Pokemon Farming: Shroomish

March 30, 2008 | 52 Comments

dpmfb285.pngdpmfa286.png

This time in Pokemon farming: Shroomish, the Mushroom Pokemon!

And the Shroomish for this event are bred ready to grow up to be a nasty Breloom, a Grass and Fighting Pokemon. Breloom is an interesting Poke, it has a nice attack stat, and has a fun move set where you can use Spore (puts your opponent asleep for sure) and Focus Punch (two turn hit, where your opponent cannot hit you first or it flinches). Breloom can do a wide array of mess up your foe!

What stinks about breeding a whole bunch of baby Shroomish is that they lack the ability to learn handy moves like Focus Punch or Stone Edge (to take care of those flyers!), those mean little moves can only occur in the more vicious Breloom. Well, what do you get from these babies if you can’t get those moves? How about these?

  • Spore (never fails to put your opponent to sleep!)
  • False Swipe (egg move, 40 Attack, always leaves your opponent with 1 HP)
  • Seed Bomb (STAB 80 Attack)
  • Leech Seed (Plants seeds that sap HP from your opponent every time)

Spore is the handy move I’ve bred in there for all of you! Both parents need to know Spore for it to be passed down and they both learn it, in their unevolved, Shroomish forms, at level 45! Spore and False Swipe is also useful for catching Pokes, like in chaining for shinies. Just evolve these Shroomish to Breloom at Level 23, and teach him some really cool moves.

Shroomish have 2 abilities: Poison Heal, restores HP while being poisoned, and Effect Spore, when contact with Shroomish may cause Paralysis, Poisoning or Sleep. They will all be Adamant nature, which raises Attack, while lowering Sp. Attack.

Want one of these can’t-wait-to-grow-up Shroomish? Here’s what you can do:

  • Comment with your Name and Friend Code
    • Even if we have traded before, I need your information again!
  • Get a Pokemon to trade (preferably non-Sinnoh, though I will take anything, items like Rare Candies and TMs are always appreciated!)
  • Be in the Wi-Fi zone at 7pm ET (New York Time) on April 2 (Wednesday)
  • Make yourself available to Trade (Invite–>Trade) I will come to you when I’m ready.
  • If you are new to our site, your first comment will be moderated. Don’t worry if your post doesn’t show, we will get to it in time, and you will not miss out!

My Information:

Trainer name: God

Friend Code: 5369 6895 7194

See you all Wednesday!

Posted by TheTaterTot | Filed Under Farming 

Looking at Pokemon: Absol

March 20, 2008 | 24 Comments

Absol

Absol, the disaster Pokemon, was introduced in the Ruby and Sapphire series of GBA games. Absol is a single type Pokemon (Dark) and does not evolve. Absol sits at the 359th spot on the National Pokedex.

Absol has a very good Attack score (Max 394 which puts it in the top 10 if you ignore legendary Pokemon, spot 13 if you don’t) and above average Special Attack and Speed. Its other three scores are only average. This Pokemon comes in both genders and has either the ability Pressure (When this Pokémon is hit by a move, the opponent’s PP lowers by 2 rather than 1/ If the Pokémon is in the lead spot, chance of encountering wild Pokemon increases) or Super Luck (Raises the critical-hit ratio of moves; allows simultaneous use of Dire Hit and Focus Energy) .Both abilities can prove very helpful in battle.

Absol is able to use a wide variety of TMs and HMs. Its egg moves are mostly of the Dark type. None of which fall in the Special category. Its level up moves are heavy on Normal (9) and Dark (5). There is also one Fighting move on the list and two Psychic moves.

Absol is catchable in both Diamond and Pearl games (Mass Outbreaks on route 213) as well as being transferable from the previous GBA games via the Pal Park.

Now that the basics are out of the way I’m going to tell you a little bit about how to effectively use this Pokemon in your game. Right off the bat you are probably thinking that the only use you will ever have for this Pokemon is in the arena of battling, this is not so. It is quite possible to have someone trade an Absol to you when you first begin your Pokemon journey. Due to the wonders of Wi-Fi it is very easy to avoid the built-in Pokemon restrictions of Diamond and Pearl.

One of the problems with adventuring in Sinnoh is the lack of certain types of Pokemon until you defeat the Elite Four and complete your Sinnoh Pokedex. When it comes to Dark Pokemon you will be limited to Murkrow, Stunky, Spiritomb, Drapion and Sneasel.

Murkrow can be encountered early on but Stunky only appears in Diamond. Spiritomb is near impossible to get unless you have a lot of friends. Drapion requires evolving its earlier form and Sneasel does not appear until you have acquired several badges and head towards Snowpoint. Having access to a strong Dark-type Pokemon early in the game can change the single-player game experience for you.

Adventure Mode Absol

If you get a freshly hatched Absol with no special breeding you can expect it to only know the move Scratch. This is a rather weak Physical move but it is on par with what you will encounter in the early part of the game. At level 12 it will learn the much better move Quick Attack. This move is just as effective as Scratch but it is faster.

The first damage-inducing Dark move Absol learns is Pursuit at level 20. Pursuit gives you a STAB attack with the added benefit that it can damage a foe when they try to switch out. Because of its low power you will be replacing it with bite upon attaining level 28.

Sucker Punch is also a Dark-type attack that Absol can learn upon reaching level 44. Even though Sucker Punch has a higher power rating than Bite it only works if your foe uses a Physical Attack against you. This is a nice back-up move but you need to keep Bite as your main Dark-type attack.

You will continue on with Bite until Absol gets the chance to learn Night Slash at level 52. Odds are you will have already defeated the Elite Four by this point and unless your Absol has the Super Luck ability I would have to advise that you stick with Bite.

What about the non-Dark moves in Absol’s level-up move pool? Most of them are Status moves. I generally avoid Special Attack moves on an Absol due to their high Attack score. Still, having a Special Attack waiting in the wings can prove beneficial. Future Sight and Razor Wind are the only Special Attacks that Absol learns while leveling up.

Razor Wind pops up at level 17 and should be learned. Even though Razor Wind is a two-turn move it will hit both opponents in a Double Battle. Its Base Power of 80 makes it the most powerful Attack you will learn until Sucker Punch at level 44. Future Sight is also a Power 80 Attack but it hits several turns later and is not 100% accurate the way Razor Wind is.

In the Status department Absol has several good moves for the adventure mode of the game. Between Swords Dance and Double Team you can either knock out your foes faster or make yourself last longer in battle.

My preferred order of moves in adventure mode are as follows:

Move 1: Scratch -> Razor Wind
Move 2: Leer -> Swords Dance
Move 3: Taunt -> Pursuit -> Bite
move 4: Quick Attack -> Slash

After this point I have usually defeated the Elite Four, transferred my Pokemon out of the game and reset the game for a new go with a new team.

Battle Mode Absol

Using Absol in adventure mode is far different from breeding an Absol for competitive battling. When battling competitively Absol falls in the Under Used Tier. This grouping is based off of Absol’s Base Points (465) and Move Pool. Some tournaments also exist where you will be forced to only use Pokemon of a certain evolutionary type. In Absol’s case it fits in the “non-evolving category”.

Even though Absol falls into the Under Used tier the only other Pokemon with a Base Attack of 130 are Kingler and Flareon, both of which are “evolving” Pokemon. This means Absol has the highest Attack score for the non-evolving Under Used tier Pokemon. When it comes to Speed, Absol is just about in the middle with a Base Speed of 75.

Absol 1: Baton Passer

Some people over look Absol as a Baton Passer because it does not have an ability that leads to passing on heightened stats. Absol is not one of the best Baton Passers out there but it can learn the move and if it has Pressure it can lay some hurt on the opponent’s Pokemon if they use high Power low Power Point moves.

IVs: HP:252, Def:8, Spd:252
Nature: Jolly (Spd+/SpA-)

Move 1: Baton Pass (Egg Move)
Move 2: Double Team
Move 3: Psych Up (TM)
Move 4: Swords Dance / Calm Mind (TM)

The choice between Swords Dance and Calm Mind depends on what Pokemon you are setting up for. If the next Pokemon is a Physical Attacker go with Swords Dance. If they are a Special Attacker go with Calm Mind.

Absol is far from the best Baton Passer around but when a tournament restricts the better Baton Passers it is good to know that an Absol is an option.

Absol 2: Speed Kills

Absol has a very nice Attack score and its Speed is not that far behind. Absol is faster than many Pokemon in its class and with the Super Luck ability you can make short work of your opponent’s Pokemon by landing a few Critical Hits before they even get a chance to attack you.

IVs: Atk: 252, Def:8, Spd:252
Nature: Adamant (Atk+/SpA-), Jolly (Spd+/SpA-)

Move 1: Stone Edge (TM)
Move 2: Night Slash
Move 3: Assurance (TM)
Move 4: Psycho Cut Thanks Jhamin!

Yes, I know some of these moves are not very powerful and others are not 100% accurate. What they all have in common is that they are Physical moves. They will all use Absol’s high Attack score to their advantage.

Absol is weak against Fighting and Bug-type moves. Psycho Cut (Psychic 70/100) is a good hedge against those pesky Fighting-type Pokemon. Stone Edge (Rock 100/80) is effective against the Bug-type Pokemon you will face.

Other Absol Uses

There are many other uses for an Absol in your party. For one thing the Ability Pressure causes wild Pokemon to appear more often. Couple this with teaching Absol False Swipe and you can do some Pokemon hunting.

You can also teach an Absol Perish Song, Baton Pass, Substitute and Mean Look. Start with Mean Look, drop a Perish Song down and Substitute until you need to pull off a Baton Pass to get your Absol out of danger. This tactic can be very deadly in a Double Battle situation.

Posted by HMTKSteve | Filed Under Tips 

Pokemon Farming: Forum Special: Totodile

March 16, 2008 | 148 Comments

Hello everyone and welcome to my debut on the main site! Your treat this time around I have one of the most requested Pokemon in the game. I talking about Totodile. You need to go through one of the entire GBA Pokemon games and complete the pokedex just to get one! Lucky for you I have 30 IV bred and ready to find new homes.

I call this breed the “Ice dragon Totodile”. The combination of both of the highly necessary egg moves I put on these babies. These are designed simply to dragon dance and blast the opponent with powerful attacks. I have bred these to have high IVs in attack and speed and be the adamant nature.

All Totodile are Adamant +atk -sp atk

Move set

¤ Dragon Dance-Raises attack and speed.
¤ Ice Punch-May freeze the opponent. Great for taking out Grass and Dragon types.
¤ Super Power- Very strong attack that also lowers your Atk and Def. Use it with caution.
¤ Aqua Tail- A more powerful less accurate version of waterfall. I didn’t want to breed an HM on these babies.

This move set took a lot to get. Just getting Dragon Dance+Ice Punch was a challenge. I needed a male Dragonite to pass on these moves. I had to beat the last chunk of my fire red just to trade my Dragonite to my emerald. Then I had to do a bunch of battles at the battle frontier so I could get the points to teach Dragonite Ice Punch. I had to pal park Dragonite use a heartscale to teach it dragon dance and finally breed a male Totodile with the two moves. After that I had level the parents up to get aqua tail/super power and thats how I got the move set. I hope you appreciate my hard work. :]

Marks

All Totodile have marks. If they have it that means the stat it belongs to is at or near 31 ivs.

Circle=HP
Triangle=Attack
Square=Defence
Heart=Sp Atk
Star=Sp Defence
Diamond=Speed

Trade info

All trades will be done between…
4:00 and 5:00pm MST
3:00 and 4:00pm PST.
6:00 and 7:00pm EST.

Friday March 21st

Leave you your name and FC to request one Totodile.

I hope you enjoy this event and the Pokemon I’m offering. Thank you for reading and have a nice day.

FC-4510 7090 8948
Name-MIKE

WestCoastNinja is bringing these awesome Pokemon to you. He served for a while as a Gym Leader on the forums. He also currently runs the W.C.N. Farms in the forums.

Posted by HMTKSteve | Filed Under Farming 

Reserve a Game, Get a Free Guide Book

March 13, 2008 | 7 Comments

Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Darkness Guide

March 13, 2008 – Two new Pokémon® adventures for Nintendo DS™ are on the way, and Nintendo plans to reward fans for ordering early with guides to help them navigate the games. Starting March 16, fans who place an order for either Pokémon® Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Time or Pokémon® Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Darkness will receive a free, limited-edition Pokémon Mystery Dungeon Explorers Guide*. The guide contains an exclusive collection of tips, interviews and an original manga by Ken Sugimori, main art director of Pokémon video games.

In these two new games, players journey through time and darkness as actual Pokémon as they attempt to find out why they’ve been turned into a Pokémon. Their epic quest leads them through countless, randomly generated dungeons, encountering more than 490 Pokémon. Players also have the option to send rescue alerts to their friends via e-mail or mobile text message when they are connected to Nintendo® Wi-Fi Connection. These two new Dungeon games give Pokémon fans another excuse to upgrade to Nintendo DS, which also plays all their favorite Game Boy® Advance games in single-player mode.

Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Time Guide

* Deposit may be required. See retailer for details. While supplies last.

That’s right, Nintendo has announced their pre-order deal for the two new Pokemon Mystery Dungeon games. This will likely be in the same format as the pre-order book made available for people who pre-ordered the first Pokemon Mystery Dungeon games. The chief difference now is that there will be two books rather than just one.

So, if you have a sibling you can each pre-order the game and get your own book. If not… Well, you can always order one copy of each game!

Along with the news of the free books comes the big question, which Pokemon are you? Wait no longer for their is a test you can take that will reveal all there is to know about being a Pokemon.


Posted by HMTKSteve | Filed Under News, Pokemon Mystery Dungeon 

Pokemon Farming: Forum Special: Chikorita

March 10, 2008 | 67 Comments

Todays pokemon offering is Chikorita, a great starting pokemon from the Johto region. This little weed will eventually evolve into a very formidable "Red Ring of Terror" known as Maganium.

Chikorita/Bayleaf/Maganium have very good defensive stats but only slightly decent attack stats. For this reason, I stuck with producing all with the nature Bold which allows 10% to the Defense stat and reduces the max Attack value by 10%. The below move set is aimed at utilizing the Special Attack so the loss of those extra points will not hinder his effectiveness.

All chikoritas and the subsequent evolutions have the ability Overgrowth. Overgrowth causes a 50% raise in damage caused by Grass moves when the users HP falls to or below 1/3 its max.

Move set

Leech Seed – accuracy 90% 10PP – seeds a fow and then drains 1/16 of their max life every turn.

Protect – accuracy 100% 10PP – Goes first, completely protects from any damage this turn. Accuracy is halved each time this move is used in succession.
Grass Knot – SpA -accuracy 100% 20PP- Hits heavier opponents for more damage, with a max of 120 power.
Ancient Power – SpA – power 60, accuracy 100% 5PP – Rock attack with a 10% chance of raising all stats.

This set will work great as a staller as well as on great big walls. Leech seed the high HP walls and steal 1/16 their life to help revive yourself. Along with leftovers attached which also recovers 1/16, you will be drawing double HP recovery for a total of 1/8+ per turn. Using protect as your second move allows your poke to recover a whopping 1/4+ of its life for free, hopefully replenishing the hit you took to dispense your leech seed.

Once you are set up, the use of Grass Knot will help with the destruction of large walls and help to prevent the switching in of larger pokemon. Grass Knot has a gradient of damage based on the weight of the opponent pokemon, shown below

Below 10 kg: 20 power
10.1 kg – 25 kg: 40 power
25.1 kg – 50 kg: 60 power
50.1 kg – 100 kg: 80 power
100.1 kg – 200 kg: 100 power
200.1 kg and up: 120 power

The final move is to help protect against the weakness of chikorita. The rock move Ancient Power will hit four of its five 2x weakness (Ice, Bug, Flying and Fire) for 2x damage, helping to keep your chikorita/bayleaf/manganium up and running longer.

How to get one:

1. Comment with your Name and Friend Code
2. Get a Pokemon to trade, preferably holding an item. Heartscales and rare candies are much appreciated for future breeding projects.
3. Be in the Wi-Fi zone at 6pm CST (Chicago Time) on March 14th (Friday)
4. Make yourself available to Trade (Invite–>Trade) I will come to you when I’m ready.

My Information

Trainer Name: Narnad

Friend Code: 3823 7154 4296

Excelsior!

Narnad is not only an excellent breeder but also a Gym Leader on the forum. You can challenge Narnad for the Relic Gym Badge as well as visit the Farmer on the Dell forum farm to see more of these amazing Pokemon

Posted by HMTKSteve | Filed Under Farming, Forum, Grass 

Just in Time for Easter: Pikachu Peeps!!!

March 6, 2008 | 7 Comments

Pikachu Peeps

While perusing eBay today I ran into a couple of auctions for Pikachu Peeps. Because my daughter was hanging off my shoulder I went ahead and bid a price that is probably going to end up costing me three times the real cost.

Yes, I won the auction but there are more out there. Some more Pikachu Peeps Auctions

After doing a little more searching I have come to find out that you can buy these bits of sugary goodness from your local Toys’R'Us store for the low price of $1.99.

So, if you like Peeps why not take a trip down to your local Toys’R'Us store and buy some of these? If there is no store near you then you can try the eBay link above.

Posted by HMTKSteve | Filed Under News 

Pokemon Farming: Forum Special: Cyndaquil

March 3, 2008 | 82 Comments

Noctem’s Special Flamin’ Cyndaquil.

So, Cynaquil is a little weasel-mouse with a with a fiery personality once provoked. They’re usually timid but watch out, they’ll set their opponents a blaze!

So today, as a special treat, I’m offering them to you. Cyndaquil evolves into Quilava and later Typhlosion, which can be a great asset to any team as a lead or late game special sweeper. You can send it into battle alone or give it a Choice Scarf and watch it wreak havoc.

All of these little guys will be of the Timid(speed+,-attack) nature, to give your pokemon the extra speed it needs and will have the ability Blaze, fire attacks will gain a power boost if Cyndaquil’s HP falls below 1/3. So come adopt one of these little guys today for all of your Barbecuing needs, and roast your opponent’s pokemon.

Move set:

Eruption- An extremely powerful move that’s best used as the start of the battle, since it’s most powerful before Cyndaquil takes any damage. A 150 base power attack, plus STAB is a scary sight to behold.

Lava Plume- A secondary attack to use once Cyndaquil has taken some damage. While not as powerful, it still is a decently powered STABed move. So "Why not choose Flame Thrower?," you ask. The reason I chose Lava Plume is because of the 30% chance of causing burns, crippling physical sweepers, and it generally causes a nice amount of passive damage.

Hidden Power- While the power and type depends on the user’s IVs, hidden power is a very surprising attack. To check your pokemon’s Hidden Power Type, you’ll have to use an IV calculator.

Dig- It gives Cyndaquil some type coverage against rock types.

Rules:

Comment with your Name and Friend Code

Even if we have traded before, I will need your information again.

Get a Pokemon to trade (preferably non-Sinnoh, Rare Candy, Heart Scales, and TMs are always appreciated.) Do not trade me eggs!

Be in the Wi-Fi zone at 4pm PST (GMT-8:00) on Monday March 10th

Make yourself available to Trade (Invite–>Trade) I will come to you when I’m ready.

My information:
Trainer Name: Glacier
FC: 1160 6656 0190

Editors Note: This event is being performed by one of our Forum Farmers, Babael, who is also the current Mine Gym Leader. You can visit the farm directly by clicking on this link Noctem Ridge Farm. If you like the Cyndaquil here you will absolutely love the other Pokemon that have been farmed in the forums.

Posted by HMTKSteve | Filed Under Farming, Fire, Forum