Arceus and the Plates

November 13, 2009 | Leave a Comment

As many pokémon fans know, the new Arceus being given away in Australia and at Toys-R-Us in the US and Puerto Rico unlocks a special event in the upcoming HeartGold and SoulSilver games and brings Cynthia to Johto and gives gamers a chance to receive Palkia, Dialga or Giratina with a special move at level 1. Many may forget that unlocking events by having event pokemon in your party started in Platinum and if you take your new Arceus to the Oreburgh Mine you will meet a traveler who will give you a brief history of the plates and hand over a Flame Plate to you. If you travel to the Canalave City Library you can meet up with him again and he will will fill you in on some pokemon history relating to Arceus and the plates and he will leave a book in the Canalave Library that details all the inscriptions that have been found on the plates since Diamond & Pearl.
Arceus has the unique ability of Multitype that allows it to become the type of whatever plate that it holds. While the Flame Plate can be found in Stark Mountain, it requires you to have the national dex which makes it the last of the plates accessible through game play. Since Arceus has now become available to so many pokémon fans, I thought it might be a good time to review where all the plates can be found:

Draco Plate: Right behind the Dragon Statue in Eterna City

Insect Plate: Outside the Old Chateau to the right and against the wall of the cliff

Dread Plate: Upstairs in the room on the left of the Old Chateau

Spooky Plate: In Amity Square in Hearthome City

Mind Plate: In the last floor of the Solaceon Ruins

Fist Plate: On Route 215 behind the black belt trainer that is behind a small tree that needs to be cut

Toxic Plate: In the Great Marsh of Pastoria in the Northeast section. Against the northern tree wall in Diamond and Pearl and in the bog in Platinum.

Earth Plate: Oreburgh Gate which is the cave between Jubilife City and Oreburgh. You need Rock Smash and Strength to get back there and then Surf to the far west side of cave.

Splash Plate: On Route 219 in the Southwest corner before turning into Route 220.

Iron Plate: In a small pit in the caves of Iron Island in the far southeastern corner of the third floor.

Icicle Plate: On route 217. Show the hiker in the house his lost HM Rock Climb and he will reward you with the Icicle Plate.

Zap Plate: in front of the lighthouse in Sunyshore City on the right, use Dowsing Machine

Meadow Plate: On Route 210, you need use HM Waterfall to get to it. It is against the wall beneath the bridge above the first waterfall.

Stone Plate: in the cave on Mt. Coronet, use Waterfall to access the room and it is in the rock. In Platinum, the Adamant Orb and Lustrous Orb can also be found in this room.

Sky Plate: in front of the pokemon league on the left, use Dowsing Machine

Flame Plate: on the left hand side in Stark Mountain

One plate of each type can also be found in the Underground. While any pokémon can hold these and get a 20% boost in power from those type of moves, Arceus can use them to change its typing and the typing of its signature move Judgment. Try them out, if only to see the different colors that Arceus can change in to.

Posted by Deneves | Filed Under Tips 

What’s New in Platinum: Oak’s Letter

October 16, 2009 | Leave a Comment

Platinum owners can now travel to Flower Paradise and battle the Gratitude Pokémon, Shaymin by obtaining a Oak’s Letter over Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection from now until November 8th, 2009. This letter asks you meet Dr. Oak on Route 224.

If you have received the Member’s Card, the Secret Key to unlock the Rotom forms or received mystery gifts from Pokémon Battle Revolution then you are ready to go. Just click on MYSTERY GIFT on the opening screen, then RECEIVE GIFT, then GET VIA NINTENDO WFC and it will load the Wonder Card on to your game
If you have yet to receive a mystery gift, go to the 3rd floor in Jubilife TV. Talk to the man next to a lady and type in “everyone happy” as a response to his first question and type in “wi-fi connection” to the next question. Save your game and when you restart it the MYSTERY GIFT option box will appear below NEW GAME on the opening screen.
Once you have downloaded the Wonder Card, Oak’s Letter can be picked up from the green dressed delivery man in any Poke Mart. Even if you haven’t beaten the elite four yet you still can receive Oak’s Letter, but to battle Shaymin you must have defeated the Elite Four and obtained the National Dex from Professor Rowan.

The easiest way to access Route 224 is to come down from the Pokémon League to Victory Road as Route 224 can be only reached be going though the caves heading east out of Victory Road. If you have traveled to route 224 previously, you will need to use HMs of Surf, Waterfall, Rock Climb and Defog to navigate this cave. If this is your first time through, Marley will help you battle and heal your pokémon as you go, but you will also need Strength and Rock Smash.
Dr. Oak is waiting for you at the end of Route 224 by the big white rock. Just before you reach there, Marley will join you and Dr. Oak will ask you who you would like to thank. After typing in what you are thankful for, the Seabreak Path will appear and allow you to walk up a long flowery stretch to the Flower Paradise island in the Northeast of Sinnoh.

Shaymin will be waiting for you at the end and will be at level 30 and have the following moves:
Growth
Magical Leaf
Leech Seed
Synthesis
If Shaymini faints, don’t worry, just walk back onto the Seabreak Path and return to Flower Paradise and Shaymin will once again be waiting for you. You can battle it as many times as you like (or flee if you find yourself outmatched) until you capture it.

You can only capture Shaymin once so I recommend bringing a pokémon with the ability of synchronize with the nature you prefer. Shaymin in its Sky forme has its best base stats in Special Attack and Speed so Modest or Timid are usually considered the best natures. In its land form, Shaymin can be a very good defensive and support pokémon and a Bold nature will boost its defense stat.
Unlike most legends that have a very low catch rate, Shaymin has an average one of 45 and can be caught relatively easily compared to other legends. I was catch one at full HP with a Quick Ball. I do recommend that you bring a pokémon with the move Taunt to limit Shaymin from recovering HP and boosting its Special Attack. I do not recommend trying to inflict it with a status as it isn’t necessary and it holds a Lum Berry.

Posted by Deneves | Filed Under Tips 

What’s New in Platinum: The Regis

September 20, 2009 | 1 Comment

In Diamond and Pearl, Regigigas can be captured in Snowpoint Temple by having Regice, Regirock and Registeel in your party. Now in Platinum it is somewhat reversed. By having the level 100 event Regigigas given away in the US at Toys-R-Us in March 8 to 21, 2009 and this summer throughout Europe and Korea or the Japanese Movie Regigigas in your party you have an opportunity in Platinum to capture the other three Regis in Sinnoh.

The first Regi that you have a chance to catch is Registeel. He is in a room connected to the last area deep in the Iron Ruins on Iron Island. He is at level 30 and has the following moves:<

  • Stomp (Normal, Power 65, Acc 100)
  • Metal Claw (Steel, STAB, Power 50, Acc 95)
  • Curse - Raises Attack and Defense while lowering its Speed
  • Superpower (Fighting, Power 120, Acc 100) but lowers Attack and Defense

The next one is Regice who can be found in the Iceberg Ruins at the end of the Mount Coronet caves leading to route 216. He too is at level 30 and has these moves:

  • Stomp (Normal, Power 65, Acc 100)
  • Icy Wind (Ice, STAB, Power 55, Acc 95) lowers opponent’s speed
  • Curse - Raises Attack and Defense while lowering its Speed
  • Superpower (Fighting, Power 120, Acc 100) but lowers Attack and Defense

The final one is Regirock who can be found in the Rock Peak Ruins in the Sandstorm area of Route 228. Like the others he is at level 30 and has these moves:

  • Stomp (Normal, Power 65, Acc 100)
  • Rock Throw (Rock, STAB, Power 50, Acc 90)
  • Curse - Raises Attack and Defense while lowering its Speed
  • Superpower (Fighting, Power 120, Acc 100) but lowers Attack and Defense

The Regis all have strong defenses and Registeel and Regirock resist False Swipe so it takes a some work to get them down to 1 HP. Bring a False Swiper and a status inducer (Sleep or Paralysis) to help catch them. Don’t bother trying to lower their stats as they all have the ability of Clear Body that prevent opponents from lowering them. I always have a synchronizer in the lead spot and I recommend adding to their strong Special Defense. I suggest Careful for Regirock and Registeel and Calm for Regice. The level 100 Regigigas is too strong to help much in lowering their HP and a Ghost type can resist two of their three attacks. Be careful of the defense lowering effects of Superpower as a physical attack will do more damage than had previously done and if you aren’t using False Swipe you may accidentally faint them. Luckily all these are found in caves so bring your Dusk Balls as they are the most effective.

Once you have gathered all three you can go to Snowpoint Temple and capture your own Regigigas. Only in Platinum instead of facing a level 70 monster, the Regigigas is only level one. As you can imagine, False Swipe is essential but because catching pokémon is affected by percent of depleted HP, lowering it from 13 to 1 does not have the same beneficial effect as it does a level 70 Regigigas that can sport up to 256 in HP. Because of this it is important to bring a status inducer and plenty of Dusk Balls.

Posted by Deneves | Filed Under Tips 

What’s New in Platinum: New Moon Island

August 5, 2009 | 5 Comments

Platinum owners can now travel to New Moon Island and battle the Pitch-Black pokémon, Darkrai by obtaining a Member Card over Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection from now until September 13th, 2009. This card allows you access into the Harbor Inn in Canalave City. The Harbor Inn is in the northeast corner of town and before the Member Card is active, the door is locked and the sign is too faded to read.

If you have received the Secret Key to unlock the Rotom forms or received mystery gifts from Pokémon Battle Revolution then you are ready to go. Just click on MYSTERY GIFT on the opening screen, then RECEIVE GIFT, then GET VIA NINTENDO WFC and it will load the Wonder Card on to your game
If you have yet to receive a mystery gift, go to the 3rd floor in Jubilife TV. Talk to the man next to a lady and type in “everyone happy” as a response to his first question and type in “wi-fi connection” to the next question. Save your game and when you restart it the MYSTERY GIFT option box will appear below NEW GAME on the opening screen.
Once you have downloaded the Wonder Card, the Member Card can be picked up from the green dressed delivery man in any Poke Mart. Even if you haven’t beaten the elite four yet you still can receive the Member Card, but to battle Darkrai you must finish a few things. First you need to have obtained the National Dex from Professor Rowan. Then you need to visit the son of Sailor Eldritch in Canalave City and retrieve the Lunar Wing from Fullmoon Island.
When you read the sign at the Harbor Inn it will now say “A Roost For Restless Sailors,” and “Enjoy sweet dreams in our sumptuous beds.” Once you enter the inn you be whisked off to bed and will find yourself on New Moon Island, follow the path to find Darkrai waiting for you.

Darkrai will be at level 50 and have the following moves:
Hypnosis
Faint Attack
Nightmare
Double Team
If Darkrai faints, don’t worry, the Sailor Eldritch can now take you to New Moon Island and Darkrai will be waiting for you there. You can battle him as many times as you like(or flee if you find yourself outmatched) until you capture him.

You can only capture Darkrai once so I recommend bringing a pokemon with the ability of synchronize with the nature you prefer. Darkrai has good stats all around, but its best base stats are in Special Attack and Speed so Modest or Timid are usually considered the best natures. Here are some moves to consider when putting together a team to capture Darkrai.
False Swipe - despite its looks Darkrai is a Dark type, not a Ghost, so False Swipe will work to lower it to 1 HP.
Thunder Wave – Sleep and Paralysis help to make pokemon easier to catch and while Sleep is more effective, it is only temporary while Paralysis will stay with it for the rest of the battle. Magnezone and Magneton will resist Faint Attack while dealing out the Thunder Wave.
Taunt – Darkrai has only one attack and Taunt will force it to use Faint Attack. Darkrai’s ability is Bad Dreams which causes you to lose 1/8 of your HP on every turn that you are asleep and its Nightmare attack will further drain away ¼ of your HP. Taunt will prevent it from putting you to sleep with Hypnosis and from using Double Team.
Haze – Double Team not only raises its evasiveness, but makes it harder to catch. Haze wipes away all stat changes.
Aromatherapy - Hypnosis can spell doom to even the highest level pokemon as Bad Dreams and Nightmare will quickly drain away your HP. So even if you quickly lower Darkrai’s HP, it can still cripple you before you can catch it. Switch out your pokemon as they fall asleep and switch in an Aromatherapist to wake up you whole team. Chesto berries can be a handy hold item especially for your aromatherapist as you want to make sure it doesn’t fall asleep before it wakes up its teammates.
Vital Spirit and Insomnia are helpful abilities to avoid Darkrai’s Bad Dreams and Nightmares and, as scary as it might seem, I recommend you battle Darkrai at night (after 8 PM) as Dusk Balls are the most effective ball against this tough catch.

Posted by Deneves | Filed Under Tips 

A Pokemon of a Different Color

May 23, 2009 | 10 Comments

Red Gyarados

Ever since we all saw that first red Gyarados in our adventures in Johto, different colored, or shiny, pokemon have been a rare find, and heavily sought after. The chances of randomly finding a shiny pokemon in the wild, through fishing, or normal encounters is a staggering 1 in 8192. This means that through the normal course of a game, you probably won’t come across one at all!

During the days of Ruby, Sapphire, and Emerald, but luckily the game developers felt that we, the players, deserved a couple different avenues to make shinies a little easier to come by.

The most common method today to get a shiny is though chaining, using the Poke-Radar. There is still skill involved, which I personally have had very limited luck with.

The other way to make things a bit easier is using what has been coined ‘The Masuda Method’. The Masuda method is a way to have a little better luck in obtaining a shiny under the right circumstances.

It was revealed through a blog post by Junichi Masuda, who is a director on the board of Game Freak inc, that it is advantageous to use the GTS. He pointed out several different benefits. You can read the full blog post here.

One line in particular is important here, “rare colored Pokemon’s Egg can be found little easier.” This meant that by utilizing the GTS, it would be easier to hatch a shiny egg. Well, this didn’t exactly give the entire picture, but it was intriguing news nonetheless! After months of research (by someone else, mind you) it was discovered that this meant there was an interesting interaction with pokemon from different languages. So those that were able to tear apart the game’s code and figure out what was going on, were able to determine that taking 2 compatible parents (for instance, one American male Charmander, and one Japanese female Charmander) and depositing them into the daycare had a dramatic impact on the chances of finding a shiny.

The odds went from 1 in 8192 to 1 in only 2050, that is almost four times easier than a normal encounter!

Here is a video showing a hatching of a shiny charmander using this method on my platinum cartridge!

A few notes that may help answer some of your questions – thanks go to several members of the pokefarm public that helped to dig up this info!!

  1. This will work with any breedable pokemon.
  2. This will work using a foreign Ditto and another breedable pokemon from your own game.
  3. If you save after picking up the egg, you can soft reset for better IV’s.
  4. IV’s are the only properties of the egg that is set upon hatch, rather than on picking it up from the old man. (i.e. Nature, Ability)
  5. Natures will not pass from the parents when they are of different languages, so an Everstone will have no effect when held by the mother in this case.
  6. This method works in Diamond, Pearl, and Platinum.
  7. In order to check it’s IV’s without saving you’ll have to either have many Rare Candies (about 30-40 to narrow it down very well) or to get a rougher idea, visit our PokeFarm forums for tools to help you on finding out more.

I believe that covers all the main questions that have been asked lately. If you have any questions that aren’t covered here, make sure to check the Diamond/Pearl/Platinum Question and Answer section and ask away!

See you on the Farm!

Whitdjinn

Whitdjinn is one of the original farmers from when we still used HMTK.com as the base site to distribute Pokemon.

Posted by HMTKSteve | Filed Under Tips 

What’s New in Pokémon Platinum: Pastoria City

May 11, 2009 | 3 Comments

At first glance, Pastoria City looks the same in Platinum as it does in Diamond and Pearl. If you look a little deeper you will find a few new surprises in the land of the Croagunk Festival.

Matchup Checker

The first new thing that you may see after the giant Croagunk billboard is before you enter the Pastoria Great Marsh a cowgirl will offer you a new Pokétech application if you catch five or more pokemon in the Safari Game. The new application is number 23, the matchup checker, that allows you to see how compatible the first two pokemon in your party will be at breeding. Press the heart between the two pokemon avatars and if they are compatible, then the hearts above will light up. One heart being the least likely to produce eggs, three hearts for the most likely. If the pokemon aren’t compatible, the Luvdiscs will turn away from each other and face the opposite direction.

The Safari Game

The Safari Game itself offers pokémon that were unavailable in Diamond and Pearl. Tropius and Tangela can be found commonly in the Great Marsh along with Yanma who was previously only available after you received your national dex. While Drapion and Toxicroak are no longer found in the Great Marsh until you have obtained your national dex, Skopuri and Croagunk are still found there.

Free Shards

As you enter the Great Marsh, to the east of the trams is a man that will offer you a colored shard. The shard color varies and he will offer you one every day and you can use them at any of the move tutors including the one just west of Pastoria City. Shard pieces can also be found in pokéballs throughout the marsh.

The graphics have improved in this area and bogs that were previously covered in swamp grass now have grass lining the outer rims of the bogs where wild pokémon reside and different shades are visible in the dark bogs to show the deeper areas that are hard to walk through.

The Toxic Plate

If you are searching for the Toxic plate that was hidden near the trees in Diamond and Pearl, you will have to get muddy to find it in Platinum. Use your dowsing application in the northeast section of the Great Marsh. While most objects on the dowsing application show as a big dot on your screen, the dot for the Toxic Plate is so small that if you are in the line with it, it will not be visible.

Macho Brace

To get the Macho Brace you won’t need to show the three forms of Burmy as you did in Diamond and Pearl. Instead the men in the house north of Pastoria City’s pokémon mart will ask to see a male and female Combee.

Coupoundeyes

If you like to collect items like I do, the Great Marsh gives you an opportunity to capture a pokémon with the ability of Compoundeyes. If the pokémon in the first position of your party has this ability, then wild pokemon are more likely to be holding items. This holds true even if that pokemon has fainted. Yanma not only can have that ability, but also can be holding a Wide Lens that boosts the holders accuracy by 10%.

Posted by Deneves | Filed Under Tips 

What’s New in Pokémon Platinum: Move Tutors

April 2, 2009 | 14 Comments

Probably the most anticipated change in Platinum is the return of move tutors. There are three move tutors in Sinnoh that will teach moves that are not TMs to pokémon capable of learning them. The move tutors will need colored shards in exchange for their services.

In Diamond and Pearl, the colored shard pieces were only found in the Underground and their only use were that 10 pieces of the same color could be exchanged for a weather TM at the house in rainy area west of Pastoria. Not only are the shard pieces still found in the Underground, but they are also scattered in pokéballs throughout Sinnoh in the Platinum version.

Platinum Move Tutor

Pastoria Swamp Move Tutor
The first move tutor you will come across is in the that same house west of Pastoria in the swamps. On the wall in the back of the house is a list of tutored moves and the number of shards that it takes to learn the move. Here are the moves taught by the first move tutor:

Dive – 4 Blue Shards, 2 Yellow Shards, 2 Red Shards
Fury Cutter - 8 Blue Shards
Icy Wind - 6 Blue Shards, 2 Green Shards
Thunderpunch – 6 Blue Shards, 2 Red Shards
Firepunch – 6 Blue Shards, 2 Red Shards
Ice Punch - 6 Blue Shards, 2 Red Shards
Ominous Wind - 6 Blue Shards, 2 Green Shards
Air Cutter - 4 Blue Shards, 2 Green Shards, 2 Red Shards
Zen Headbutt - 4 Blue Shards, 4 Yellow Shards
Vacuum Wave - 4 Blue Shards, 2 Green Shards, 2 Red Shards
Trick - 4 Blue Shards, 4 Yellow Shards
Knock Off – 4 Blue Shards, 4 Red Shards
Sucker Punch – 6 Blue Shards, 2 Yellow Shards

Platinum Move Tutor

Snowpoint City Move Tutor
The second move tutor is found in Snowpoint City. He resides in the house in the northeast corner where the man teaches you the trendy phrases. Here are the moves that he can tutor:

Uproar – 6 Yellow Shards, 2 Green Shards
Spite – 8 Yellow Shards
Last Resort – 8 Green Shards
Synthesis – 2 Yellow Shards, 6 Green Shards
Magnet Rise – 4 Yellow Shards, 2 Green Shards, 2 Blue Shards
Swift – 2 Yellow Shards, 4 Green Shards, 2 Blue Shards
Snore – 4 Yellow Shards, 2 Green Shards, 2 Red Shards
Helping Hand – 4 Yellow Shards, 2 Green Shards, 2 Red Shards

Platinum Move Tutor

Survival Area Move Tutor
The last move tutor is found up the rocky path just east of the pokécenter in the Survival Area. In Diamond and Pearl, the man apologizes for not having anything to offer you, but in Platinum he can teach you these moves:

Mud-Slap – 4 Red Shards, 4 Blue Shards
Twister – 6 Red Shards, 2 Green Shards
Superpower – 8 Red Shards
Seed Bomb - 4 Red Shards, 4 Green Shards
Iron Head – 6 Red Shards, 2 Yellow Shards
Aqua Tail - 6 Red Shards, 2 Green Shards
 Endeavor - 4 Red Shards, 4 Yellow Shards
Outrage – 6 Red Shards, 2 Yellow Shards
Ancient Power – 6 Red Shards, 2 Green Shards
Gastro Acid – 4 Red Shards, 2 Yellow Shards, 2 Green Shards
Signal Beam – 2 Red Shards, 2 Blue Shards, 2 Yellow Shards, 2 Green Shards
Earth Power – 6 Red Shards, 2 Green Shards
Gunk Shot - 4 Red Shards, 2 Blue Shards, 2 Green Shards
Rollout - 4 Red Shards, 2 Blue Shards, 2 Green Shards
Iron Defense – 4 Red Shards, 2 Blue Shards, 2 Yellow Shards
Bounce - 4 Red Shards, 2 Green Shards, 2 Yellow Shards
Heat Wave – 4 Red Shards, 2 Blue Shards, 2 Green Shards

Platinum Move Tutor

One more tip. If you use your dowsing application of your pokétech, you will come across star pieces hidden in the caves and they are more than just a tie-in to team Galaxy. In previous games, the only use for star pieces was to sell them, but once you are able to use Surf outside of battle, you can make your way to Fuego Ironworks and Mr. Fuego with exchange shard pieces for those star pieces.

This article was written by Deneves, the Cobble Gym Leader on the forum.

Posted by Deneves | Filed Under Tips 

What’s New in Pokémon Platinum: Maid Battles

March 26, 2009 | 4 Comments

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As most of you know, Pokémon Platinum hit the stores in the U.S. on March 22 and while the basic gameplay is the same as Diamond and Pearl, there are some improvements.

One change that you will notice is when you reach Mr. Backlot’s Mansion on Route 212. The left wing of the mansion that was closed off in Diamond and Pearl is now guarded by a group of battling maids. They will challenge you to the “5-Maid Knockout Exact-Turn Attack Challenge”. Each will bring one Clefairy to battle you, with the first one starting at level 25 and each successive one being a higher level.

If you think that battling Clefairies is a piece of cake, think again. These ones will baffle you with moves that cause confusion and paralysis and immobilize you with their cute charms, not to mention their use of the moves Endure and Encore.

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Once you have defeated them in the exact number of target turns, your reward is that you get to battle Lady Celeste or Master Liam and their Blissey.

Their Blisseys are level 35 and have different move sets, but both like to Fling a rare candy at challengers. While battling with your Amulet coin will net you 11,200 in pokédollars, the real Trick is to switch in a pokémon that can swipe away that rare candy before the Blissey flings it at you.

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Don’t be discouraged if it takes a while to get through this, but the good news is that you can challenge the maids the next day for another shot at that rare treat.

This article was written by Deneves, the Cobble Gym Leader on the forum.

Posted by Deneves | Filed Under Tips 

Looking at Pokemon: Lileep

March 12, 2009 | Leave a Comment

Lileep

Lileep is a Rock/Grass Pokemon from the third generation of Pokemon games. Introduced in the Ruby and Sapphire games for the GBA Lileep sits at number 345 on the National Dex and is only available as a fossil that must be brought back to life by visiting a certain scientist. This Pokemon can be found in the Underground on Diamond, Pearl and Platinum in its Root Fossil form.

Lileep comes with the ability Suction Cups: Prevents moves that make you switch Pokemon from working. Increases catch rate while fishing.

Lileep can be acquired via game play by searching the Underground for a Root Fossil and bringing said fossil to the Oreburgh Mine Museum. Once revived this Pokemon will be at level 20.

Once you revive Lileep you can breed it or evolve it at level 40 into its final stage of Cradily. Its HP (66), Defense (77) and Special Defense (87) are very nice while its Speed (23) is quite low. Lileep’s high Sp Atk (61) and low Atk (41) put it securely in the role of a Special Attacker. Its Grass/Rock typing makes it weak (x2) against Ice, Fighting, Bug and Steel moves but it is not super weak (x4) against anything.

Lileep in Adventure Mode

A freshly hatched Lileep will come with the moves Astonish and Constrict. A freshly revived Lileep will be at level 20 and have the moves: Astonish, Constrict, Acid and Ingrain. For purposes of this discussion we will assume a level 1 freshly hatched Lileep.

Being part Rock Lileep is known for having good defensive numbers. While its Attack score suffers its Special Attack does not. Because of this we will focus on using Lileep’s Special Attack when leveling up. Lileep has five Special moves in its level up pool and only two Physical ones. These two are known at hatching.

A level one Lileep does not get any sort of STAB move. With Acid at level 8 we need to wait until Lileep reaches level 15 before the first Grass move is learned; Ingrain. Not a damaging move, Ingrain does help keep Lileep in the battle by restoring lost HP at the end of each turn. Ingrains built-in defense against being forced to switch out is clearly wasted on Lileep.

The first hard choice comes at level 22 when Confuse Ray becomes available. Take it. Astonish is not a very good move and Acid already does more damage AND can hit both enemy Pokemon in a Doubles Battle. Amnesia at level 29 is a bit of a mixed bag. It is a Status move that increases Special Defense. Since Lileep already has a good Sp. Def. you might not want to bother with this move.

At level 36 comes the Status move Gastro Acid. This move negates the ability of the enemy Pokemon is can be extremely useful. I can’t even count the number of times this move has saved my bacon in the game!

At level 43 we encounter our first STAB move, Ancient Power. Not only does this move provide us with a Rock STAB move it also has a slight chance of improving all of your scores when used. No Lileep should be without this move. Level 50 brings us our Grass STAB move, Energy Ball.

Upon making it to level 57 Lileep get the option to learn the triple move known as Stockpile/Spit Up/Swallow. The up side to this move set is that it allows you to increase charge up power and then either use it to attack or to heal. The downside is that it is three moves out of your four allowed.

The very last move that Lileep can learn by leveling up is Wring Out at level 64. The damage for this move is based on the foe’s remaining HP.

Adventure Mode Move Breakdown:

Move 1: Astonish -> Confuse Ray
Move 2: Constrict -> Gastro Acid
Move 3: Acid -> Ancient Power
Move 4: Ingrain -> Energy Ball

Competitive Battling Lileep

Lileep is the basic form of a two-stage Pokemon. As such it does not see much play in competitive battling. It does see use in the Little Battle Tier.

Long Lasting Lileep

EV: Sp Def:252 / HP: 252 / Sp Atk: 8
Nature: Calm (SpD+/Atk-)

Move 1: Giga Drain (Grass 60/100 TM19)
Move 2: Substitute (Normal/Status TM90)
Move 3: Ancient Power (Rock 60/100 Lvl 43)
Move 4: Recover (Normal/Status Egg)

With this Pokemon you start by using substitute and then follow it up with either Recover or one of your offensive moves. In subsequent turns you can use Giga Drain to cause damage and restore lost HP. Ancient Power performs admirably as a secondary STAB move for those Pokemon that resist Giga Drain.

Remember, this Pokemon will not be facing the power hitters of the competitive battling scene. Some might wonder why I have not placed Toxic on this Lileep. The simple answer is that because Lileep will be running in the level 1 – 5 range the effectiveness of Toxic will be lowered to the point where it is not as effective as it is at higher levels.

Other types of Lileep

I request that if you have any other ideas for a Lileep move pool to please leave them in the comments below. As good move pools are suggested I will update this article accordingly.

Posted by HMTKSteve | Filed Under Tips 

Looking at Pokemon: Elekid

February 14, 2009 | 3 Comments

Elekid

Elekid is an Electric-type Pokemon from the second generation Pokemon games. Introduced in the Crystal, Silver and Gold games Elekid sits at number 239 of the National Dex and falls into the Baby Pokemon group. This Pokemon can be captured in Pearl and Diamond by having a copy of Fire Red in the GBA slot while visiting Route 204-South Valley Windworks. If you are lucky the Elekid may even be holding an Electirizer!

Elekid comes with the ability Static: 30% chance of opponent becoming Paralyzed after using a direct attack.

Unless you have planned to use Elekid in your starting party you are not likely to get one in the early part of the game because the GBA trick only works after you defeat the Elite Four. The only way to get one prior to completing the single player portion of the game is through trading.

Because Elekid is a baby Pokemon you can not use it for breeding. It can evolve into an Electabuzz at level 30 and an Electivire at any point thereafter. Believe it or not its scores as actually quite good. Its base scores are even better than those of a Pikachu!

With Attack and Special Attack scores in the 60’s and a Speed of 95 Elekid can be a very good pick for your Pokemon team.

Elekid in Adventure Mode

Because Elekid is a baby Pokemon and the base stage for a third stage Pokemon a little bit of planning can go a long way in making this Pokemon a permanent addition to your battle roster.

A base Elekid will come with the moves Leer and Quick Attack. Even though you can’t catch one (and you are likely to breed better moves for it) for the purpose of this article we are going to assume you started with a base Elekid.

Because Elekid’s Attack and Special Attack are very close it pays to keep a mixture of attacks on this guy.

Thundershock (level 7) and Low Kick (level 10) will quickly become two of your main moves. Swift (level 19) is a very nice replacement for Quick Attack. With Elekid being one of the fastest Pokemon around at this point in the game it is more useful to have a move that can hit both opposing Pokemon in a double battle than having a weaker move that always strikes first but only hits one opposing Pokemon.

Shockwave (level 19) will replace Thundershock and Light Screen (level 25) can replace Leer. At level 28 we begin to enter the realm of hard choices.

When Thunderpunch (level 28) becomes available we find ourselves at the first crossroads. Up to now all of our electric attacks have been Special Attacks. Thunderpunch is the first physical Electric move that becomes available. It is more powerful than Shockwave but Shockwave is an automatic hit move. Thunderpunch is also the only physical Electric move in Elekids level-up move pool. I usually hold on to Shockwave at this point.

Discharge (level 34) is another hard choice. More powerful than Shockwave and also has the added effect of hitting all other combatants on the field, that includes your other Pokemon! If you normally have Elekid partner up with a Volt Absorb or a Ground-type Pokemon then Discharge is a good choice. If you don’t take Discharge (or even if you do) Thunderbolt (level 37) soon becomes available. This is followed by Screech (level 43) and the ever powerful (but not always accurate) Thunder (level 46).

Adventure Mode Move Breakdown:

Move 1: Leer -> Light Screen -> Screech
Move 2: Quick Attack -> Swift
Move 3: Thundershock -> Shockwave -> Thunderbolt
Move 4: Low Kick

Competitive Battling Elekid

Elekid is legal for the Little Battle format.

It is highly unlikely that you will ever find yourself in a situation where you choose to field a Elekid in a competitive situation. The only time you will have one of these guys on your team is when a tournament restricts you in some manner. With that in mind I offer the following move set.

Punched-Up Elekid

EV: Atk:252 / Spd: 252 / Def: 8
Nature: Adamant (Atk+/SpA-)

Move Pool:

Move 1: ThunderPunch (Electric 75/100)
Move 2: Ice Punch (Ice 75/100)
Move 3: Fire Punch (Fire 75/100)
Move 4: Brick Break (Fighting 75/100)

All of the moves on this guy are Physical and they are all 100% accurate with a base damage of 75. Thunderpunch is the only one that gets STAB. Ice Punch is there to take out those pesky Ground-type Pokemon who can do Elekid in quite quickly.

Other types of Elekid

I request that if you have any other ideas for an Elekid move pool to please leave them in the comments below. As good move pools are suggested I will update this article accordingly.

Posted by HMTKSteve | Filed Under Tips 

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