Soloing Crystal isn't always monotonous

Rules:
1. Only my starter in battle
2. No items in battle, except held items
3. No glitches, exploits, or save states
4. No movepool evasion-boosting moves before level 100*
Rule details:
-- I make no attempt to have the exact same rule details between generations.
-- I am allowed to manipulate my starter
-- I play the game at 4x game speed
-- For fair comparisons my Pokemon have perfect (or near perfect) DVs / IVs
-- I am allowed to catch HM users - I can use all field moves
-- Evasion boosting is allowed if the move is not obtained from the Pokemon’s movepool. For example, using Mimic or Mirror Move to boost evasion is allowed.
-- Surge's trash-can-puzzle is automatically solved
-- The bike is allowed in gen1 & 4, banned in gen2, and allowed only to bypass terrain in gen3
-- Saving between league members is allowed
-- I can pause the game and timer to take breaks
-- Items obtained with the ability Pickup can only be used if the starter obtained them
-- The footage is sped up & slowed down to match the pace of my narration
These Rule details apply only to generation 1:
-- All battle-mechanic glitches are allowed (glitches that occur outside of battle are banned)
-- In generation 1, I'm allowed to skip Marowak with the Poke Doll
If you didn’t read these rules and left a comment. Thanks for helping with the algorithm.
Patreon: / scottsthoughts
KZbin memberships:
/ @scottsthoughtspokemon
X: / psychicflying
Thumbnail art by BrianLS: / brianlsart
Illustrations by Sarina Vail: / sarinavail
Video Editing by Shawn McMullen
STAB: bulbapedia.bul...
DVs / IVs: bulbapedia.bul...
Damage Calculation: bulbapedia.bul...
Stat and Catch Calculators: pycosites.com/...
Gen1 Crit Rates: www.smogon.com...
Growth Rates: bulbapedia.bul...
Learnsets: bulbapedia.bul...
Base Stats: bulbapedia.bul...)
If you're new around here, Venomoth is a Psychic/Flying type, you can't change my mind.

[@samwill7259]

Glad to see Ash's dad getting his due

[@JoshMaybin]

That's funny. Step dads are real dads too lol

[@SporkyMcFly]

That name is truly cursed.

[@Kgossage777]

​@@JoshMaybin he isn't Ash's stepdad, MM is Ash's real dad lol in the anime, Ash's dad isn't anywhere to be seen, but MM is around "helping Ash's mom"

[@theconnected7234]

They always did have similar goofball facial expressions

[@jjmblue7]

​@@Kgossage777 So was Ash a live birth or did Ash's mom lay an egg?

[@johanmedioni7856]

Mr. Mime for Father's Day, I'm dying. That's it, I'm dead.

[@KromeDrone]

Hi dead, im Dad.

[@isaacvanderbilt4505]

It is a bit weird how Mr. Mime looks like a pokemon version of a human and more specifically Ash himself. 😂

[@christaylorraka4053]

Its cause mr mime is ash's dad

[@r0bz0rly]

ok

[@Xeraser2]

Mr. Mime has barrier just to block all parental responsibilities.

[@isaacvanderbilt4505]

Mr. Mime signs all court documents in invisible ink. No matter how much she wants him gone the divorce will never be finalized.

[@Ectar2003]

Scott lightly foreshadowing the 2035 series: "Gen 1 pokemon transferred to Gen 2 with full TM learnsets"

[@kode-man23]

Scott produces a Father’s day-themed video. Father’s day-themed video features Mr. Mime. No elaboration provided.

[@jeffreyprice9790]

Mr. Mime... you mean ashs dad right 😂

[@TheModdedwarfare3]

Level 6: You are in a state of confusion because Mr. Mime is kissing your mom. Level 11: Mr. Mime substituted for your dad and you love him more now.

[@AlbRomano]

Age 6. Age 11.

[@lzzy134]

Fun fact, the former translator of Pokemon right up until Platinum, Nob Ogasawara, told other localizers that the name of Mr. Mime in Generation I would backfire the moment they introduced genders to the series. Despite the existence of both Nidoran lines, he was apparently brushed off. Well, he got the last laugh.

[@Chronoflation]

Still surprised they never made a Ms or Mrs Mime, but I guess it's just cause it was the translated name

[@Vmac1394]

It should be easy to have the individual pokemon's name change if it's a female. For example, you'd catch a femime, then when you opted to not select a nickname, the game would set the nickname by default to "Ms. Mime." This wouldn't take much time to program in, test, and *shouldn't* cause any issues. Of course, the keyword here is should since who knows with Game Freak's spaghetti code.

[@lewiscarter5575]

My Dad only learnt teleport not substitute.

[@ThatFuckingWaffle]

As a result, your starting move was Confusion.

[@MadameTeqi]

Lemme guess. He was headed north of Olivine to get the moomoo milk

[@stormdrain23]

Scott, I want you to know I’ve been following you since becoming a dad in 2021. I still remember those late nights with my colicky daughter watching your videos, and then her watching too as she’s gotten older. We had twins a few months ago and the tradition of “Scotts Thoughts” on those late nights continues. Thank you for continuing to put out your amazing content. Love the videos! I’m excited to see you branching into gens 2, 3, and even 4!

[@shiro1744]

You deserve an Encore for this one, Scott!

[@thelucidexperience]

Yes we want more

[@Smileyrat]

Scott: ask how Mr Mime gets mud slap. Me: Look at those hands! And this pokemon is a troll if any is. So, of course it gets a accuracy lowering move.

[@ShukakuTheCrazy1]

So basically you used a competitive play strategy in a solo challenge and trolled the pokemon that most resembles my dad. Love it

[@Byers2476.]

I've noticed you have stopped mentioning Dennis in the lighthouse. Dennis, you're not forgotten. Also I enjoyed watching with my 5 week old son. He knows not what's going on, but one day he will.

[@tehy123]

No, he mentioned him right after mentioning Jasmine in the lighthouse

[@Byers2476.]

​@tehy123 you right 😅

[@Chronoflation]

Watched with my 9 week old girl. The joys of parenthood. She'll know it one day too 😁 I look forward to those days. My wife let's me play these when we go for drives so we can just listen to Scott calmly talk through his playthroughs and we can bond over Pokemon. I'm indoctrinating all my family in the cult of Scott's Thoughts, lol 😂🤣

[@Hubilicious90]

You are almost right, psychic is based on the mind, therefor ALL of its weaknesses are irrational fears/ phobias: bug (arachnophobia), ghost (phasmophobia) and the dark (scotophobia). Blew my mind when that hit me.

[@tylerd1297]

An idea I've had for an ability is "hydrophobia". It would give some Psychic type a weakness to water in exchange for a 1.3x power boost Kind of pointless but I've always liked that little detail you mentioned haha

[@realperson69]

Unfortunately, in the original Japanese, the Dark type is actually the “Evil” type. The Psychic (ESPer) type’s weakness to Bug may be tied to Japanese folklore in some way I don’t understand, or, alternately, Bugs, Ghosts, and Evil (beings) could be things that distract from concentration.

[@Hubilicious90]

@@realperson69 a quick Google search says „あく (悪)“ means „dark (evil)“ so there might be some double meaning shenanigans going on… or maybe there is nothing to it at all but game design considerations 🤷🏻‍♂️ to be fair, Pokémon has it’s fair share of odd type interactions, that aren’t easily explained. I however like my interpretation better, since it makes perfect sense (at least in English) and it helps immensely memorising the weaknesses of psychic Pokémon.

[@prof.reuniclus21]

It’s bc people are scared of crime/criminals

[@1stCallipostle]

​@@realperson69 I hate how people talk about this. It's technically the evil type, but in context (especially when it comes to moves) it's more about dirty fighting. A dirty fighter is both intimidating and will break your focus by say I dunno... Sucker punching you.

[@Lockirby2]

Very clever strategy, and I'm glad Mr. Mime was dominant enough during the rest of the playthrough that it could afford to run Encore until Red.

[@jrbehr4643]

Mr. Mike's not a step dad, he's the dad who stepped up

[@brianwisecarver4880]

There is no beneficial badge boost glitch in gen 2. I see what you did there. Seriously, though, it's been great seeing the effort you've been putting in to not repetitively explain mechanics that don't apply in the moment while retaining the precision you're so proud of. Keep up the awesome work, Scott!

[@rooislangwtf]

The badge boost itself it glitched, you don't get the sp def boost till your unboosted sp attack goes past 205

[@claytonroberts1622]

Mr Mime being able to move that fast feels cursed, like he’s faster then most dragons

[@jordanwise3523]

You deserve a million subs! I really appreciate all the hard work you put into your channel. Its very obvious you care profusely.

[@perkypenguin1663]

I'm glad that Mr. Mime got to use some genuinely interesting strategies, especially in a game like Crystal where it really feels like a one size fits all game much of the time.

[@scrubplaceholder6216]

All the punches and 100 base special, 90 speed. Mr mime will punch his way to a pretty fast time I guess. Oh sorry, mr ketchum.

[@tylerd1297]

Yeah Alakazam and his clones/cronies are pretty much the best Pokemon for solo'ing the game. Fire types are pretty good too, I found Magmar to be almost as fast in Crystal version.

[@tsawy6]

​@tylerd1297 nah its definitely normal types with coverage. Stab return is nuts.

[@tylerd1297]

@@tsawy6 true I def should have mentioned them. For challenge runs especially Pink Bow+ Normal STAB is hard to top. Water types are also pretty good in the same vein.

[@Zorgdub]

The string of luck when capturing HM user in the second playthrough was amazing.

[@rowanpemberton8276]

You're the only other person I can find that commented this, I feel like this is going to be recurring theme this month 😅

[@jonathanfrank9207]

You gave a little extra time at the end for the video to conclude. I really like that

[@hfroioifd6872]

I can’t take the wait anymore! I’m subbing with this alternative account! You’re soooo close!

[@n64_kfp]

I was not expecting this placement. Well done!

[@auraswan951]

Hey Scott! I was shiny hunting in Arceus and got a shiny Mime Jr! With the Mr. Mime I caught in the beginning of my playthrough, that line is complete! Thank you for the luck!

[@TheAnalyticalEngine]

Every time a non-ground type learns mud slap, it makes gligar sad

[@philiphunt-bull5817]

Every time a ground type learns it hurts too.

[@Antholography]

“Against Falkner’s Bird Types” I laughed because I imagined him with a bunch of Missingno.s 😂 Flying Types - Scott! Love the content Scott! The Mr. Mime joke is hilarious

[@coldloyalty]

Happy Fathers day Scott!

[@mickgorro]

Scott: ... Falkner and his bird-types. Me: So he has Missingnos?

[@Corysquestions]

Always appreciate a week with several releases!

[@HighPriestFuneral]

It is fitting that the Pokemon that looks most like a clown puts on a real show for the climactic battle. Just resting isn't enough to keep the crowd excited!

[@PegasusPablo]

You had us in the first half, not gonna lie. Awesome run!!

[@coltonbrown3907]

Scott I have a huge favor to ask for I’m assuming at least a few members of the community. Could you do one run in HGSS so we can see the game data as you play through it? It could be just a meme venomoth run. I just love seeing the data from the games displayed in such a clean way.

[@SpaceLombax]

There's always a chance he will in the future, but based on past experience, it won't be until at least Christmas. Gen 4 is much harder to display than Gen 3 and prior. If you rewatch the early Gen 4 runs and his livestreams, he talks a lot about it.

[@john_sensei_ii]

I love how this is the second video in a row where you have trouble catching a Psyduck

[@sebastianrombach6711]

Ha. “Foresight”. Nice poke move pun there Scott.

[@tysonpestner]

That was a great vid Scott! Entertaining strategy for sure!

[@dvillines26]

Encore is actually a VERY good move against anything that likes setting up or using status moves, and in conjunction with Substitute it's kinda crazy what it can do. the way it just bullied Snorlax was brutal.

[@sopadumacacoumadelicia5]

Took me a second to get the Mr. Mime joke xD Scott is on fire writing these

[@redwings13400]

28:28 ooh, hmm... Going to make a prediction. Curse/Return/Rest/Psych up. Substitute didn't actually help in the red fight much, curse helps you stall out the snorlax if you just don't attack it, and psych up copies Snorlax's amnesia boosts so Mr Mime can live hits from Red's final pokemon. Mime is scared of a snorlax crit but it actually might work. (after watching more): ooh, encore! I love it, encore is my favorite move in pokemon. That was brilliant!

[@PraefMace]

You are right, sometimes it is painful and horrible...Looking at you Yanma. Also DROPPPEEED MY BALLSSS

[@PokeMaster22222]

Mr. Mime's the only one to learn Substitute in Gen 2, and this is probably - very likely - because Game Freak was aware of how bulky Pokémon could be in Gen 2 with Stat EXP and the introduction of Leftovers to easily recover HP. Gen 1 had the Sub TM, and had Stat EXP, but it crucially lacked Leftovers - so a Sub user would be quickly worn down and forced to spend a moveslot and turns using Rest (with Gen 1's sleep mechanics, too). Plus, a Sub didn't really protect you from status or anything back then. This made Substitute somewhat useless. Gen 2? As I said, Stat EXP and Leftovers would make breaking the improved Sub much harder, so it was restricted to Mr. Mime and Gen 1 Time Capsule trades (ergo, no Johto Pokémon get it). It was made widely available again in Gen 3 onwards, because of the shift to EVs instead of Stat EXP - it's now impossible to max out all three defensive stats (HP, Def, Sp. Def), and offensive Sub users tend to lack defensive investment altogether, making it easy to break a Sub.

[@mufasa5851]

I always thought substitute was mr mimes signature move. It was the only pokemon that had it in its movepool in the original red pokedex book.

[@arckrokosz3123]

Nooo no seel slander! Lol Thank you for the great video to make my day. Happy Father's Day to the new cat dad. -#1 seel fan

[@nich6200]

He has hands. He’s one of the ones that makes the MOST sense to learn mud-slap

[@ryangonzalez3225]

Interesting take on the psychic/dark interaction. I took dark immunity to psychic as a reference to them being "Third eye blind"

[@craftymage5996]

For a moment, I actually thought magnamite could learn thunderpunch.

[@BlackVegaReal]

My interpretation of the dark-psychic type interaction is that the "dark type" direct translation in Japanese means "evil type" so evil things ruin humanity (dark type is super effective on psychic types) and they can't do anything to fight back. This is also why fighting types are super effective against dark types because they know how to fight evil

[@TastyMeerkat]

Venomoth Fact #26: Between Mr Mime and Hypno, by the time gen 3 rolled around, Venomoth decided to no longer bail out freaky psychic types and let them face the consequences of their questionable actions and habits.

[@skyninegaming]

15:00 psychic type's weaknesses are common phobias: fear of the dark, fear of bugs, and fear of ghosts.

[@realperson69]

As the resident killjoy, I must note that the Dark type is the “Evil” (あく) type in the original Japanese. Also, a lot of people have an irrational fear of thunderbolts and lightning (very very frightening), but Psychic (ESPer) types aren’t weak to that. 🤷

[@MatthewJemilo]

I'm failing to see the issue of watching Pokémon Emerald solo playthroughs until I'm 5 years from retirement 👴🏾 Then again, it might be nice for a faster release schedule so here we go Pateron!

[@thekakeking9400]

The Dark dad joke is that Mr Mime is the substitute.

[@Chronoflation]

It might help for consistency if you have all pokemon that are able to attack your HM users without KOing them do 1 attack each. It may not do a lot or may do a ton for your catching chances, but with how often you've had resets on HM users not staying in the ball, I think the slight time delay of 1 turn is worth the added consistency

[@Lokiip]

Ashes dad be like: "MIME MIME MIIIIMMEEE! 🤡" Happy Father's Day!

[@JohnkyTonkbadonkadonk]

MR MIME

[@leothewhiteranger]

Fun fact, Mr Mime gained an ice themed Galarian Form and Galarian Evolution later, so Ice Punch fits! Incidentally, I figured out the Dynamic punch thing right away... because for some reason, Mimey, Ash's Mr Mime, has Focus Punch. Yes, REALLY. Edit: Wait, that strat in playthrough two? HAH

[@naraiceylob]

I really enjoy this playthrough. No curse/return which is a good thing.

[@isaacwright9837]

i always thought it was weird that north America celebrates fathers day in June instead of September like we do in Australia but oh well happy fathers day and yes Scott as a Cat dad you get a present today and don't let anyone tell you otherwise haha

[@PiscesKanna]

And Brazil celebrates on August 😂

[@philiphunt-bull5817]

Encore is such a cool move

[@MazterP28]

Psychic Pokémon using punching moves. Reminds me of the anime episode where ash trained buizel to learn ice punch

[@gaminggoddess85]

Nuzlockers utilize Encore a lot, actually. Edit: I saw a user named LavitzDies in the Patreon credits. Why you gotta remind me 😢

[@skeetermania3202]

For physically frail Psychic types, might I recommend the Totodile team? It typically has the strongest physical moves (like Slash in the Victory Road fight), and it even has Bite at some points like in Ecruteak.

[@Secre.SwallowtailYT]

as sad as it truly is, our boy can't use mudslap because he isnt classified as a creature with hands.

[@Secre.SwallowtailYT]

and yes i know there are other pokemon that i swear don't have "hands" but still can learn it. wild.

[@danielspencer4665]

I feel like more saving before teaching tm’s and going into battle would benefit. That Whitney fight is just one example. It’s a bit of back tracking but if you save in front of the big battle, teach the tm then see how the fight goes, you’re not down a tm or down a learn set move

[@theSato]

lmaooo quality meme. brightened my 5am bedtime routine

[@garryfischer3679]

Great video Scott!

[@teriddax3692]

(1 minute in) Mr Mime can learn Curse, Toxic, and Rest, plus Special Defense is its highest stat. I wonder if Scott's Thoughts will turn to the classic gen 2 learnset for Red.

[@silver_was_found]

Forget about Substitute. My dad's moves are Rest, Snore, Curse, and Belch, and his ability is Truant.

[@banditrests]

Encore is one of the most potent moves in competitive Pokémon, especially on mons with prankster. It’s so frustrating to play against.

[@justinsims655]

Someday I'll devise some in-universe logic regarding which effects bypass Substitute so I can more easily remember, but tbh it seems very arbitrary lol.

[@MobileGamingChronicles]

So Mr. Mimes stats improve from HP to Special Defense. Nice.

[@Evilpengwinz78]

Suggestion: Mr. Mime vs. Mr. Mime Pokemon Yellow - One has the Gen 1 level up move pool, the other has the Gen 2 level up move pool. Gen 2 Mr Mime would lose the rival fight in the lab, then have to spam out PP and struggle to reach level 6, so it would lose time before Brock - but would have Substitute and Meditate much earlier in the playthrough. Would it be able to make up for it later on, particularly with the Meditate/Body Slam combo being available in the midgame?

[@mr.number9279]

Mr. Mime is an absolute beast. Surprised at how absurdly good it did. Damn. Some might be faster but I'm legit not sure who beats it in reliability, I mean, I guess horrendous RNG MIGHT muck up Snorlax, but the odds of it being messed up feel almost impossible to occur?

[@bobosmith101]

Seeing you delete Ice Punch that first time hurt. Although, it seemed it wasn't really a big deal.

[@UnknownVir]

I'm guessing that no early training is actually necessary, single barrier vs Falkner, I really look forward to watching this pokemon get streamed and refined.

[@brandonroyal1255]

Fun fact I meet Veronica Taylor voice of Ash’s mom at a convention she was super awesome and nice

[@dappersealion5]

Great Scott video!

[@poltergeyst5898]

Well done, as always!

[@Chugs4Serotonin]

I'd assume Mr. Mime learns mudslap because he can just use his human hands to pick up mud and throw it lol

[@ChrisZi.]

Good Job Scott!

[@frankieinjapan]

Mr. Mime takes a lot of shit, but tbh I think he's kinda cool. However seeing him bend over to eat out of a doggie bowl in the anime is wild 🤣

[@Penguindude1]

Shoutout to the video editor giving viewers little bonuses like Magnemite with boxing gloves. (How does he type with those on?)

[@shironeko1843]

Mr Mime using Substitute, I have nothing to say.

[@PegasusPablo]

Yes, the psychic type is weak to things our minds are afraid of (bugs, ghosts and the dark).

[@cameronneveu7277]

Dynamic Punch for Snorlax!

[@lyoukeefen7199]

“I was really excited to jump into this thing again” 28:10 Something something Ash’s mum

[@oakleafcurrents2976]

Just look at those hands…of course he can learn Mud-SLAP!

[@BloodfelX]

Why does Spite work through Substitute? Well, just to spite you - of course.

[@alexandredecarvalho4357]

maybe the last venusaur went for gigadrain because the rain dance was on, so that changed the priority over solarbeam to lower?

[@Susanpossibly]

IM SORRY. MR MIME FOR FATHERS DAY HAS SENT ME TO MY GRAVE 💀

[@UnknownVir]

I think thunder punch would be better than ice punch early on, Psychic and Electric are only resisted by 3 type combinations present in gen 2, represented by Steelix, Magnemite, and Exeggcute (which are all weak to Fire). Until you face the Rival's or Jasmine's Magnemite, you could keep Barrier, Ice punch wouldn't really matter until Claire or Lance (Dragon and Ground are the only two things that it adds Super Effective damage to)

[@silu785]

Dad with substitute.... Yea, sometimes you have to take the hit and move on :D

[@Nicoco_Mochi]

M. Mime for father’s day 💀💀

[@Duothimir]

Scott. Scott, look at Mr. Mime's hands. Look at them and ask again why he learns Mud SLAP.

[@UnknownVir]

Ice Punch on Snorlax instead of Rest might've worked, fishing for a freeze.

[@UnknownVir]

Dynamic Punch was a good play, glad curse wasn't the strat.

[@SnowyTotodile]

Regarding 9:10, if you had used Confusion, you would have done slightly more damage than Ice Punch due to STAB, since neutral STAB moves do 1 more damage than neutral non-STAB moves.

[@hammdogporkington3058]

My dad set up a substitute to go get milk a few years ago

[@darkessinzero]

For real, you have so much controll over the game, if you know you need specific Pokmemon to appear at specific routs where you can also choose to simply not engage with the tall grass. Why don't you force the game to always make the Pokmeon appear that you need. It will get rid of a lot of RNG and it would still satisfy your need for actually having to catch the Pokemon. Personally I would just give myself a full team of HM users right from the get go to eliminate that time totally and wouldn't give a damn about the hand full of Pokemon that would actually struggle to get the HM users in the first place

[@HunnyDoo]

How is psyduck breaking out of pokeballs 2 vids in a row? That thing is a menace

[@ScottsThoughtsPokemon]

It is! Definitely the worst hm user to obtain.

[@Goldenhawk0]

Scott why dont you just force psyduck to spawn the way you do with other hm users in Emerald. You already dont do encounters in Mt moon and it would be nice to minimize RNG for the standardized repeat playthroughs.