum Battles might just be possible with some effort and ingenuity.
Today's challengers:
Omanyte, Omastar,
Kabuto, Kabutops,
Aerodactyl,
Snorlax,
Articuno,
Zapdos,
Moltres,
Stantler,
Smeargle,
Raikou,
Entei,
Suicune,
Lugia,
Ho-Oh

[@chasejulia]

Tbh, an angry flaming canadian goose would be unironically the most terrifying pokemon.

[@Spudmay]

Most terrifying dinosaur

[@GSCPokemonChallenges]

Yeah Canada Geese don't mess around! I used to walk my dog in a park when they'd come around and they come at the dog, big as he was

[@Spudmay]

Looking forward to finishing Falkner! This series has been a blast. This is going to be a colossal and fun journey

[@GSCPokemonChallenges]

For sure! I am planning to record the last episode tomorrow and then the first Bugsy episode hopefully later this week after updating the Overlay for the new section!

[@Spudmay]

@@GSCPokemonChallenges YEEEEEESAASSSSS! Very exciting. As more mons drop the series is gonna pick up in pace insanely. Whitney man. Whitney.

[@jaredalexander1853]

These videos don’t get enough recognition. They’re awesome!

[@GSCPokemonChallenges]

Thank you so much!

[@billybrame3990]

Ah sacred fire man I love that 50% burn chance And aeroblast's improved crit rate

[@GSCPokemonChallenges]

Just OP, outside of the limited PP

[@tannerscott5668]

Even though moltres is a goose Ho-oh is a turkey and that has always changed how i see Ho-oh lol

[@GSCPokemonChallenges]

Lol, that makes sense!

[@brolsroyceyt2362]

You absolute Legend appreciate the Uploads as always 🙏🏾🙏🏾

[@adventureoflinkmk2]

4:45 and yes dark type is special in gen 2 and 3

[@GSCPokemonChallenges]

Yeah, I went back and checked it after the fact.

[@stevepierce227]

So will the egg move pokemon have a different category just like the struggle pokemon? I'm so excited to see this series continue, keep up the good work man!

[@GSCPokemonChallenges]

Yeah, the egg move Pokemon will be separated out into a Member Picks section

[@RobBomford]

That little intro riff never fails to get me hyped up for these 👌

[@GSCPokemonChallenges]

That's awesome! Let's go!!!!

[@williammcgrew5886]

Hey man, love your channel! I think you missed a trick with Smeargle, though. Per your rules (as I understand it), you can use balls on wild pokemon (to catch HM mules or avoid experience on red Gyarados or whatever). So, you could chuck a ball at a wild pokemon, and if it doesn't get caught, it would use a move against you that you could Sketch. There seem to be two good options in the early game. You could get a Hidden Power from the Unown in Ruins of Alph. Max DVs gives you dark type, 70 BP, which probably wouldn't get you through Honest Abe. If you don't mind changing DVs, you could get HP-Ice, which probably would get you through. It seems like for the format of these videos, though, you are using max DVs. I don't know if you want to futz with DVs for these videos, though. The second option is super fun. In Dark Cave, there are Dunsparce that know Rage. With a 1% encounter rate. So, you would have to fish for the encounter, throw a ball and pray it doesn't catch, then sketch rage. Once you have this, I'm 100% sure that beefy Gen 2 Rage with STAB could get you past Falkner.

[@GSCPokemonChallenges]

That is actually pretty legit to test out. Dunsparce could be cool but so too could the HP strat. We may need. a Smeargle run for 2k!

[@mackowens7234]

Such an underrated channel man I hope you start getting more subs!

[@GSCPokemonChallenges]

Thank you! I try not to worry about subs too much, just the content and the folks who are here is awesome as it is!

[@dragonslayerz2220]

With Kabuto, Struggle improves your odds, but it's still roughly on the scale of 2 crits.

[@GSCPokemonChallenges]

Yeah, I can go back and relook at it when we get back to the fossils for Bugsy (like I did for Cyndaquil in episode 1 of Bugsy).

[@Camurgladius]

I wonder if at minbats, Snorlax is bulky enough to still pull off DefenseCurl into Rollout shenanigans. Tackle+Mudslap alone to get to Ilex Forest for Headbutt is going to be rough when almost everything will get chip damage from outspeeds. Lugia is also a great choice because, to quote the Killian Experience, "[the movie Lugia theme] song makes me feel happy".

[@GSCPokemonChallenges]

Yeah, Snorlax is not super great early due to its lack of speed and early it's moves aren't great. It's when it gets Leftovers that it truly becomes OP

[@HarveyMeadowlark]

Not sure if anyone mentioned it, or if you were already aware, but using defense curl first doubles the damage of rollout, so snorlax can seriously demolish the game after that if you make sure to hang on to defense curl throughout the run. Rollout TM is available as soon as you get to goldenrod I believe, it’s on route 35 but can’t remember if you need surf to get it

[@GSCPokemonChallenges]

Yeah, we will be getting the Rollout TM in that section and the Defense Curl Rollout strat will be explored in the third gym section

[@adventureoflinkmk2]

2:40 lord helix for me And, that said... you are NEVER gonna be RBY Pokémon Challenges!!!

[@GSCPokemonChallenges]

All Hail! I know right, that guy is about to his 9000 subs!

[@celticv]

Omanyte got done dirty !! least i think deserves egg move :D boo no water gun lol . love you videos getting hype for next gym

[@GSCPokemonChallenges]

I want to try it, the Aurora Beam is the obvious solution

[@waterierStone]

Falkner having mudslap is basically the same as when you only have normal moves for brock. It's so lame that so many pokemon are just screwed by gamefreak trying to have a tutorial gym

[@GSCPokemonChallenges]

Yeah, I think the Mud Slap is a bit more manageable overall though

[@17Master]

Predicting a clean sweep, except Omanyte needs Struggle strats.

[@GSCPokemonChallenges]

We shall see!

[@17Master]

I completely forgot just how bad Smeargle's attacking stats are, and I gave the pre-evolved fossils a bit too much credit

[@raptors11111]

Awesome video. Super excited for falkner to wrap up and move on to Bugsy/Rival 2. I think a lot of pokemon that got by falkner are pretenders thatll be smoked in section 2. Think we'll have a good amount added to the fail column.

[@GSCPokemonChallenges]

I absolutely agree. Rival 2 is legitimately tough based on my limited testing, and Bugsy will certain wall some Pokemon as well. I think overall Rival 2 is the toughest fight, but I could be proven wrong

[@trippyhare]

Dark is Special in Gen 2. Which isn't even the craziest, since Ghost is *physical* lol

[@GSCPokemonChallenges]

Yeah those pre-Pysical/Special split categories sometimes make 0 sense 😂

[@richarddill692]

I was all about the Dome Fossil as a kid, but as an adult I just love Omastar. The spiked shell, the star-shaped tentacles that make up its face, and its beak, all work really well in my opinion.

[@GSCPokemonChallenges]

For sure, I respect the followers of Lord Helix.

[@Auron3991]

Aerodactyl's design resembles that of a European Wyvern (two legs, wings, pointed tail), so I assume that's why it's on Lance's team.

[@GSCPokemonChallenges]

That does make some sense....

[@DonWippo1]

I am obliged to present to you the official and objective proof, why little lord helix is superior to little lord dome: In Pokémon Stadium 2, if you have a copy of GSC in the transfer pack, you can alter the Pokémon you play a minigame with by having a compatible Pokémon in your team. And Omanyte is one of them. As he is playable in Togepi Rollout.

[@GSCPokemonChallenges]

Damn, didn't think of that... All hail, Lord Helix!

[@Spudmay]

A note: Raikou having higher special is good because Bite is special

[@GSCPokemonChallenges]

That is true! I always want to think of Bite as a physical move 😂

[@alexrobinet7576]

Thank goodness an excuse for why I can't ever fall asleep on friday and saturday.

[@GSCPokemonChallenges]

I'm here to Sleep Talk while you use Rest!

[@stardf29]

SPOILER for quick recaps... ... ... Omastar: Bite is the same effective base power as a STAB Water Gun, and with its high Special Attack, it only needs a few hits against Falkner's birds, limiting the extent their mudslinging can mess it up. PASS Omanyte: Starting with Constrict and Withdraw only is pain. Needs a berry just to get past Youngster Mikey, needs Struggle for Spearow, and then the mudslinging birds are just too much for it. FAIL Kabutops: Definitely struggles against the mudslinging birds but using Harden once to get more opportunities to hit is enough to eventually luck through with reason. PASS Kabuto: Weaker stats means it has fewer turns to get more hits against the mudslinging birds; as such, it's no longer within reason to luck through. FAIL Aerodactyl: Resists Normal and Flying moves. Is immune to Mud-Slap. Has a STAB buffed Wing Attack. The ancient bird absolutely wrecks the modern birds. PASS Ho-Oh: Sacred Fire completely purifies the gym. PASS Lugia: Aeroblast completely blows away the gym. PASS Articuno: Super-effective Powder Snow makes this easy win #1 for the OG trio. PASS Zapdos: Super-effective Thundershock with a Mud-Slap immunity makes this easy win #2 for the OG trio. PASS Moltres: High stats and buffed STAB Wing Attack makes this easy win #3 for the OG trio. PASS Snorlax: Only has Tackle but high HP and Attack is more than enough to flatten the gym. PASS Stantler: STAB Tackle is enough to get through. (Had two misses against Falkner but also had a critical hit so it balances out.) PASS Smeargle: Poor stats means it can't get past Spearow, especially with the inability to Sketch anything meaningful. FAIL Raikou: Not even mud from Falkner's Pidgey can stop Raikou's Bite from chewing through the gym. PASS Entei: Mud-slaps from Falkner's Pidgey give Entei some annoyance but some timely flinches give it the room to take the win. PASS Suicune: Suicune has no Mud-Slap weak, so it Bites through Falkner's gym easily. PASS Final Results: PASS: 13 FAIL: 3

[@GSCPokemonChallenges]

Thank you as always for the awesome recaps!

[@mathturtle37]

Prediction (without looking up starting moves): not sure about omanyte, kabuto & smeargle but I think everything else gets through. This one has a lot of easy 'ok that passes' mons and I think the evolved fossils just have the raw stats. Edit: Lord Helix (my favorite as a kid): WTF is this moveset?!? For Abe, if the enemy gets even 11 hits on you they have a 52% chance of getting a crit on one of them. No way to win that without struggle. And yeah falkner is impossible. Could be an interesting egg move run with Aurora beam or bubblebeam. Lord Spiky Helix: Bite is Ok I guess. Dark is special at least. And at least it will be neutral damage for the Bayleaf in the next section Kabuto: It's not theoretically impossible. But I think you have to hit every attack. So a 0.02% (probably a bit higher if you get lucky and crit but I'm lazy). For struggle I get a 0.05% chance assuming you live the recoil (which I didn't calculate) Kabutops: needed more luck than I thought but was fine Aerodactyl: wrecks everything. Lance is totally the liar with the fliers. He even has an illegal move on his Aerodactyl... why can't mine learn rock slide? Snorlax: most OP pokemon in gen 2 competitive. Still pretty OP for now but rival 2 is coming Articuno: starting moveset nerfed from gen 1 but still destroys falkner Zapdos: same as above Moltres: moveset actually buffed from gen 1, too bad you can't actually get one in gen 2. And now I can't unsee the angry goose :D Stantler: normal stab is pretty good, its a bit squishy but should get through even without the lucky crit Smeargle: yeah sketch is funny but its kinda bad. peck is pretty much the optimal first sketch (usually you go to route 46 and get it from a wild spearow) Suicune: the tanky beast. One of the best water types in gen 3 OU simply because its defenses are so good and it still has decent special attack Raikou: yeah discount jolteon does better because bite is special and can flinch Entei: flareon v2 does better with better speed and bite Lugia: and aeroblast, the high-crit signature move. Really good. Ho-oh: yeah sacred fire is it's signature move and has a 50% chance to burn. Really good, won't have trouble until rock slide users. You think you're done with mud-slap after this section? I'm sorry to tell you about Red's Espeon's coverage move then :D Not that it should matter by then.

[@GSCPokemonChallenges]

Yeah, not looking forward to Red, but when we get there it's going to be mostly a non-factor (I hope....)

[@JessicaS-xv8oe]

Just started this episode. You really think smeargle will pass? Nah. If anything fails, it'll be smeargle.

[@GSCPokemonChallenges]

You know better than me. I had too much confidence that I could Sketch SOMETHING useful, but no dice 😂

[@davidgardner6677]

Smeargle might want to try to get HP Rock or HP Ice from an unown in the ruins of Alph. Probably a little better than struggle? You will of course have to change DVs to get one of those (probably rock for bugsy)

[@EllieHellBelle]

Lord Dome, something about the mantis monster appeals to me

[@GSCPokemonChallenges]

Aw yeah!

[@adventureoflinkmk2]

18:26 a wild glitch appears!!!

[@GSCPokemonChallenges]

Yeah, I'm not sure exactly what happened there, the overlay showed properly on screen, but I'm not sure if it was an OBS error or an encoding error....

[@VanguardDeezNutz]

Here to rep the best boi Zapdos, let's go son

[@GSCPokemonChallenges]

Aw yeah! Zappy is OP

[@meevs]

I know you've already got plenty of content coming down the pipe as the pokemon that passed move on to the next section, but an interesting hypothetical to see at some point would be for the pokemon that failed at abe, how many could pass if rod was before abe in the gym

[@GSCPokemonChallenges]

I would love to mess with this in the future as a Rom hack or something.

[@MetalSandshrew]

The easiest way to remember the pre physical special split is ask "Is this Dragon or can an Eevee evolve into this type?" If yes, it's a special type.

[@GSCPokemonChallenges]

There we go. I just need Umbreon on the mind to remember now.

[@delciv5854]

Algo bump

[@GSCPokemonChallenges]

Aw yeah!

[@myhandleiswhat]

Raikou used to be pronounced the same as Japanese until 4Kids changed it to "ou" as in "You" and some people even say it as Ray rather than like Rye Bread. I've even heard people say Suicune Sue-E-Soon. Entei seems to be the only one people actually get correct. I have no idea what happened. In Pokemon Stadium 2 all three of them had their names pronounced correctly, but, since 4Kids dubbed the special based on these games the pronunciation has become the Americanized version for whatever reason. All three names are Japanese in origin, they shouldn't have any changes in pronunciation hardly.

[@GSCPokemonChallenges]

Yeah, this happens a lot. I was watching another KZbin channel I like and the butchering of Japanese pronunciation was driving me crazy. It's one of those things when you live in another country for a while - You spend so much time learning the pronunciation (as best as you can, at least) that when people butcher it you can't help but cringe a little

[@myhandleiswhat]

@@GSCPokemonChallengesThe one I still don't understand at all is how we got Carry Oak E out of Karaoke.

[@nautgamingnautgaming9949]

I used PERSONAL FAVORITES too It wasn't until gen 3 where I had enough Pokémon experience to become competent n i was so comfortable to the point where I was defeating teams of legendaries I peaked at RANK 8 in the WORLD in 2011 n my only ubers was metagross (i loved its bulk n meteor mash and I didn't see steel type being caught on n i ran metagross butterfree starmie swellow walrein n heracross because i liked them and if i hyperfocused ev train study tm sets thats how i got there The ev and stuff wasn't really out then like people used base stats busted tms the same old thing and the fact i USED WIERD things n Pokémon who WEREN'T GOOD according to THEM or the steel type which competitors didn't understand optimally They used dragon water or the crobats or toxic rest (they didn't realize butterfree swellow hardcounter stall)

[@GSCPokemonChallenges]

Yeah, a lot of people just memorize meta and sets without really knowing the why/how to adjust in certain situations. I do greatly enjoy watching videos of Legendary spammers getting pwned

[@Canaris4]

For me I pronounced Suicune as Sewercoon. Raikou was "Raichu". It doesn't seem so strange now, but back then I thought there were two different pokemon named "Raichu". I kind of want to see how well Smeargle does against the first Birdkeeper if it knew Peck at the beginning of the battle. You could say you technically didn't earn any XP, so this would be a reset and not an adidtional battle. If Pupitar fails I still want to see Larvitar in action. Without looking at their movesets and stats, I have a feeling it might be a caterpie/metapod situation where there are some things the prevolution might be able to do better.

[@GSCPokemonChallenges]

😂 Two Pokemon named Raichu kind of makes sense in my mind. Yeah the sheer damage we were taking compared to the damage dealt by Smeargle's Peck means that one isn't happening.

[@myhandleiswhat]

What was going on with the video at parts? Overlay and the gameplay kinda freaking out a bit. Especially during the Kabutops part.

[@GSCPokemonChallenges]

I'm still sorting out if that is a hardware issue or an OBS issue. The overlay is just fine and it should just be capturing exactly what's on screen

[@DoctorNovakaine]

Dark is Special in Gen 2, so Omastar having Bite is basically equivalent to STAB Water Gun. It also means Raikou does MORE damage than Entei, so its ranges were visibly better. The confusion makes sense, though. Dark never really made sense as a "special" type - when the split happened, literally all its old damage moves were assigned the Physical category. It was only made Special because Steel had to be Physical and they didn't want to imbalance the types too heavily towards Physical. Constrict is one of the few moves that I'm actually happy has been removed from more recent generations. It essentially is a handicap to Pokémon who has it as one of their early moves. Aerodactyl learning Agility feels kind of like a troll. Why does one of the fastest Pokémon in the game need to boost its speed further? Will Croconaw be a roadblock? Not with Ho-oh's Special Defense being its strongest stat, and Feraligatr not having great Special Attack. The only thing that's going to give Ho-oh trouble is Rock moves, with that 4x weakness and Defense being its weak stat. So if Lance's Aerodactyl has Ancient Power, that might be a thing. Dang you, now I can't unsee the Goosetres. It wasn't so much that Ice was OP in Gen 1 as that a lot of types offensively were lackluster to bad. Bug, Dragon, and Ghost were straight trash. Rock had LITERALLY TWO MOVES, and one of them was virtually worthless. Poison was not only bad but also virtually inaccessible to anything but Poison-types. Fighting had three decent moves completely locked to a single Pokémon's moveset, and the only accessible moves outside of that were the mediocre Double Kick and the awful Submission. Grass was largely inaccessible outside of the weak Mega Drain or the 'waste a turn' Solar Beam. Not a single Fire Pokémon naturally learned Fire's best move, which also happened to be the ONLY one you could give to non-Fire types. Flying was mediocre at best. Ground was very limited in move variety, though at least the accessible moves were good. Psychic was also limited in attacking move variety, unless you were a Psychic-type, but at least Psychic was good. Really, the only offensive types that were above 'decent' were Electric, Normal, Water, and Ice. Ice and Electric were the two whose two best moves were both TMs, Blizzard inexplicably had 90% accuracy so it was better than Electric by default, and the Freeze status effect meant you had a 10% chance to turn any Pokémon into a victory lap. Ice was never really nerfed so much as other types got brought up to better levels (okay yes it's not neutral to Fire anymore but that never really made sense anyway). Articuno being slightly more defensive...defensive Ice-types are a cruel joke, given how god-awful Ice is as a defensive typing. Yes, let's make our tank the one type that resists nothing except itself. If I were to rebalance the type chart, Ice would resist Normal, Bug (to compensate for a type already offensively bad, I'd remove Fighting and Ghost NVEs), and Flying. I almost went Grass instead of Flying but Grass is also offensively terrible and there isn't really an NVE that doesn't make sense that I could remove. Stantler is a Pokémon that I don't think ANYONE thought about until Gen 8 when it got an evolved form in Wyrdeer. GameFreak seems to be trying to validate the existence of some of those old single-form Pokémon that were never good - Stantler, Farfetch'd, and Dunsparce have all gotten evos/regional forms in the Switch generations. Smeargle, I think, will get through Falkner not on minimum battles, but with limited extra battles with the following strategy: Sketch Peck from Abe's Spearow, lose, go to Sprout Tower, get to level 11, find a Gastly, hope that Smeargle's garb attack means it can get off a Peck without KO'ing the Gastly, and Sketch Hypnosis from it. Once it has Hypnosis, then it's just a matter of Sleep luck. And that should, in theory, be able to carry it all the way through Bugsy and Rival 2. I'm not sure what'll happen after that, but it's at least a starting point.

[@DoctorNovakaine]

There are a LOT of Pokémon that could prosper with a single egg move. Some are moves that they really should get already, like, really, why doesn't Geodude learn Rock Slide? With some it's like, take your pick - Psyduck gets Psybeam, Psychic, Ice Beam, and Hypnosis, any one of those probably does it. There are some really weird ones out there, too - like Spearow inexplicably gets Tri Attack as an egg move, or Koffing with Psybeam of all things. Also, if you're doing Vulpix with Hypnosis, you know who else gets Hypnosis as an egg move? Ponyta! Why? Who the heck knows? But it'd be amusing to see. Hypnohorse! But the Pokémon I really WANT to see given egg moves are the ones who were done dirty with their starting moveset. Like, if you started with something like Tackle, or Pound, or Scratch, then I'd say you were at least given a fair shot. But Omanyte getting saddled with Constrict? Let it have Ice Beam, or even Bubblebeam. (I'd say Shuckle too, but sadly it gets no unique egg moves.) Cubone starting with Growl and Leer? Nah, give it some Rock Slide love. Krabby, a heavily-tilted physical attacker, suffering with Bubble? Its world is totally different with Slam. Zubat has to start with Leech Life? Give it...uh...well, it doesn't get anything GREAT, but even Quick Attack would have to be better, or even Gust. Slugma in an interesting case, it doesn't get anything to help with attack over its depressing Smog start, but it does get Acid Armor - that might just be an interesting twist. Togepi...MAYBE Present is enough? It just needs to get to Metronome after beating Abe, then it's just a matter of RNG. These are the best examples I can remember, Pokémon who deserve a better chance than what GameFreak gave them.

[@GSCPokemonChallenges]

This is all awesome analysis. The Gen 1 type chart and lack of movesets (especially move variety and good TM moves) was a major reason why the competitive meta is so limited in the Gen and also why a lot of runs become very similar. I always felt like Fire and Electric Pokemon in particular have almost identical solo runs. The egg moves are super interesting and something I plan to mess with a bit more in solo challenges as we prpgress

[@philipmurphy2]

Kabuto is the Game Freak favourite guys

[@GSCPokemonChallenges]

100% confirmed!

[@MacmanReturns]

Would sketch stick if you copied something off a wild Pokemon and then ran away? Would that count as an optional battle? Maybe sneak to Ruins of Alph and get hidden power?

[@raptors11111]

I think he'd outspeed an unown tbh and sketch would just fail

[@MacmanReturns]

True. The only thing available this early in that would outspeed would be a Gastly, and that would only give Lick which wouldn't help against Falkner. @@raptors11111

[@GSCPokemonChallenges]

It is worth a little more testing, but Max DVs is the main issue, making Smeargle way too fast in the early game.. We could "cheat" by using items first and then Sketching a move, but I plan that for a full-game Smeargle run later on.

[@nautgamingnautgaming9949]

I love trainers who use personal bests n favorites It allows you to tap into the true spirit n develop your own mechanics some of which are innovative What is COOL about copying mine or anyone else cookie cutter team Create your own and DISCOVER n be passionate n know EVERY IN N OUT about your favorites That can help you tremendously like it did me and there was no serebii or bulbapedia back then EVEN NOW I occasionally catch onto stuff meta slaves dont by sheer love for Pokémon i like

[@GSCPokemonChallenges]

Absolutely agree. I never took competitive play to seriously, just played link battles with friends. I just constantly tried Pokemon I liked, tried to find ways to win and just had fun with it.

[@kountesskorvinae666]

High special being a "disadvantage" to bite?

[@GSCPokemonChallenges]

Yeah, I always think Bite is physical (partially. because it makes sense logically and partially be cause it was Normal-type in Gen 1). Pure mistake on my part

[@kountesskorvinae666]

@@GSCPokemonChallengesit was a mistake that brought a laugh and a smile so worth

[@lionyx98]

100th like 🫡

[@GSCPokemonChallenges]

That is awesome!!!!