Pokemon X: The Wigglytuff Solo Run

When it comes to Pokemon solo runs, I love nothing more than to draw inspiration from external sources. This often leads to all sorts of thrilling challenges that I would probably not have thought of, were I left to my own devices. Sources of Pokenspiration range from Youtube videos (cue my Meowstic solo runs, inspired by a video about gender dismorphism in the Pokemon franchise) to comments from you, dear fellow gamers; and let's be honest, the latter is definitely more entertaining, as it means that I'm not the only one invested in the success of the involved run. Sieg and Kumiko have already provided me with many a great solo run candidate; and recently, faithful reader Melanie expressed her dream of cruising Kalos with Jigglypuff. This was wishful thinking, though; because, as she mentioned herself in a comment, Melanie hates the sheer grindiness of the series. What was I to do? Heck, take up the gauntlet and give her the opportunity to tackle a Jigglypuff solo run vicariously, of course! And that's how I found myself roaming Kalos with that cutest, pinkiest and roundest of 'Mons.

I might add "crappiest" to that list of superlatives; because oh boy, is Jigglypuff very crappy indeed when it comes to stats and general battle prowess. I honestly fail to fathom what that cute creature's niche was supposed to be, or even if it was supposed to have a niche at all beyond looking adorable. With a base Defense of 20 and base Sp.Defense of 25, Jigglypuff is even more fragile than Skitty; and her base 45 Attack and Sp.Attack are nothing to write Professor Oak about. Even worse, Jigglypuff is crippled by the worst base Speed I've seen this side of Roggenrola, i.e. a puny, pathetic 20. Her only redeeming quality are her ample amounts of HP, which still do little more than guarantee that she'll stay alive longer than one turn on the battlefield. In a way, this was maybe my most formidable solo run challenge to date: would I, as a Trainer, be qualified to take such a weak, fragile and slow 'Mon all the way to the Pokemon League?

Nope, I didn't do nothing.

As it turned out, the answer was yes — although to be fair, I had to cheat a little bit to kickstart the run. The main issue is that Igglybuff, Jigglypuff's pre-evolution, is one of these baby 'Mons that are utterly powerless on the battlefield: the creature learns its first offensive Move at lv.5 and just cannot hit before that. So I had the choice: either switch with my Starter until my Igglybuff reached lv.5 and learnt Pound, or slap an offensive Move on her before the trade. Feeling lazy at the time, I opted for the latter option and let my newly hatched Igglybuff learn Flamethrower before sending him to my copy of X. Because hey, if you're gonna cheat, you might as well go for it full force! And mind you, Igglybuff's stats are so horrid that Flamethrower didn't even do that much damage, let alone one-shot anything.

Although the early stages were kinda rocky, my run changed for the better when Igglybuff finally trusted me enough to evolve into an adorable Jigglypuff. My initial plan was to run with that form for as long as I could, maybe even all the way to the Pokemon League; however, an oversight on my part regarding Type weaknesses kinda spoilt that plan. Overcoming the Rock Gym was difficult enough, yet manageable; however, when we reached the third Gym, home to Korrina and her Fighting 'Mons, I reasoned that the time to use the Moon Stone had finally come. My Jigglypuff was reaching the obedience level cap, and I simply needed the extra buff provided by the evolution into Wigglytuff to conquer that Gym — or even survive it, for that matter. Or so I though; because indeed, I hadn't factored in Jigglypuff's double Type, which simply cancelled out her weakness to Fighting. Talk about being a Pokemon noob!

Anyway, the evolutionary Rubicon was crossed, and I cruised with Wigglytuff from that point on. And my, did the rabbit-like creature perform honourably on the battlefield despite her lacklustre stats. On top of Flamethrower, which my Wigglytuff wielded until the very end, I taught her Ice Beam, Dazzling Gleam and Return; and armed with that neat Move pool and the occasional Battle Item, we conquered every Kalos Gym and the Pokemon League. And that, dear fellow gamers, pretty much proves that ovelevelling can transform even the wimpiest of wimpy 'Mons into a fighting powerhouse. That run also proved that even traded 'Mons with the fastest levelling-up rate can stay below the obedience level cap all the way through in X&Y, providing that you leave Pokemon Amie untouched and avoid Trainers when your One and Only starts flirting with the current level cap. Being able to run with a 'Mon from the very beginning of the game used to be an experience restricted to the Starters; but thanks to the combination of breeding and trading, I can now get that intense bond with any 'Mon under the sun and take pride in cruising the whole region with them, from my modest hometown to the perilous heights of the Pokemon League! No more making do with a Starter I cannot get attached to until I reach my 'Mon of choice; I can now do genuine 100% solo runs even with the latest of late-gamers, and that's awesome.

So here's to you, Melanie: the Jigglypuff Solo Run of your dreams, brought on a silver platter by yours truly! And my, was it fun too. Although if I'm totally honest here, I still feel that I have a bit of unfinished business with the pink round creature. There's the issue of her evolving too early for my taste, obviously; and I also cannot help but wonder how she performed before Gen VI, i.e. as a purely Normal 'Mon. Dare I say that I now want to tackle a Jigglypuff solo run in an older entry? Why yes, I'll totally say it! But in the meantime, I though of a neat little challenge: I want to invite you, dear fellow gamers, to come up with the most unsuitable candidates you can think of for Pokemon solo runs — and then, I'll obviously tackle runs with said most unsuitable candidates and try my hardest to take them all the way to the Pokemon League. Feel free to leave your most outlandish suggestions in the comments; and as usual, thanks for reading, and be my guest anytime!