Pokemon X&Y: The 2022 Solo Runs

Did you think I had missed my usual summer round of X&Y solo runs, dear fellow gamers? No way! I played them alright, and they were a blast. I racked up no less than four back-to-back runs in September, for a tally of roughly 50 hours. I didn’t write about them in due time, as I was starting a new job that absorbed most of my time and energy; and unfortunately, I currently don’t remember enough about these runs to write individual posts about them. But I still wanna make a run report of sorts; and so, I’m gonna lump all them together here, and deliver whatever I can remember about them. 

 

 

Carbink: I honestly expected the worst from that cute little rock. I mean, a Rock/Fairy non-evolving ‘Mon, with high defensive stats and passable everything else? Why, that sounds like a sure recipe for solo run hell! But surprise surprise, my Crystalline didn’t struggle all that much. Sure enough, I needed a little help from Battle Items and Ancient Power from time to time; but overall, Carbink turned out to be a pretty reliable lone ranger. This is the Boldore and Pachirisu story all over again, where a seemingly crippled ‘Mon proves to be a force to be reckoned with — and man, I never get bored of such plot twists in my solo runs.

 

 

Clawitzer: As a born Special Attacker with well-rounded other stats, that crustacean ‘Mon is perfect solo material. Add to this a kickass, near-exclusive learnset and an ability that strengthens said learnset, and you get a perfect weapon of ‘Mon destruction. No surprise here: with Moves in the +80 Power range and a Special Attack boosted by her Mild Nature, my Water Cannon obliterated the competition. Also, did you know that Dragon is weak to Dragon? I sure didn’t know that, and it was sweet as heck to discover it while spamming Dragon Pulse at the Elite Four showdown. 

 

 

Dragalge: Poison/Dragon—now that is a seriously interesting combination, with some stellar design to boot. Stats distribution is a bit weird, but didn’t hinder me in the slightest—Dragalge packs a punch despite being a slow defense-oriented ‘Mon. I mean, my Coral Reef boasted a respectable 192 Attack by the end of my run, despite her Bold Nature! Factor in Poison Point and a stellar learnset, and you get some darn good solo run material.

 

 

Gogoat: You know, I always love when a Grass ‘Mon is blessed with sky-high HP and offensive stats. I love it even more when said Grass ‘Mon looks as cute as Skiddo and as badass as Gogoat. Seriously: the latter now stands proudly in my Gen VI Top Five. Took me long enough to run with it, but that was worth the wait! Great looks, high Attack and Sp.Attack, and a varied and destructive learnset: Gogoat ticks all the boxes to qualify for perfect solo run material, and my BK wreaked havoc through Kalos. In case you’re wondering about that name: BK sounds a lot like “biquet”, a French word that means kid—as in, a little goat. I’m quite proud of that one, honestly ^^

 

  

My summer rendezvous with X&Y have been going on for seven years now; at that point, I’ve probably played the pair enough already for a lifetime. I’m not done yet, though! For once, there are still a number of Kalos ‘Mons I wanna run solo with—I have my eye on ya, Hawlucha, Dedenne, Goodra, Aromatisse, Doublade and Noivern. Then, I might want to reacquaint myself with with Gen VI favourites of mine, such as Meowstic; and on top of that, I can always very much cruise Kalos with ‘Mons from other Gens. Long story short: Kalos and Gen VI ain’t going nowhere, and my love for X&Y burns as bright as ever!