Pokemon Sun: The Midday Lycanroc solo run

A.k.a. the run that blew me out of the water and proved further that good candidates for Pokemon solo runs come in all shapes and sizes—and types. My expectations regarding a Rockruff solo run were the lowest of the low: my sole reason to attempt such a solo run were the rocky canine's looks, which I deemed irresistible despite not exactly digging dogs. So far, this is the first time ever I love all of a 'Mon's forms equally. There is usually always a crappy form nested somewhere in the evolution process, but not so with Rockruff: his pup form is too adorable to handle and his vulpine form oozes haughtiness and poise. On top of that, his overall design is a perfect mix of animal shape and natural elements tapping into his typing, which should be the blueprint for all Pokemon designs. But when it comes to the gorgeous canine's fighting performances, I expected to have a pretty hard ride and to be forced to keep my Rockruff permanently high on Battle Items in order to progress. After all, we're talking about a 'Mon with five weaknesses, no immunities whatsoever and only four resistances, which is probably as lousy as it gets when it comes to Type effectiveness.

The reality couldn't have been more removed from that vision of doom. Not only was my Rockruff solo run considerably more pleasant than I had expected, but it was also much smoother and easier than my Litten and Rowlet solo runs. I got a really sleek ride this time around, and this can be attributed to three factors:

1. Rockruff naturally levels up much faster than his fellow starters and can thus tower over opponents much more effortlessly. 
2. Rockruff and his evolution Lycanroc (midday form) have stellar Attack and Speed stats, which is a blessing in a solo run. 
3. Rockruff learns powerful moves much earlier than his fellow starters. Let's take the example of a move of any Type with power ranging between 55 and 65: Litten and Dartrix learn such a move at lv. 15 (respectively Fire Fang and Razor leaf), but Rockruff learns such a move at lv. 7 (Bite). And believe me when I say that this makes all the difference in the world. When I recruited my Rockruff at Ten Carat Hill, he was already wielding Bite and could wreak serious havoc on Alola's fauna. 

That being said, Rockruff still has some massive deficiencies that needed to be handled properly. The most blatant one is obviously his wide array of Type weaknesses, which didn't bode well for upcoming Trials. I was especially fidgety and anxious about the Water Trial, for very obvious reasons: we're talking about the game's second Trial only, which means that I couldn't rely on overlevelling to punch my way through. Fortunately for me, the Totem Pokemon was dumb enough to use a move that transformed my Rockruff into a Water-type 'Mon right on the very first turn—needless to say, this took care of matters. I powered through the Grass and Ground Trials with a couple of Battle Items; and by the time I reached the Elite Four and got to face Hala, my Rockruff was ovelevelled enough to take down his Fighting 'Mons without breaking a sweat. And while I'm mentioning the Elite Four, my Rockruff was around lv. 75 when we finally reached Mount Lanakila's summit, i.e. a good twenty levels above his opponents. Easy-peasy! Now this is the kind of edge I want for my Elite Four showdowns, not this paltry ten level-lead I had to endure with Incineroar and Decidueye.

Rockruff's other main shortcoming is his abysmal Special Attack stat, which could have put me in a bind; fortunately, the game took care of that issue itself. All the offensive moves Rockruff and Lycanroc learn by leveling-up are Physical moves, as well as most of their TM/HM moves. Out of a total of 13 offensive moves, only four are Special moves, which gives more than enough leeway to operate without ever worrying about Rockruff and Lycanroc's crappy Sp. Attack stat. I mentioned in my Rowlet run report that I was not sure I would ever need to take Move Categories into account again, and I'm quite glad my Rockruff solo run gave me the opportunity to do so. My Pokemon solo runs are getting deeper by the game, and I'm lapping it up.

Rockruff's move pool was not exceptional, I must admit: when it comes to offensive moves, the rocky canine can solely learn Normal, Rock, Dark and Fighting moves. However, this tiny variety of moves is more than compensated by the sheer power that all these moves pack. I spend the second half of the game cruising around with four powerful moves—one of each kind: Rock Slide (Rock), Crunch (Dark), Brick Break (Fighting) and Rock Climb (Normal). Combined with the corresponding Z-Crystals, these moves allowed me to tackle all situations and blaze through Alola, leaving a trail of fainted 'Mons  and crying Trainers in my wake. 

After successfully beating the crap out of the Elite Four and Professor Kukui, I started exploring postgame territory and went much further than usual. I captured the quartet of Guardian Deities as well as all the Extra Beasts on the loose, collected the missing Z-Crystals and gained a couple of extra levels before finally giving up after beating Blue in front of the Battle Tree. I wanted to climb that monument of grinding with my lv. 85 Lycanroc, but the rules implied that levels would be lowered to 50 upon entering the Tree, which was not to my liking at all. Like, do you want me to actually play fair and come up with strategies and well-balanced teams instead of one-shooting my way to the top? No way, game. Keep your stingy and illiberal Battle Tree; as for me, I'm off to new and exciting solo runs. 

It's worth noting that I played the french translation for a change; and oh boy, is it a million times better than the english one. Not only is the text brimming with jokes, witty comments and puns on 'Mons names, but the characters are also considerably more fleshed-out. For instance, Captain Ilima's snotty nature and obsession with his looks come across much more blatantly: I roared with laughter when Team Skull Grunts claimed that they didn't want his 'Mons because they "reeked of conditioner", or when Ilima himself told me he hoped my Island Challenge would bring me "plenty of good things—like, a better haircut or fancier clothes". There were also minor story elements that were not mentioned in the english translation and helped clarify a couple of things. Cherry on the cake, discovering a whole new body of text made me feel like I was playing a totally new game. 

I have nothing more to add, apart from the obvious: Rockruff is a perfect solo run candidate in Sun and Moon. He's not afflicted with the slowness that seems to plague most native Alolan 'Mons, he packs an awful lot of punch and his weaknesses can easily be managed. I would have loved to indulge in a Rockruff solo run of Moon; but unfortunately, Lycanroc's midnight form looks so goofy and dumb that I simply cannot imagine myself cruising Alola with that bipedal canine by my side. I've had my share of anthropomorphic 'Mons that look like they're lifted straight out of a saturday morning cartoon, thank you very much; and thus will my Rockruff solo run remain a Sun exclusive. Thanks for reading, and be my guest anytime!