Pokemon Alpha Sapphire: The Tyranitar Solo Run

 

That run may well not have existed at all, as I discovered the Tyranitar line solely by chance. While I was cruising Route 18 without Repels for some reason in my last Y run, I stumbled upon a Pupitar. That 'Mon looked so bizarre that my curiosity was instantly piqued; upon researching that new creature, I discovered that its whole evolution line was perfect solo run material, and there was no turning back. A Tyranitar run was going to be a thing, and no later than immediately.

The list of things that make Tyranitar a stellar One and 'Monly is vast indeed. First thing first, it's a three-stage evolution line that mimics bug growth, with a pupal-like middle stage and a nicely late final evolution at Lv. 55. It's also a pseudo-legendary that boasts the 16th highest total base stat of all 'Mons, with a whopping 600. It also changes Type upon its last evolution, going from Rock/Ground to Rock/Dark; that change is guaranteed to shake things up when it comes to STAB and weaknesses. Speaking of which, Tyranitar is afflicted by a mammoth seven weaknesses, including a double weakness to Fighting; that certainly balances its high stats quite neatly. Last but not least, it was granted a Mega Evolution in Gen VI, effectively making it a four evolution stage 'Mon; and you know I just cannot resist ME, even though they make the games laughingly easy.

It should surprise no one that the ensuing run was smooth as heck and pure fighting delight from beginning to end. Larvitar is just so adorable that I wanted to feast my eyes upon it longer than Lv. 30; and thus I delayed my Malachite's evolution into Pupitar until Lv. 50. I expected to struggle mightily; but with Moves like Bite, Chip Away, Rock Tomb and Rock Slide at my disposal, its wasn't even that hard. This makes me question the viability of a full Larvitar solo run, which is something I'd love to tackle — because heck, Larvitar is just too cute. Anyway, once I crossed the final evolutionary rubicon, the late stages of my run became a total breeze. Because indeed, who wouldn't blaze through any living thing with a Tyranitar armed with Crunch, Chip Away, Earthquake and Rock Slide? Heck, I didn't even bother to snatch Return this time around! Hoenn being Hoenn, I half-feared the abundance of Water 'Mons in the game's late stages; but it turned out I needn't have worried, as everything fainted before they could even throw a drop of water at my Malachite.

That run was actually too easy and smooth, even for my lazy taste; and so, I decided to shake and spice things up for the Elite Four. I did that by getting rid of all STAB and deliberately keeping my Moves under 75 power: and that's how I ended up with Fire Fang, Ice Fang, Thunder Fang and Brick Break as my final Move pool. Even with that nerfed set, the Elite Four remained a cakewalk, with all 'Mons bar five going down in one clean hit. I even had the luxury of using all my Moves AND going all super-effective against five of Steven's six 'Mons: Thunder Fang for Skarmory, Brick Break for Aggron, Ice Fang for Claydol and Cradily and Fire Fang for Metagross.

Long story short, the Tyranitar line didn't disappoint; that run was pure pleasure from beginning to end, and I'm seriously itching to run with the creature again in its home region — with the unbearably cute added benefit of watching it trail behind me in HeartGold or SoulSilver. But that's a story for another time and post, dear fellow gamers; for now, let's move on to the next run in line!