Pokemon Sun - 0 Exp Part 3: Dexio, Hau, Gladion

Channel:

MoogleBoss

Subscribers:

6,590

Published on January 8, 2017 3:09:55 PM ● Video Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8gcCi2Wjg-E

Game:

Pokémon Sun and Moon (2016)

Duration: 7:43

1,764 views

35

Challenge playlist:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLbSv8zSDR9c3UXPZqUgrokIuZtllPl-9A

We get our teeth into the second island in this video, and this one is eventful in comparison to the third. Three Totem battles instead of one, two of them actually posing a challenge? Do want.

The first battle depends on your version; if you're playing Sun, you get to face Dexio, the psychic-type specialist; otherwise you get the ice-type user in Moon (uses Delibird/Glaceon). I don't actually remember what her name was, even though it's a cameo from XY apparently? We're supposed to remember and really treasure these two I guess.

The two psychic types here, especially the seriously dangerous Espeon, once again provoke us to use one of those usually mediocre earlygame dark-types - first it was Technician Meowth, now I've got a Hustle Rattata. Rattata and its evolution actually appear pretty often in my 0 exp runs (Kanto/Johto ones I believe), since it's got such a good earlygame / early midgame and Raticate's Guts access makes it really potent in some matchups (thinking of HG/SS Morty right now), but the Alolan form is actually dark/normal-type, the first one of its kind surprisingly. It's really afraid of fighting-type moves now (not that it could ever take them well in the first place) while packing two immunities - to ghost and psychic.

So this is not the last time the rat is showcased in a strategy in this run, but I gotta say I liked Guts access on vanilla Rattata/Raticate more. Hustle may give you the same boost to power, but every attack that's otherwise perfectly accurately basically becomes Stone Edge, so connecting several of these in a row is quite unlikely, and the lack of Hone Claws means the problem isn't going away. I liked it more on Darumaka tbqh. Anyway, Slowpoke's too easy for the whiffs to not have much significance.

Espeon's dangerous to all mons who aren't dark-types, and since my Rattata was weakened I switch out to a severely underlevelled lv. 8 Grimer. It's 3HKO'd by Quick Attack, and Bite cannot 2HKO in return, but a Poison Touch proc on the 1st turn allows Grimer to win in this matchup because I also thought it couldn't hurt to teach it Protect via TM for this battle. As competent as Grimer is in a run with levelling, I didn't quite expect it to do so well here.

The 4th (I think) Hau battle is the easiest one so far (aside from the 1st fight in the game), with Stamina!Mudbray tanking both Pikachu and Torracat with ease. Stamina is stupidly good, and if Mudbray and its evolution enjoyed greater availability I feel like they'd trivialise the run to the same extent as Excadrill did in the 5th generation, except in a defensive way. But you don't get Mudbrays on too many routes, and the ones you have the urge to catch grow obsolete after a couple areas. I'd say Sun/Moon could be called the most balanced Pokemon games thus far? Nothing's as overpowered here as stuff from the last two or so generations. I need to give this thesis more thought though.

And lastly, we fight Gladion, another major story character, for the 1st time. His Zubat is setup fodder for Carbink whose offensive stats are still good enough for this point of the game to 2HKO with Smack Down, so he leaves Reflect up before finishing the job (he also gets flinched, and I couldn't afford getting flinched twice there!). I'd previously stolen Light Clay from a wild Mudbray with my Compoundeyes!Butterfree, but it saw no utilisation here as I needed somebody to hold the Amulet Coin and it couldn't have been the other Pokemon I used in the fight.

Now, Type:Null is a totally different story. 95 across the board aside from speed, which is still high enough to outspeed my poisoned Guts!Machop after a Low Sweep debuff. Tackle/Pursuit is all it runs, meaning Carbink could lay back and take plenty of its hits before going down, but it doesn't hurt it much in return. So my strat is to kill Null in 2 turns by ensuring the poisoned 'chop can take the hits beforehand. Expert Belt/Black Belt don't guarantee the 2HKO because I would need two high damage rolls but Fightinium-Z off Brick Break combos with any other fighting-type move to dig Null its grave early.

With Gladion defeated, we continue to face Wishiwashi, the Pokemon with the highest base stats among introduced non-legendary Pokemon!

Other Statistics