05/08/2017

Pokemon Black: The Scolipede Solo Run


Until very recently, I was under the impression that I still had to run solo with a great many Pokemon Types; but lo and behold, it turns out that I've actually covered most of the Type spectrum — all the more so if double Typing is taken into account — and that the Types I've not dabbled in yet can be counted on the fingers of one hand. The 'Mon du jour, i.e. vividly coloured, blasé-eyed Venipede, is taking me not just one, but two steps closer to full Type coverage with his double Bug-Poison typing. I've been fond of Venipede ever since I encountered him on the Route 6 bushes in Kalos (and I'm not the only one, since a Venipede run was endorsed enthusiastically by faithful readers Sieg and Kumiko). There's something endearing about that garish insect that I just can't explain with words; and while his middle form is a bit, shall we say, inexpressive, his gigantic final evolution manages to be all at once baddass, hilarious and adorable. What's not to like about a nonchalant giant magenta centipede, seriously?

My Venipede and her evolutions — collectively known as Venin — did a stellar job on the battlefield, despite rocky beginnings. The main issue was Venipede's and Whirlipede's low Attack, which made one-shooting opponents a distant dream; fortunately, I was helped on the offensive front by my Venin's awesome ability Poison Point, which helped me eliminate more than one assaillant. As soon as my foe was poisoned after a hit, I would spam Protect and let the poison do its work and dispose of the obstruction for me. That sure is a roundabout way to win, but it certainly did the job; however, Poison Point's magic became virtually unecessary after Venin crossed the ultimate evolutionary threshold, gaining sky-high Attack in the process. I got hold of a couple of neat Moves throughout my run; and by the time I reached the late stages of the game, I was pretty much set on Poison Tail (Poison), Bulldoze (Ground), X-Scissors (Bug) and Facade (Normal). The latter was more or less a pis aller: I wanted my beloved Return, but alas, I didn't find it during my run, nor did I find a more powerful Physical Poison Move than Poison Tail. Nonetheless, that Move quatuor was more than powerful enough to wreak havoc on the battlefield — at least, it was so until the first Elite Four showdown and rolling of credits.

I'll be blunt: even after three runs of the Black/White pair, I still find the forced double Elite Four showdown just as hard to swallow as when I was first confronted to it. In fact, I find it even harder to swallow after having been acquainted with the awesomeness of Black and White's direct sequels, the Black 2/White 2 pair — a.k.a. the games that single-handedly made me fall head over heels in love with generation V. Compared to these sequels' swift, smooth and near-perfect pacing, the pacing of the prequels sucks, with their abrupt ending, overblown postgame and Elite Four force-feeding. Technically, everything that happens after beating N belongs to postgame territory, since we get a credit roll after that victory; and yet, beating the Elite Four a second time triggers another credit roll while at the same time not ending the game for good, which is the clumsiest setting ever. How many postgames does this game have, exactly? I'm also not fond at all of the massive difficulty spike that occurs after the first rolling of credits, which I deem totally uncalled for. I swear that Moves that could one-shoot opponents with ease before the fight against N were suddenly rendered unable to knock out anything cold after the credits rolled, and that seriously hampered my ride. Let me enjoy my overleveling in peace, dang it!

Now, I can appreciate how GameFreak tried to break the mold with these games. The idea of making the resident Champion fail and be beaten by N, only to make you the Champion in all but name when you wipe the floor with the latter, was a really innovative idea that introduced a welcome modicum of drama in the franchise. Having you fight the Elite Four a second time to become the official Champion once the Team Plasma menace is more or less eradicated was also a thrilling challenge, and so was the scouring of Unova and hunting of the remaining Seven Sages led by Looker (which, for the record, I have yet to endurtake). All this was really neat and exciting on paper; but unfortunately, the execution is flawed. The first rolling of credits comes too early in the game and way too abruptly, leaving all at once too many places to explore and a sour feeling of unfinished business; and the unneeded difficulty spike that ensues makes the task of exploring said places and finishing said business all the more tedious and wearying. Reaching the Elite Four the second time around is busy work, and I have no qualms about admitting that I did it solely to get a celebratory post-victory snapshot with my Venin and that she gobbled more dope than a Tour de France rider in order to be ultimately featured on said snapshot. Lazy and vain gamer is lazy and vain!

But hey, the first part of that run was pure delight, and it was a satisfactory experience overall. Having said that, I'm not too sure I will replay Black and White too often after that, lest they host an exclusive 'Mon I really want to run solo with. Black 2 and White 2 are so much more polished, so much more rewarding and so much better overall that I declare them henceforth my reference games and go-to entries for generation V. And with that Venipede solo run under my belt, I'm now inching closer to full Type coverage. Ground, Ice, Electric, Dragon and Fairy 'Mons, you're next on my To-Run-Solo-With list! Until then, thanks for reading, and be my guest anytime!

6 comments:

  1. The venipede line is probably the cutest looking centipede monster I've ever seen. Whatever grievances people might have with GF's later designs, I challenge anyone to dislike Venipede/Scolipede. I can see some people not liking Whirlipede but heh, it's pokemon tradition that middle forms be lamer. See every starter pokemon ever.

    I knew one of my favourite little bugs wouldn't let you down. And this was before poison type was made truly useful in gen.6 further proving how good this pokemon is. It might have been better if you had done this run in Kalos though...that double elite force grind also gets on my nerves so much that it's the only reason I prefer the sequels to the originals, since I actually like the limited pokedex.(okay, the pokestar studious are a lot more fun than the pokemon musicals as well)

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    1. I hesitated a fair bit between X/Y and Black/White for that run, and I chose the latter because a) I preferred the old-fashioned pixelated version of Venipede and b) I had not played the Black/White pair for quite some time, unlike the X/Y pair. But with hindsight, cruising solo with Venipede in X/Y would have been just as enjoyable, if not more, than cruising with him in Black/White. If only I had let a bit of time pass before tackling that run, just enough to want to play X/Y again... But hey, that's me, greedy as always when it comes to Pokemon solo runs and gaming in general. :p

      That being said, let's keep it positive: I can still indulge in a Venipede solo run of X/Y further down the line, all the more so as I've reached that point where I'm starting to long for redux of my favourite Pokemon solo runs. ^^

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  2. Congrats on another solo run, Isleif! Oh, and in case you don't know, Scolipede actually got a slight Attack boost with X/Y, so it's even more usable starting with those.

    Also, why not Rock Slide instead of Bulldoze? Seems like the better option against Flying or Ice Pokémon plus the chance to flinch the target.

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    1. Thank you, Sieg! ^^ Heck, knowing how efficient Scolipede was in Black, I can't even imagine how much havoc it may wreak on the battlefield in X/Y with a boosted Attack Stat. Guess I'll really have to tackle a Venipede solo run redux in X/Y at some point and see the bug's new fighting prowess with my own eyes.

      "Why not Rock Slide instead of Bulldoze?": probably because I didn't manage to get my paws on the former. I diligently try every new TM I pocket on my solo 'Mons; so if Rock Slide didn't make the cut, it's probably because I never had it in my inventory. I have this unwritten rule of never going out of my way to uncover TMs, trying instead to make do with what the game kindly gives me - partly because I'm lazy, and partly because it provides a modicum of challenge. ^^

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    2. Scolipede also got Megahorn (120 power) and its Hidden Ability is now Speed Boost (Speed up every turn) so yeah, it got a real buff in the 6th generation. So much that it's actually kinda puzzling on why did GameFreak focused so much power on it rather than other near-useless Pokémons lying around.

      If you managed with Bulldoze, you'd probably wreck even harder with Rock Slide. It's a really great move overall, but even more so with Scolipede since it could be the best weapon against those annoying Flying types.

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    3. Isn't this because of the introduction of Fairy Type and the necessary rebalancing that came along with it? From what I've understood, Poison is one of Fairy's weaknesses, so it would make sense to give Poison 'Mons a good boost, especially since these 'Mons are rather rare to begin with and offensive Poison Moves are few and far between.

      But hey, we have to face the cruel truth nonetheless: some 'Mons out there are just mere Pokedex filler, nearly unusable on the battlefield unless you're a tactical genius thirsting for challenges. :p

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