Previous Episodes:
Episode 1 | Episode 2 | Episode 3| Episode 4| Episode 5| Episode 6| Episode 7
Episode 8: Fuchsia City-Saffron City
(Lv. 43 Cap)
My Nuzlocke is starting to move towards the endgame now.
With 4 badges done and most of the team in place (Sprout, HotDog, Calypso and King), it’s time to take on Silph Co and Koga.
This episode starts with the less exciting part — grinding levels.
This is what the team is looking like going into it:
Everyone is around level 32, so there’s a fair bit of work to do before the next Gym (Lv. 42 cap).
I head to Cycling Road to start the grind.
Cycling Road is full of Bikers with surprisingly strong teams — mostly Koffing, Grimer, and Muk.
It’s easy to get worn down here if you’re not careful, A self-destructing Koffing can derail a run.
I decide to fight my way up the hill. Probably not the smartest idea in hindsight.
One thing I will say is I have never Understood these Cue Ball trainers, were Gamefreak trying to make fun of their bald heads? Saying they look like cue balls, also they have mohawks before the battle where does their hair go?
Just another one of those Mysteries
I reach the top, defeat the last of them, and head back to the patch of grass to get ready for my next encounter.
As Cycling Road is on Route 17, I can get an encounter here. With only one possible encounter, I’m guaranteed another shot at Doduo (I’m pretty sure it isn’t against the rules to retry the same Pokémon on a different route)
I name it Dydra and immediately go to the Pokémon Center to swap it in.
I level it up to 31 and it evolves into Dodrio — a much more fitting Pokémon for the name. Dodrio is a very strong and fast bird Pokémon that learns some great moves as well.
(Sorry Arrow, this might be goodbye.)
I get my Vs Seeker out for the first time this run (definitely not the last) and level King up — I need strong Pokémon now for the next part of the journey.
I didn’t do any research on the optimal level to evolve Nidoking, but I decided I can just teach it moves if needed — I’m sure it will be able to learn a lot.
At this point there were no more trainers left on Cycling Road or anywhere I had already cleared, so I head into Saffron City.
I arrive in Saffron City to find the town has been taken over by Team Rocket… these guys don’t give up.
They’ve taken over Silph Co. Some of the scientists have gone bad and joined them. I’m not complaining — more EXP for the team.
My plan for Silph Co is to go floor by floor and defeat every Rocket I see. I avoid using the teleport pads as they can get confusing.
As usual, Team Rocket aren’t much of a challenge for my team.
To be honest, I never understand how they get this far in the first place.
I eventually find the Card Key and the lady who heals my team. I leave for now — I only have my rival and Giovanni left to fight, and I’m definitely not ready for that yet.
I bring Oogie off the bench and put her into the team for the Dojo. I have a plan — since they use fighting/normal types, most of their Pokémon won’t have moves that can damage her.
It works perfectly.
Even though Primeape is 13 levels higher, it can’t touch Oogie. It’s free experience, and she evolves into Haunter.
Back to the grind.
I’m at a strange point now. The team is strong, but not quite ready to push further, so I head back to Cycling Road.
I use the Vs Seeker for about an hour and a half, fighting the same trainers over and over.
At this point, the team is strong, but the move sets could definitely be improved.
One way to improve my team’s moves is the very boring grind at the Celadon Game Corner.
I want Flamethrower and Shadow Ball — both very strong, but not cheap.
- Flamethrower: 4000 coins
- Shadow Ball: 4500 coins
To buy 500 coins costs 10,000 Pokédollars.
I need 9500.
Time to spam A… a lot.
If I get close to a round number, I just buy the rest.
It takes a long time, but it’s worth it in the end — even if I never want to see the inside of the Game Corner again.
I used the Flamethrower TM on Hotdog and decided this was a good time to use that Firestone I have been holding onto.
After what feels like forever grinding coins and levels, I’m ready to take on the Dojo boss before Koga.
I go back, and the boss challenges me. He has Hitmonlee and Hitmonchan — they don’t really stand a chance against Dydra.
Hitmonlee gets taken out in one hit with Aerial Ace.
Hitmonchan survives on 1HP but goes down the next turn.
I choose Hitmonchan as the reward and name him Tyson. Probably won’t use him, but he’s a decent option with good coverage.
Kogas Gym
I enter the Gym in Fuchsia City slightly underlevelled, but I think Koga’s typing isn’t particularly bad for my team. Apart from the Hypnos some of the trainers may have, this should be fine.
Like usual, none of the trainers cause any issues. There is a level 38 Hypno, but Hotdog deals with it.
The one Pokémon I need to be really wary of here is Muk. If it gets into a rhythm, it can cause problems — setting up Minimize and spamming Toxic and Sludge. Things can go very wrong here, so I come up with a simple plan: Sprout uses Leech Seed. Constant health recovery each turn works really well if I get it set up early.
I lead with Sprout, he leads with Koffing. Taking no chances, I use Leech Seed straight away to make sure I’m getting damage off every turn.
I get the first Koffing down quickly, then immediately set up Leech Seed on Muk. At this point I know Muk’s Sludge can do a lot of damage, so I switch into Kaa, who knows Dig — super effective — and bring Muk down easily.
Next, another Koffing comes out. I use Glare to paralyse it, then switch back into Sprout to set Leech Seed and finish it off.
Lastly, Koga’s ace — a level 43 Weezing. This is no joke. A few Sludges from this and most of my team would be down.
So I stick with the same plan: set up Leech Seed and switch into Hotdog. This time it knows Flamethrower, and with the constant chip from Leech Seed, I bring the Weezing down in a few turns.
After defeating Koga, I’m awarded the Soul Badge and the TM for Toxic.
Koga was straightforward.
Leech Seed feels incredibly overpowered.
Summary
This episode was definitely more on the grind side.
Since the S.S. Anne, things have gone pretty smoothly. The team has been coming together well, and I haven’t really had any major issues.
That said, this felt like a necessary reset — making sure everyone is properly levelled and ready for what’s coming next.
It’s easy to get comfortable when things are going well, but that’s usually when mistakes happen.
Plenty more to come, and I definitely can’t afford to get overconfident.
- Rival Battle
- Giovanni
- Sabrinas Gym
Continue the Journey
ArtfulPlays 
Leave a comment