Spheal Line Solo Challenge - Pokémon FireRed

Challenge Rules:
- I can only use my starter in battle.
- No items in trainer battles except held items.
- No glitches, exploits, or RNG manipulations.
First playthrough:
- No Double Team, Substitute until level 100
- 15 IVs across the board
- Cheating for information is acceptable as a last resort
Second Playthrough:
- All bets are off. Complete the game as fast as possible
- Max 31 IVs unless pursuing Hidden Power
- I will be playing these runs at 4x game speed
My footage will be edited to give what I consider a better viewing experience. This includes making cuts, fades, and adjusting the speed of the footage to match my commentary.
I use a software called "PKHeX" to edit my starter, setting things like it's Nature, and IVs to be perfect 31s, or marginally reduced to give specific Hidden Power typing to optimize strategy. All of the Pokémon I use are 100% attainable in the base game. The software allows me to create my "perfect" egg Pokémon in a much shorter timeframe.
PKHeX also allows me to set my Pokédex total to max after the Round 1 Elite 4. A requirement of Round 2 is catching 60 species and I am only interested in the potential of the Pokémon that I'm running instead of my ability to catch Pokémon optimally.
Pokémon music, images, & names © 1995-2023 Nintendo/Game Freak.
Support my content through KZbin Memberships: www.youtube.co...
Support my content through Patreon: / eggsceptional

[@bleachmon1]

Before it even starts I give this episode my spheal of approval.

[@Eggsceptional]

Love it :D Thank you!

[@MrMitchbow]

Walled-rein

[@Eggsceptional]

@@MrMitchbow Amazing :D

[@firefoxmoz]

@@Eggsceptional Can you do a Snorunt run next? I would Glalie pay to see that.

[@Eggsceptional]

@@firefoxmoz Love the pun :D Ice and Dark coverage eh?? I like it.. I've added it to the list :)

[@adamrojas9235]

I just noticed with the stats in the bottom left that it tracks everything. I knew it tracked power points but I didn't realize it tracked increases in attack/defense/speed stats etc. It's so cool to see real-time changes like that. I like those small details.

[@Eggsceptional]

It's been an incredibly useful tool during the runs. Being able to see my speed stat in particular. I'm glad you enjoy seeing them too. It tracks 100% live, including cuts for Paralysis/Burns. More features coming soon(ish)! Thanks :)

[@Ram_mentality]

@@Eggsceptional I didnt realize it included paralysis/burns etc. that is really cool! I can't wait to see what else you add! I can't even think of what other features could be added.

[@Eggsceptional]

@@Ram_mentality Current held item, modifiers on the stats indicating +/- from natures. I have plans :) Thanks!

[@Flaris]

Fun run. And hope you had a very Merry Christmas! For holiday films...I'd say the Muppet Christmas Carol has become my mainstay Christmas movie. Scrooge is amazing in it and the Muppets actually work really nicely. Though I will say certain anime episodes are also my main holiday things to turn to. Some shows had very good Christmas episodes after all.

[@Eggsceptional]

Thank you! I hope you had a Merry Christmas as well :) I haven't seen the Muppet Christmas Carol in quite a few years to be honest. I'd totally forgotten about the number of Christmas episodes from shows that I enjoyed! Thanks :)

[@valor1omega]

Spheal looks like something a seal would toss around on its nose. Lol

[@Eggsceptional]

Spheal being bounced about by Sealeo is my new favourite mental image of the day. Thanks 🤣

[@Silvitewolf]

a proud member of spheal team six!

[@Eggsceptional]

That video was absolutely amazing! I don't think I was quite as coordinated 😜

[@hitmanx200]

I love the spheal line, it’s basically the Lapras/Seel line of Gen 3 but has its own swag. Bulky with thick fat and has balanced good offensive and defensive stats, it’s just a bit slow. Great coverage. Water has always been my favorite type too.

[@Eggsceptional]

Water is such a potent type in FireRed as well. I loved playing this :) I'm looking forward to checking out Lapras/Seel/Wailmer in the future too :) Thanks!

[@RobKni76]

I spheal like this is gonna be a great run!

[@Eggsceptional]

Ba dum tiss. Love it :D

[@ihaveanopinion888]

Sealeo is my fav Gen 3 pokemon. Such an underrated design

[@Eggsceptional]

I'd never played with this line before! I'm looking forward to re-running this in the future to see what it's really capable of when I'm more on my game. Thanks :)

[@leewalterson1243]

Spheal has a top tier design. Nothing wasted, everything important.

[@Eggsceptional]

I guess they looked at Walrein and decided that it didn't have much fat to trim 😅 Thanks!

[@ronaldmaxwell6668]

You literally always pick some of my favorite pokemon to run through games i love how you think

[@Eggsceptional]

It keeps me entertained anyway! Thanks :)

[@CasualVideoGamer]

Loved the Spheal line. First time playing Ruby, it was one of the few Hoenn Pokemon I liked enough to keep on the team (well, Walrein).

[@Eggsceptional]

This was honestly my first time using it! I was pretty impressed overall, though not evolving until level 32 was a little painful. Thanks :)

[@CasualVideoGamer]

@@Eggsceptional yeah, it's a little rough in that aspect, but it was still a good one. I've never been much of a Hoenn fan. For years, every time I replayed it, I found myself reusing the same derps. Starter + Gardevoir, Hariyama, Swellow, then the others depend on what my starter was. Walrein was just a boss when I first used it.

[@Eggsceptional]

​@@CasualVideoGamer ​ Walrein sure felt like a boss playing it. I'm looking forward to trying Wailord and comparing the two blubberheads. Maybe even a VS so I can redeem my bad play with Walrein. But Hoenn? Hoenn is a long ways off from being on this channel :P

[@lumineinfinitussilverkagat8094]

Whoo! Another awesome video and another one of my favorite Pokémon tears through Kanto! Walrein has been one of my favorites ever since I used one in Gale of Darkness and it was delight to watch it here. HP Electric probably would've made Lorelei's Dewgong and the rest of her team go down easier, at the very least just Dewgong because of its thick fat, but I don't think it would save enough time then what you end up going with, HP Rock would be more consistent as a back up for her team then Rock Slide but getting the TM from Meowth would be luck based so it probably evens out with whatever 10% misses you get from Rock Slide (it be great if Hidden Power was a buyable TM in Kanto even as a game corner prize). To answer your Christmas movie question I usually watch A Christmas Story with my older sister as she's baking cookies and we decorate them together, tbh I've seen the movie so many times that it's just background noise after the first viewing (she has it play on repeat until we're done with all the baking) but it still helps fill the home with Christmas warmth and joy. Also so kool to see my username in the credits this vid, whoever gifted me the one month of membership thank you so much. The comment about Vaporeon got me thinking about an Eeveeution race, my money would be for Vaporeon as Water Types as so good in Kanto but Jolteon and Espeon are quick powerhouses and Umbreon can really do work with Rest or Sub. Happy Holidays and Merry Christmas, looking forward to next week's content and I hope you get plenty of rest during your break!

[@Eggsceptional]

I was thinking that with HP Rock/Electric I would (hopefully) have one version of the TM by the league. If not, fall back on Rock Slide. It's really only for the Lorelei battle. Walrein handled pretty much everything else without too much issue. I'd never used Walrein before. I'm so pumped to try other bulky water types like Lapras, Seel, Wailmer. You have to love having a Christmas classic playing in the background. This year our Christmas baking was filled with the sounds of me mashing buttons and trying to get the next video out :P That's so cool though! I don't have a Christmas movie tradition myself. I enjoy bouncing around with them. The Eeveelutions have been a point of thought for quite a while. I'm hoping to tackle them sometime early 2024. Happy Holidays, and Merry Christmas to you as well! I'll be getting my rest. Eventually. Thanks :)

[@lumineinfinitussilverkagat8094]

@@Eggsceptional oh Lapras will be one of the easiest Pokémon to use, Stab Surf and Ice Beam with Thunderbolt and Psychic via TM will give you all the options you need, as far as its abilities go Shell Armor is probably the way to go since water absorb is only really good against Misty and Shell Armor removes a lot of bad luck...Dewgong is well just a weaker Lapras without the electric and psychic coverage in Gen 3 besides Hidden Power, no clue how Wailmer will perform, I know it has a lot of base HP but I don't remember any of its other stats standing out and I have no clue what its Gen 3 moveset is off the top of my head. Looking forward to the 2024 content

[@Eggsceptional]

@@lumineinfinitussilverkagat8094 Apologies for the delay in getting back to you. I didn't have any service in the mountains. I'm super pumped to play Lapras for exactly the reasons you mentioned. Dewgong to a point, but Wailmer I'm really interested in exploring Water Spout I think it is? All in time! Thank you :) I can't wait to jump into 2024's production!

[@lumineinfinitussilverkagat8094]

@@Eggsceptional its all good, been in a bit of a holiday coma myself, hope your holiday break is going great and yeah Lapras is a beast in Kanto and Johto. I forgot about Water Spout and yeah a 150 base power water move is gonna fun to use and I wanna say Walilord has enough speed to use it well...okay it has base 60 speed low defenses but maybe the base 170 HP will make it work well enough maybe

[@Eggsceptional]

@@lumineinfinitussilverkagat8094 I've outsped some pretty nasty foes with base 50 speed with a +nature and focusing the EVs a bit more. Wailord's 60 would be manageable I'd wager! I hope your holiday break is going well. I've visited some family, but my break hasn't started yet :P

[@adventureoflinkmk2]

11:57 so what, you got to answer that age all question if TM28 is... TOMBSTONER, BROTHER!!!!

[@Eggsceptional]

TOMBSTONER! Bring the PAIN! TM28? More like TM2LATE!

[@xlatheblackdragon705]

Before this run starts I know you're gunna clap this run

[@Eggsceptional]

I love runs that use the Defense Curl/Rollout style shenanigans. They're fun :)

[@RandoMattz]

i would have gone with Body Slam - Aurora/Ice Beam just for the sake of turn economy constincency but i see you love gambling with the Curl-Ball signature move :)

[@Eggsceptional]

I was debating which would be the faster of the two strategies. Going for the consistency, or for the higher risk, higher reward. With substitute I feel it balanced out the risk of Ice Curl :) Thanks!

[@aryana1879]

If you just want a movie to drink Eggnog to, maybe Sharknado? gets better with every minute (every minute you take a sip at least^^) but if you want a movie thats not only good for Eggnog, than maybe Deadpool xD although both are not really christmas-movies...^^

[@Eggsceptional]

I haven't actually seen Sharknado but I've been aware of it for years 😅 I need to in some "Tremors" vibes. That feels like more of an eggsperience with some lettuce instead of sips :) I was thinking about the second Deadpool! I've been wanting to see Violent Night again. What a fun movie that was 🤣

[@Straven93]

24:23 I mean you are the egg man goo goo g'joob

[@Eggsceptional]

Amazing! This made me smile. Thank you :)

[@Aaron.Seabolt]

My dog Buddy, is my childhood pitbull. I’m 29 and he’s 15. Whenever I see him I imagine Seel and Spheal. Eggceptional video about one of my dog’s forms.

[@Eggsceptional]

Holy moly! Buddy is an old dude! Though I'm imagining a Spheal shaped pitbull and absolutely in love with the idea. Thanks :)

[@Aaron.Seabolt]

@@Eggsceptional he enjoys retirement and having my two year old daughter give him lots of love and treats haha. Glad I could give you that image. 😂

[@Eggsceptional]

@@Aaron.Seabolt Apologies on the delay getting back to you. I didn't have any service in the mountains. That's the way to be though! Buddy has it figured out :)

[@Aaron.Seabolt]

Today I am putting Buddy down, his health has been on a serious decline this year and I went by the vets recommendation to let him be a dog and live. I’m going to miss my best friend. He’s been around half of my life. I’ll be catching a Seel on Yellow version, naming it Buddy and making it level 100 to transfer up to current gen games so it can live on in memory of my life long best friend Buddy. Thank you so much for all the unconditional love you have gave me over the years Buddy. Thank you for being the best friend a person could have. Thank you for loving my now three year old daughter Lillian. You will be greatly missed. Today my wife, Lillian, myself, and our two cats Cleo and Obsidian will miss you. ❤️💔

[@kitsunekun2345]

lol at "grandpa's medicine"

[@Eggsceptional]

It was a running joke for so long in my family :) Thanks!

[@joshuagreen818]

Honestly, I'd probably name Walrein 'justin'

[@Eggsceptional]

Did I miss this one? What's with Justin? 😅

[@jptheflipper3825]

eggcellent sir, eggcellent right, the 1st run, what can I say, it was rough, like really rough, I remember Squidgy's run of it being rough but he started with it fully evolved at least, Spheal is super cute, but super frail and so slow, painfully so as you found out. the 2nd run, so much smoother, but I gotta ask what was going on with the rival battle of the SS Anne, surely a bit of training on the many trainers on the SS Anne would of done it some good, you would of lost them all after the boat leaves, might as well make use of them, would of saved half a dozen of those resets and might not of resulted in a time loss. saying that your R2 league was superb, the sub strat was the best strat, you practically walked through the league it. I gotta ask, through both runs did you consider using ice beam instead of the ice ball, I know you like the move, clearly you love it from your use of it in both runs here, but that accuracy was so not your friend so much of this one, surely the fixed damage and 100% accuracy is a fair trade, plus you wouldn't have defense curl so you would have an extra move slot for some coverage, HP to better deal with Lorelei perhaps. the massive damage of a built up ice ball is good, but starting at that base 90 for ice beam plus STAB can't be a bad thing. this run makes me wonder about the eventually Golem run, rollout will end up doing the same thing for you, physical damage yes, but it will amount to the same thing in many ways, same with any Pokemon that gets rollout or ice ball and defense curl there is always that accuracy issue and getting locked into the move for up to 5 turns plus the turn of set up. I mentioned Azumarill before, it makes good use of rollout, its ability huge power doubles it without the defense curl so coverage is still an option, but its bulk will carry it better I think than most, its a bit more balanced like that

[@Eggsceptional]

Thank you, thank you. It's true. I feel like the number 1 problem for that early game was not evolving until 32. Imagine if we'd evolved at 16 like a normal starter. Way different. For that Rival 3 battle in the second playthrough.. yes. I'm pretty sure I mentioned it in the video but I was pretty gutted by those 8 resets. One extra trainer probably would have leveled me up giving minimum +1 speed. That at least would have been a tie. I'm not happy with myself about that one. The leagues worked great though!! That's definitely something worth considering. If I'd done that maybe I could have gone deeper into sub/rest, or even carried HP Electric the whole time to deal with Lorelei faster. I felt like Ice Ball would be faster, but just like that Rayquaza special run - I could be wrong and should have reconsidered the un-boosted special set more. I felt the possibility for the higher damage output of Ice Ball trumped Ice Beam, even if it was inconsistent. Leftovers/Sub took care of any of that inconsistency. I've actually been considering the Marill line for a video. That'd be a ton of fun actually, Huge Power, Defense Curl Rollout. I just looked and darn.. no Bulk Up/Swords Dance/Psych Up. There is that Belly Drum egg move though.. I maybe need to make a Belly Drum themed VS. I can see any strategy with Defense Ballout combo having a similar result, only changing based on the bulk and typing of the runner. Rock > Ice in the leagues, but Ice has no Intimidates. For sure, I appreciate it! Hold on to those for now though, Emerald is a long ways off. I would much rather dedicate time to HGSS, which I'm still not convinced on SS. HG might make prettier thumbnails. Yep. That's literally a consideration right now. I hope you enjoy the Mewtwo play. Not optimal by any means, but it was a lot of fun watching people's mind get blown by how fast it was running live. You do love your Poison types. I'm really looking forward to Skorupion. Maybe that's what I'll call it. If I can find a way to make EQ work I will. Deleting that Pikachu with it would be oh so satisfying. It's true. The Nidos are a couple that I'm going to have to consider pretty heavily simply because there are SO many options with them. Shadow Ball too is just such a cool move. I like the idea of doing that. I think maybe in a doubles format I'd evolve King early for Thrash, keeping him the bruiser throughout while Queen goes for Crunch/coverage/support. And Protect for the King's tummy growls. Ahh good to know. The first thing I thought of was "well that's Steelix, what about the rest of the team". Hitmonlee is a bit of a speedy devil after a Rock Tomb or two hits. Jolteon will be an interesting one. I feel like HP Water might be in order for that one in the second run. Maybe then I just need to think more about what exists on his team, what they have against me, and what I'm using. That's complicated enough for me dealing with 1 Pokémon how am I supposed to handle a team of 5!? Isn't Foresight (if that's the move that you were thinking of) a one turn buff though? So for Agatha I'd have to Foresight, EQ, Foresight, EQ on every Ghost? I mean... I like the sounds of finally EQing her again, but is that worth it? Well... for solo anyway. Teams is way different of course. There's a solution to that though! Well. Sort of. Alakazam does get Shock Wave at least. If you manage to even get in 1 Calm Mind that Shock Wave becomes pretty deadly. I'm thinking that it's something, again, that I play with more in the home game of FR before going into more team content in SS. I need repetition right now, not 16 hour "errrrr" style runs. Though that Nuzlocke not Nuzlocke was a ton of fun. I find usually in the Lt Surge battle the Voltorb and Pikachu are pretty much free. Maybe not always the Voltorb, but Pikachu is almost 100% of the time a one shot. That Raichu though, and taking less turns against it would be ideal. The problem with Dig is that darn Double Team like you mentioned. He always seems to do it turn 1, and if he can't hit you turn 2 presumably he's go for another if he outspeeds. Stupid accuracy.... :P

[@jptheflipper3825]

@@Eggsceptional it is amazing how a little extra speed can make such a difference especially with something like Spheal which has so many weaknesses thanks to the ice typing. ice is great for attacking, but defensively it is not the best, additional training is definitely needed for the more frail runs. I see your reasoning with ice ball, when it hits and gets through its chain, it is an awesome move, same with rollout but you know the old saying if its not 100% accurate its 50% accurate and ice ball showed that off perfectly. leaning into the stally and defensive strats with Spheal might of been better for it, at least in the 1st run and have the option of coverage with a HP or something other than the dual STAB is never a bad thing. also I think in Emerald it can have both rollout and ice ball thanks to a move tutor, I;d like to think you'd run that set if you could. you will have some much fun with the Marill line, especially if you give it belly drum, it is a shame in Gen 3, its physical set is somewhat limited, but a combo of rollout, belly drum, STAB water maybe and something for coverage and its gonna be good, as for the belly drum VS, we've talked on it before you and do have a few options, Snorlax maybe if not Clefable or Charizard, Marowak could be good especially with its thick club for a huge power esque boost. I know you've been looking for an excuse to have some belly drum action, this might be it. I did see the mewtwo play and I did enjoy it, mewtwo was an absolute beast, to say it was dominant is an understatement, I think it could go for the sub hour, but you'd have to run it half a dozen more times and instant start again with every reset you get. and thats fair, stick with SS and HG if you wanna branch into that one. trust me, Emerald will be something else completely, it will be rough running like you wouldn't believe, the rock gym is harder (no pun intended lol) the electric gym is shocking (yes intended) and don't get me started on the plot line. you'll hate it more than the R2 Lance. hell yes call it that, awesome name already, its gonna be a good run to watch, I am curious how it will handle SS though, Diamond and Platinum, it runs ok for when you acquire it. either way, it should be good. shadow ball is one of the best and most consistent moves for both of the Nidos, even if you go special with them. the team options will be superb but I can't help but feel I am missing something with them that is going to come along and really be a pain for them, if I think of it, I'll tell you. I think Misty might be, if you go in too early. thrash is good but it falls off in usefulness when the battles get longer and the opposing teams bigger. you make a good point with the Hitmonlee and rest of the team, but remember they are all physical and you will be quite set up by then and should tank a few more hits, the machamp might be a challenge as it hits the hardest, but it could just try to set up and you take it down for free. well having a team solves some of that as you'll have a full team and in theory a full set of coverage between them to deal with. I often think of the biggest problems within the run and try to have something on the team to deal with it, certain Pokemon in runs have only single weaknesses so I have something for them. its earthquake for Red's Pikachu, a grass move for water/ground types, stuff like that if that makes sense. I can't remember off the top of my head if I am being honest, I need to look into that one, Ghosts are not particularly bulky so one earthquake might be enough depending on what you're running. thats fair with Alakazam, shock wave is ok, but its not like it can have thunderbolt or thunder though. maybe stick with it in FR for the time being, starting with Abra with nothing is a pain in most games let alone in a rougher game like SS. at least in FR you can instantly give it thief for an attacking move and the 1st TM of HP (ice is best, trust me) and then shock wave if it hasn't evolved already by Surge. Surge is usually quite easy, so many get dig and something decent and physical to deal with the frail electric types. JRose often jokes about demoting Surge from Lt because of how bad he is and Scott has a whole lower tier on his Yellow rankings named after him to truly show off how bad he is. but the double teams in FR and its high speed and shock wave to never miss, is a real threat

[@Eggsceptional]

​@@jptheflipper3825 Apologies on the delay getting back to you. I didn't have any service in the mountains. Don't I know it! I've run another Ice type for the year end video. Granted, this Ice type isn't the most powerful. I'm sure you can make an educated guess as to who it is given the season :P I think sometimes I get lost in the idea of hitting with the strongest possible move. With the feedback I've received on the run I'm wondering how much going for the more consistent Ice Beam/Surf/Rest kind of strategy. I just love my big hits what can I say? It's true, I have been looking for an excuse to try out some Belly Drumming. I've definitely got these written down along with the ones we've previously discussed. I agree with Mewtwo. Plus not being on stream and fully focusing on the run will help. I love the puns! That's the general consensus on any solo runner of the games that I've watched, and any speedrunner that runs the game. Emerald is brutal. I'd rather stick with HGSS. It's sad, but I haven't had as much time as I wanted to work on my resources over the break. It's been busy! In a good way. Add it to the list of 7 million other things that I'm excited for in this coming year. That's fair enough. Without the use of items in battle Thrash is definitely much more risky. Shadow Ball though is useful forever (mostly). It's always Hitmonlee's speed, and that moment after Machamp has done a single Bulk Up and I know that I'm taking a hit on the next turn. It's always a terrifying turn that follows. That makes sense to me! Breaking the whole team into smaller problems kind of deal. It's something I have to do a lot in general otherwise I would get so overwhelmed all of the time. I just want to hit Gengars with EQ! Even without 1 shots I just want to hit them :P Yeah Alakazam with an egg move would move a lot quicker than Abra did through the early section. During the Eggsceptional 2023 Mewtwo's time was challenged by Alakazam. I'm not entirely convinced it would beat Mewtwo to the end of R2, possibly R1 though. Starting with Ice Punch, and grabbing Thief for Misty I don't think there's a single substantial problem. Super effective Shock Wave would fall off to STAB Psychic and give the option of a free use move slot too. Recover/Resto Chesto. Options. It's been fun to watch both of them talk about how awful Surge is over the years. He's definitely not a massive threat in FR either, but he does have the tools to cause problems at least. Sometimes bigger than others like poor Spheal getting nuked by Shock Wave after missing on the first Double Team.

[@jptheflipper3825]

​@@Eggsceptional don't worry about it, I figured as much, its ok, hope you and Mrs. Egg had a good Christmas considering its Christmas, I think I know which gift giving ice type you have in mind and I eggspect pain for most of the early game and then for the rest of the game. hitting hardest and fastest is kinda the best way sometimes, however the lack of consistency because of our old friend accuracy does kinda get in the way of that, ice beam/surf is a hit more solid at least especially if you can boost a little with some rain dance or held items. when boosting is not an option, weather and held items are a good back up, surf, rain dance and thunder for example is superb. I am honestly surprised I haven't seen belly drum more in your runs, I guess the runs haven't quite lined up for it yet, I assume 2024 will be the year of the belly drum. it is true, Emerald is rough, the psychic gym double battle never fails to cause a reset or 2, the league is much more diverse and trolly and stally, the league champ is oddly well attuned and the R2 Steven battle is one of the hardest in all of Pokemon, not quite Red level, but not far off. SS and HG is the way to go for now, but I fear when you running more standard Pokemon opposed to behemoth legendaries will prove to make those runs, live or otherwise, much rougher, once you are used to them, 3 hours might become a standard. 2024 is gonna be a busy year, but I think its gonna be a good year, lots of fun and maybe a lot more pennies in your swear jar lol. thrash is risky as is petal dance if you choose to use it for a grass type run, but you usually have a persim berry or 2 handy to deal with that, so it could be worse. and yeah shadow ball is one of the best moves, like ever, physical in Gen 3 is odd but at the same time oddly effective as so many get it, I find it very handy on my many poison types for psychic coverage I love the way Bruno seems to have gotten better over the years and he seems the most threatening in Gen R2 of Gen 3, especially the steelix, but fighting types in general got better with each gen, makes sense that he got better each Gen as well. the capacity to boost with bulk up being one of many such advances. exactly, it is little things like that that really help a team run along, having something for the big problems of a standard run through. in SS, as that is very much the home of your team running for the moment, stuff like Whitney's Miltank, it is fast and has a high defense and only weak to fighting, the answer is a fast special attacker, at that point in the game, a haunter might work best as it is immune to its normal STAB. this is but one of many problems of course and all of them lead to Red and what is needed for his team. I feel your desire to earthquake gengars jumping off my laptop screen, if you ever branch into later Gen games, keep in mind Gengar loses its levitate ability and can be hit with ground moves. agreed, I think egg move Alakazam would definitely give Mewtwo a run for its money. a combo of ice/psychic, calm mind and recover, maybe resto chesto, might be enough, having ice punch early might be all you need, a decent HP, shock wave and thief, but just work, but you have to remember alakazam is a lot more frail than mewtwo, it is a glass cannon opposed to an absolute beast and that is what will make a difference. surge can be a problem, but its a niche problem, slow and weak to electric and that is basically slow water types with no bulk, not a long list at least, although I think you will have some problems with Seal and Dewdong for the same reasons. BTW have you seen what Scott has been doing this week, he has started on Platinum, you might like the look of them, the way he handles Gen 4 may be useful for your SS, although I think he has been watching your SS runs for the same reason

[@Eggsceptional]

​@@jptheflipper3825 It has been so far! I'm blown away at the amount of work I just did in the last 3 days. At least 2 days working 16 hours straight :P Nailed it. Fortunately, the run itself was with the VS rules so I wasn't suffering with Present alone until Thief in Mt. Moon. It's true. I'm trying to remember everything that I did with Lanturn.. They seem like a prime candidate for Rain/Surf/Thunder. I want to revisit so many runs. 2024 - the year of the Belly Drum. Hopefully not, I'm wanting to make this belly go back to where it was last year. It's true, Emerald is going to be bit too nasty to consider for a while. I mean the hardest Pokémon game ever is Emerald Kaizo isn't it? With SS I can see that happening. I haven't had as much time as I wanted to work on my resources, so that's going to be another early task once I've woken up after a few days. I'd prefer to get the legendaries to the ~2h mark, and average being 2:30-3h. But we'll see. That swear jar, by the way, would have been bursting if I added every bad word while recording this week's video. That's for sure! When I saw that Tauros learned it I remember being so excited way back when I was planning that run. I'm looking forward to more reasons to use Shadow Ball because you're right. As a physical move it counters almost better everything that you need it to counter. I'm feeling quite tired and don't want to go look this up right now, but does Steelix get Bulk Up? If so I'm much more eggscited to run that one :P Let me have my set up moves! It's true I think some iteration of the Gen 2 speedrun uses Quilava and Flame Wheel to nuke Miltank. Obviously that changes a bit in Gen 4, but special attackers seem to be the way. I'm actually thinking about spending some time off camera just playing SS. I need the practice. When does Gengar lose Levitate? I'm playing that game next! I was thinking about the fact that Alakazam is squishier, but then I also thought about growth rate. Medium Slow VS Slow might just give Alakazam that edge. Saving Rare Candies until later to boost through the stats that Zam lacks. Now I just need an opponent for it. Gardevoir might be fun, but very same-ish. It's true, and I don't think it's too much of a spoiler to say that this week's video skips Surge. Just like Spheal too being able to come back to Surge later leveled into the 30s makes him none too threatening. If he even was to begin with. I've noticed that Scott has been putting out the Platinum videos! I definitely need to check them out I haven't even been able to watch FR Dragonite yet. That's just the FR, and Gen 4 vids.. I've had no time for content this year.

[@adventureoflinkmk2]

15:01 for the brunononononononono 34:45 ooooo 69 nice 34:49 for the dewgonggonggong

[@Eggsceptional]

I didn't get in any Onix/Steelixses! D'oh! Thanks :)

[@adventureoflinkmk2]

@Eggsceptional ope You're welcome Also the swords danceseseses lol and more oooo 69 nice

[@Eggsceptional]

@adventureoflinkmk2 I'll make sure to add a few more next time :)

[@opzombie9612]

can we see a Ludicolo line VS shiftry line? would be very interesting with coverage+even stats vs setup and huge attacker tho both i feel will have huge issues lol

[@Eggsceptional]

I've added the matchup to the list! I've been looking for an eggscuse to play Ludicolo. There are just so many I want to play! Thanks for the suggestion :)

[@azurrayne4140]

Spheal is such a underrated Pokémon. It's such a shame that Wailmer came out the same generation, because Water Spout with a decent speed combined with Spheal being put in the Ice Cave near the end in RSE. I recently finished a "little cup" challenge in Ruby and Emerald using only base form Pokémon, but could level beyond level 5. By the time I count get Spheal my Wailmer had Water Spout and could solo most gym battles

[@Eggsceptional]

It's true, I need to do a run with Wailmer now. Maybe I should pit those two against each other in a VS video. Full Blubber Jacket. That's such a shame that some Pokémon like Spheal aren't available until way later. Like Houndour not being in Gen 2 until the postgame!

[@fortello7219]

I thought ice ball increased in damage by a fixed amount each time (30+30+30=90 on turn 3) but it doubles! Thats so crazy. If items were allowed it would be perhaps one of the best solo run moves. 1 X accuracy and it should be full accuracy. Defense curl if you can, and watch it KO even resistant pokemon on turns 3, 4, & 5! You could use it only once a sweep a whole gym! Well, I suppose all of the setup and text boxes could hold it back from being the *best* solo run speedrun move.

[@Eggsceptional]

That's part of why I loved using it so much! The exponential growth in damage is wild as long as you're hitting. I'd love to have a Wide Lens for this. Things to eggsplore in the future :) Thanks!

[@fortello7219]

@@Eggsceptional The fact that wide lens didn't exist by gen 3 always drives me up the wall. It's part of what got me into ROM hacking. I basically add it (and frostbite/snow) to everything now.

[@Eggsceptional]

@@fortello7219 Apologies on the delay getting back to you. I didn't have any service in the mountains. Yeah that Wide Lens sure would be nice in Gen 3. At least I'll get to play with it a bunch in Gen 4 once I start really diving into running that :)

[@shootingstardust97]

One of my core members for gen3 when i went with the blaziken line as a kid, glad u had fun with this line. Anyways, would u consider like setting the event flag for surge trash can puzzle to activated just to save some time for the runs? It can be easily done with pokehex and not sure how minor time it will save but definately appreciated

[@Eggsceptional]

That's so cool! This was actually my first time playing with this line. It's something I've been wanting to do, yes. I can have the property frozen in GameHook as well so I have multiple ways of making my life easier. I think that'll be a switch I make in the new year. Thanks for your input :)

[@gmanz5]

Yay Walrein MY FAVORITE BLUBBERY BOI!!!

[@Eggsceptional]

Unlike most of us in winter we know that Walrein, at least, is cozy :) Thanks!

[@briancaster2876]

Thanks for the videos!

[@Eggsceptional]

It's my genuine pleasure :) Thanks for watching!

[@princeofrain1428]

Gg, orb!

[@Eggsceptional]

Ooooorb! Thanks :)

[@Scooby2120]

Would it be possible to make it to where on your stats your nature shows like in game

[@Eggsceptional]

I'll talk to my code wizard and see what we can whip up! There are some changes I want to make in the new year anyway. Now's the time to do it! Thanks for the suggestion :)

[@chrisdixon7377]

Fun fact. Spheal is primary ice type. Not water.

[@Straven93]

So it's the rhydon of ice types

[@Eggsceptional]

That would actually make more sense. The Water typing was so much more useful for most of the run though!

[@chrisdixon7377]

@@Eggsceptional yeap, if you ever do a soul link it's good to know lol

[@Eggsceptional]

@@chrisdixon7377 Apologies on the delay getting back to you. I didn't have any service in the mountains. I have no idea if I'll ever do a Soul Link! I'm vaguely even aware of what they are :P

[@chrisdixon7377]

@@Eggsceptional haha it's all good. It's a random fact I picked up from watching them lol

[@winek2036]

One simple question how spheal clap?

[@Eggsceptional]

Like this! .... I'm clapping, but I don't know how to spell that sound 🤣

[@Straven93]

34:28 Actually attract bypass substitute

[@Eggsceptional]

Does it! When she uses Attract on the decoy is works? Herm. I did not know that! I thought it blocked it.

[@Krispizz]

Spheal

[@Eggsceptional]

Clap!

[@jackruby6696]

Hell yeah

[@Eggsceptional]

I just want to say that the video for next week has been awful so far. My hands hurt from spamming buttons. I hope you enjoy :)

[@jackruby6696]

@@Eggsceptional king you are the goat

[@jackruby6696]

@@Eggsceptional i am so eggciited btw

[@Eggsceptional]

@@jackruby6696 Hehehehe...

[@dragonspight]

40:34 smh

[@Eggsceptional]

Hehehe :)

[@martingroe1210]

Comment.

[@Eggsceptional]

Reply :)

[@gemini5356]

Orb

[@Eggsceptional]

Crowd: "Oooooooorb!"

[@bateltheassistant]

What a lovely run ,it fits the spirit of the holidays so much, because it was unexpected at the very least at some parts. Spheal is a very decent pokemon with a good ability,but that speed is really bad for some fights for sure. In your second run bad luck was just all over the that run ,but that's the price to pay while relying on defense curl and ice ball. But it was super fitting overall fir this pokemon and this time of year. I'm kind of sad that you didn't got to have that 5k subs, because you do deserve more then that,but maybe you'll get to 10k next year or more,who knows?😊 Eggseptional work for an eggseptional video. Enjoy the holidays,and keep it up!🫡

[@Eggsceptional]

It was a totally random decision to do Spheal. I feel that it ended up being eggsactly what it needed to be. The speed was tough to deal with! It's that high risk, high reward potential, right? Next year is going to be a big year :) I can feel it. I'm so eggscited to jump in, but right now, I need a rest :p Thank you! Happy holidays!

[@bateltheassistant]

@@Eggsceptional That's what makes those runs so fun to make in general.😄 And yeah, you've been working so hard this year so you definitely deserve that rest.☺️

[@Eggsceptional]

@@bateltheassistant I agree! I appreciate you saying that :) I've been trying my best! Unfortunately, the holidays tend to not be very relaxing. I have a plan!

[@bateltheassistant]

@@Eggsceptional You're welcomed. Listening to your journey makes me try to do my best too. You've been through quite a lot. I'm glad that you were trying to rest at least. Once you're doing the thing that you love everyday ,it doesn't feel like a job , doesn't it?😄

[@Eggsceptional]

@@bateltheassistant I'm so happy to hear that I was able to help you out, if even in that small way. There are definitely times when this still feels like work, but it's so much more fulfilling than anything I've done before. Plus, I do obsess over it a little :)