Fun Platinum Playthrough!

Imagine if it got Power Whip
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Jokes aside, Cyrus was really intimidating to fight lol. It's like the first serious battle of the game
 
Are We...Talking About Fight Club?
So, it's finally time. The ultimate test of Pokémon battling: the Elite 4! I bought a few items with the rest of our cash (since we wouldn't be needing it anymore anyway :p) and I went in. Or...I tried.

Person blocking the way: Let me first check you have all 8 badges.

Me: Well, I'm here, aren't I? I couldn't have gotten here without all the badges anyway...

Person still blocking the way: (completely ignoring me) You have all 8 badges! You have proven your worth! Go make history, in the ultimate test of your battling ability! *takes one step to the right, allowing me to pass*

Inside, there was an elevator, Iron Island style. After taking it and going through the door...I found my first opponent.

Aaron: You know why I like to battle here? Because I want to be perfect, just like my Bug Pokémon!

Me: You...get a lot of visitors here?

Aaron:

Me:

Aaron:
...no, but the ones who do get here are amazing. Show me what you've got!

And so, he sends out Yanmega, and I Turtwig. I should be able to live either Bug Buzz or Air Slash, so I should set up rocks and then switch out. Yanmega goes for Double Team, sparing my HP bar, and I use Stealth Rock to cripple his team.

Aaron: Wow, low blow, hotshot. What is this, OU?

Me: (feeling a little bad): Sorry!

Expecting a STAB move, I switch to Athena before Yanmega can damage Turtwig, but he chooses to keep spamming Double Team - I'm already getting Turtwig's Staravia flashbacks. Lucky for me, when Athena is sent in, he goes for Double Team again, but my Thunderbolt lands and OHKOs.

Next he sends out Heracross, and I switch to lorde. I take minimal (or at least, not over half my HP) from Brick Break, and OHKO him with Air Slash.

Drapion is sent out next, and I have the truly brilliant idea of sending Scoop to deal with him. Imagine my surprise when Drapion not only outspeeds, but also has Ice Fang! I watch in horror as Scoop's HP gets lower and lower...but he lives with a sliver of health, and counters with a mighty Earthquake to pick up another KO!

Afterwards, Vespiquen comes out. Looking back, I guess I could have stayed in and take it down with Dragon Claw since I almost definitely outsped and it lost half its health to Stealth Rock, but I didn't want to risk it and I switched to Athena again. She tanked a hit, then retaliated with Discharge, taking care of it.

And for his last Pokémon...Scizor! Unluckily for him, Violet's Fire Blast doesn't miss, and Scizor was swiftly taken down. That's one of four!

I like Aaron, but between having options to switch in that resist most of his Pokémon's moves, Stealth Rock, and many moves super effective against his team, everything went down in one hit with minimal damage on my part. Besides taking that Ice Fang to the face, but I lived and we're not gonna talk about it.

After healing up, it was time for the next room: Bertha!

Bertha: I, Bertha, am a user of the Ground type. Do you think you can take me?

Me: Well, I probably could, but it's gonna be tougher since my only supper effective move against ground is...Razor Leaf.

Razor Leaf, however, is not to be underestimated. On the very first turn, Turtwig OHKOs Whiscash, without even needing a crit! Way to use those leaves, Turtwig!

Next up, the stuff of nightmares: Gliscor. I pivoted into bbninjas to be able to tank it better since I literally had nothing super effective against it, only to find it has Hyper Cutter and I risked myself for nothing. Obvious Earthquake being obvious, I switch back to Turtwig to Leech Seed him. However...this guy also has Ice Fang! ...why? Regardless, Turtwig was too tanky to be OHKOd, and lands the Leech Seed. I pivot into bbninjas again to trick the AI into using Earthquake to get a safe switch in for lorde, and that works perfectly. Once lorde is in, a combination of Air Slash, Roost, and the Leech Seed damage+healing finally takes down Gliscor. Phew, remind me to pack an Ice type next time.

Against Golem, I send out Turtwig. I take the chance to heal up, and honestly I can't remember what move he used, but the takeaway is that it did like no damage. I actually crit with Razor Leaf on the following turn, getting a clean OHKO!

I thought it would be the same against Rhyperior...but alas. He lives the Razor Leaf (shocker) but takes a fairly large chunk of health from it...and Avalanches me. At this point, it feels like I should just expect everything to have amazing coverage. Turtwig goes down. I send out lorde to finish him up, and she actually does grab the KO with Aura Sphere.

Bertha's last Pokémon was...Hippowdon! He's super tanky, but I get lucky and just flinch him to death with lorde. I have to admit, it's really fun just seeing them flinch every single turn. Second one down!

Bertha was more challenging, if only because my only super effective move was Razor Leaf. That being said, it still OHKOd both x4 weak Pokémon (Rhyperior is something like x3 because of its Ability) so I don't know if I can really complain. That Gliscor though. Yikes.

Moving on! A familiar face...

Flint: Hey, nice seeing you again! Volkner told me what you did for him. A battle for the ages! I want you to show me what you can do. The gloves are coming off, kid!

Me: *laughs in Earthquake*

I still send out Turtwig for rocks, and he sends out Houndoom. At this point I understand how tanky Turtwig really is, and so I go for Stealth Rock, barely living his Flamethrower. I let Turtwig faint to get a safe switch in for Scoop - sorry bud. And now the fun begins: Scoop comes in and Earthquakes for the win.

Flareon, Rapidash, Infernape and Magmortar all suffer the same fate, obliterated by Earthquake and Stealth Rock before they can even move. Except for Rapidash, that one actually outsped Scoop but didn't hurt too much. That's three!

This one went almost just like his friend Volkner, if not easier - all of his Pokémon take decent damage from rocks, and none survive that in combination with Earthquake. At least I respected his wishes of showing him a battle just like Volkner's. His Magmortar was level 57 though...I'm starting to get a bit scared about what Cynthia's levels will be.

Last but not least, the gentleman himself: Lucian!

Lucian: Ah, just in time. I just finished reading this novel! *sips tea* Now, you'll show me a battle worth writing a story about, eh?

Me: Hmmm...perhaps. *sips maple syrup*

Lucian: *screams in horror*

As per usual, Turtwig leads, facing Mr. Mime. I set up rocks, and he goes for Reflect. Yikes. I Leech Seed, thinking this was gonna be a long battle...but he Psychics and chunks me for about 70% health. What? I didn't think Mr. Mime would hurt so bad. So, I switch to Athena, since she both resists Psychic and isn't bothered by Reflect. The healing from Leech Seed helps me take those Psychichs like a champ, and even though Mr. Mime also uses Light Screen, not only does he go down without major trouble, but both screens are gone by the time Charge Beam and Thunderbolt take it down.

He then sends out Gallade, forcing me to switch my +4 Sp. Atk Athena. Sad times. As usual, I pivot into bbninjas to Intimidate him, but he still deals about half my HP with Psycho Cut. It is at this point that I notice...he's level 59! It's becoming increasingly clear that I'm really underleveled. I let bbninjas go down, and lorde is able to take him down with Air Slash after taking a couple of hits. At this point I'm paranoid that maybe he has Ice Punch, but he tries to Drain Punch instead. Despite the small healing, he falls.

As for Espeon, I send out Athena once again. Even though she resists Psychic, she still takes quite a bit of damage, but I get a lucky Thunderbolt crit and Espeon goes down. Hell yeah!

His Alakazam scares me a little bit (I remember Sabrina's being an absolute monster) but Scoop takes a hit and OHKOs with Earthquake because he is just so frail.

For Bronzong, even though he is really low, Turtwig is able to get Leech Seed off, after which I switch to Violet to speed up the process. Bronzong hurts more than I thought it would, but he really loses the race between Leech Seed and my Fire moves. That's the last one!

As you can see, Lucian wasn't too much trouble - his first and last Pokémon were more annoying if anything.

And that means...it's time to face Cynthia! I go through yet another elevator, go through a slightly longer hallway...and there she is.

Cynthia: I've been waiting for you. I want to thank you again for Mt. Coronet, and saving the world. Really, I mean it.

Me: Awn, it was no trouble, really. I've been doing this for years.

Cynthia: That being said, don't expect me to hold back!

And oh boy, she did not. First out was Spiritomb against Turtwig. I was already running low on Leech Seed PP, and Pressure wasn't doing me any favours. Luckily, Turtwig lands the Leech Seed, and Spiritomb uses Silver Wind. Though it doesn't get me to half health, I'm still kind of scared because it's one of those moves that raises every single stat if you're unlucky enough. And with my RNG, well...let's just say I was not looking forward to that. I take one more Silver Wind to set up rocks, and switch to lorde. She tanks the Silver Wind like a champ, and though Spiritomb doesn't flinch as much as I would've liked it to, between Roost and Air Slash I'm still able to take him down.

Cynthia sends out a Togekiss of her own! Really hoping I don't get paraflinched here. I switch to Scoop expecting a Thunder Wave, and sure enough, it comes. I manage to not flinch from either Air Slash (RNGesus!) and 2HKO with Dragon Claw.

She sends out Milotic, and knowing she definitely has Ice Beam, I switch to Athena. Surf does a decent chunk, but so does Thunderbolt.

As I'm about to Thunderbolt again, she send it out...Garchomp. Obviously he's immune to my attack, and I'm forced to switch out. I pivot into lorde this time since she's immune to Earthquake, and then send out bbninjas. I do the famous lorde-bbninjas pivoting a couple of times, but on the second one he crits me and lorde goes down. I send bbninjas out again, and switch to Violet. Despite all the attack lowering, Violet still gets OHKOd by Earthquake, and things aren't looking too bright right now. I don't have anything to substantially damage it, and even with the lowered attack he still hits like a truck. I end up sending Turtwig because he's one of my tankiest Pokémon, and he can probably take the Dragon Rush. However. He has Flamethrower, because of course he does. I can't let Turtwig fall, because nothing else on my team can either tank a hit or hit it first. So I kinda...spam healing items until he dies from Leech Seed. I know, I know, scandalous - dishonour on me, dishonour on my cow - but I'm literally 14 levels below her Pokémon so I believe I get a pass. I had to cheese it.

That being over with, she sends Milotic back out. I finally let Turtwig go down, and send out Athena to finish it off. However...she ends up outspeeding, finishing her off with Surf. bbninjas is also not fast or tanky enough to survive a Surf after the damage Garchomp did. Down to my last Pokémon in a Pokémon game. I cannot think of anything more shameful. At least it was against the champion. :p So I send out Scoop, and I outspeed and take her down with Earthquake.

Cynthia sends out Lucario, and though I'm a bit scared of Close Combat, it goes for Aura Sphere instead, leaving my health bar yellow, but alive. I OHKO back with a super effective Earthquake.

Her last Pokémon is Roserade, and I take this chance to Revive lorde. However, she goes for Toxic, which does not KO Scoop. On the following turn, I actually outspeed and OHKO with Earthquake just like that - no crits, no super effective, nothing - I am so proud (and glad that we took him with us) of Scoop.

Whew, I haven't had a battle like this in an long time - the new Pokémon games have not pushed me this hard, not even close. Also, it's kinda funny to me that Milotic actually took down more Pokémon that Garchomp did. Oh well. *We Are The Champions by Queen start playing*

Cynthia: Wow, you did it! You actually did it! It's been way too long since I had a battle this good.

Me: Honestly, same.

Cynthia: Come on, let's immortalize your victory...this is an experience you'll never forget.

And that's it! Holy crap, that Cynthia battle was intense. This was really fun to do! Maybe I'll do another one at some point. Thanks for sticking around, and please give any feedback you have!

 
Man that was a fun thing to watch through! That final battle is one of my favorite parts of Pokemon, because it's actually a challenge. I think if you ever do another one of these and want a challenge to go with it, any of the Gen 5 games do a good job with that. (As in, there's a LOT of battles that can mess you up because they actually have type coverage, from someone who's nuzlocked these games many times I can safely say there are some real nasty ones in there if you're not prepared, especially the E4 and the final bosses).

I loved how everyone came to contribute something in that last fight-and Scoop's final blow was a personal favorite of mine (I am biased lol). But it was definitely exciting to see how that fight went. What'd you think of the game as a whole though? And are you planning on doing any of the postgame content? (There's a whole quest involving Team Galactic and Charon on that island in the north plus all the legendaries and stuff too).
 
Man that was a fun thing to watch through! That final battle is one of my favorite parts of Pokemon, because it's actually a challenge. I think if you ever do another one of these and want a challenge to go with it, any of the Gen 5 games do a good job with that. (As in, there's a LOT of battles that can mess you up because they actually have type coverage, from someone who's nuzlocked these games many times I can safely say there are some real nasty ones in there if you're not prepared, especially the E4 and the final bosses).

I loved how everyone came to contribute something in that last fight-and Scoop's final blow was a personal favorite of mine (I am biased lol). But it was definitely exciting to see how that fight went. What'd you think of the game as a whole though? And are you planning on doing any of the postgame content? (There's a whole quest involving Team Galactic and Charon on that island in the north plus all the legendaries and stuff too).
Glad you enjoyed it! I actually wasn't too sure if I did a good job narrating Pokémon battles so that's really good to hear. Also, I happen to have both Pokémon White and Pokémon Black 2, so maybe...;)

For the game as a whole, I really enjoyed it - I didn't have to grind, but I didn't steamroll everything either. The story is..ok I guess? I understand that Cyrus wants to change the world by removing spirit, but I'm not sure what exactly he hopes to achieve by that. The only thing I didn't like is that you need sooo many HMs, especially after playing the last games where they're not even a thing.

As for postgame, well...I don't know. Some folks restored the online servers for past games, and for some reason in Mystery Gift now you can get literally all of the events, and after a bit I managed to get all the items for the cool encounters that Platinum has: Darkrai, Shaymin, even Arceus. The thing is, the environment around them is also what makes them stand out, and I'm not sure how well I'd be able to translate that onto here, not to mention battling a single Pokémon. I mean, besides 'whew, that was a lot of PokéBalls'. Is that something you'd like to see? Do you think it would be interesting? I mean, I'm probably gonna do it anyway, but should I write it here?
 
Glad you enjoyed it! I actually wasn't too sure if I did a good job narrating Pokémon battles so that's really good to hear. Also, I happen to have both Pokémon White and Pokémon Black 2, so maybe...;)
Shoot, if you have Black 2 you probably beat it by now so you could even do hard mode if you wanted. I haven't tried it yet but I plan on doing a nuzlocke of it in Hard mode. I dunno why they never brought that feature back.

For the game as a whole, I really enjoyed it - I didn't have to grind, but I didn't steamroll everything either. The story is..ok I guess? I understand that Cyrus wants to change the world by removing spirit, but I'm not sure what exactly he hopes to achieve by that. The only thing I didn't like is that you need sooo many HMs, especially after playing the last games where they're not even a thing.
I think the story's always kinda been Pokemon's weakest point, but it never really needed a plot that's gripping to be an enjoyable experience. (Honestly I just want a pokemon game where you run around and do gyms rather than like "BIG IMPORTANT POWER OF FRIENDSHIP LEGENDARIES AND WORLD ENDING" stuff the last few games have done. Either that or the story the level of BW/2 which while nothing insanely amazing it's still the only time I've actually really enjoyed a Pokemon plot and its characters. Ghetsis being this narcissistic almost god-complex villain who does things because he wants to control everything works really well to me. Sun and Moon...tried? But I just don't really care for it personally.

Yeah, HMs are my least favorite part of old Pokemon. I got lucky my last run since I ran technician Scizor and I was able to fit Rock Smash on him, while also having most of the other moves stay decently useful on the others. I think the only ones I stuck on an HM slave were like, Waterfall, Rock Climb, and Defog. But something like HGSS or Emerald was awful.

As for postgame, well...I don't know. Some folks restored the online servers for past games, and for some reason in Mystery Gift now you can get literally all of the events, and after a bit I managed to get all the items for the cool encounters that Platinum has: Darkrai, Shaymin, even Arceus. The thing is, the environment around them is also what makes them stand out, and I'm not sure how well I'd be able to translate that onto here, not to mention battling a single Pokémon. I mean, besides 'whew, that was a lot of PokéBalls'. Is that something you'd like to see? Do you think it would be interesting? I mean, I'm probably gonna do it anyway, but should I write it here?
I'd personally be interested honestly, even if they were brief, since it's still part of the full experience. You do have a point on it possibly being hard to translate the experience, but if you do find something I think it'd be cool to see.
 
I recently did a playthrough of Platinum, with my main goal being getting shiny Giratina. I think the game is greatly improved over Platinum, especially the speed and story. Trying to get shiny Giratina definitely put a damper on the fun of the adventure, as I can't let myself progess until I get the elusive shiny. It still wins the trophy as one of, if not my favourite game in the entire series.



Shoot, if you have Black 2 you probably beat it by now so you could even do hard mode if you wanted. I haven't tried it yet but I plan on doing a nuzlocke of it in Hard mode. I dunno why they never brought that feature back.


I think the story's always kinda been Pokemon's weakest point, but it never really needed a plot that's gripping to be an enjoyable experience. (Honestly I just want a pokemon game where you run around and do gyms rather than like "BIG IMPORTANT POWER OF FRIENDSHIP LEGENDARIES AND WORLD ENDING" stuff the last few games have done. Either that or the story the level of BW/2 which while nothing insanely amazing it's still the only time I've actually really enjoyed a Pokemon plot and its characters. Ghetsis being this narcissistic almost god-complex villain who does things because he wants to control everything works really well to me. Sun and Moon...tried? But I just don't really care for it personally.

Yeah, HMs are my least favorite part of old Pokemon. I got lucky my last run since I ran technician Scizor and I was able to fit Rock Smash on him, while also having most of the other moves stay decently useful on the others. I think the only ones I stuck on an HM slave were like, Waterfall, Rock Climb, and Defog. But something like HGSS or Emerald was awful.


I'd personally be interested honestly, even if they were brief, since it's still part of the full experience. You do have a point on it possibly being hard to translate the experience, but if you do find something I think it'd be cool to see.

HMs are definitely a sore spot in the nostalgia of earlier titles, as most of the game you would be stuck carrying around a Pokemon along the lines of Linoone (RSE/ORAS), Staraptor (D/P/Pt), or Sentret (GSC/HGSS)

RSE/ORAS were the WORST for HMs, as you would often need two-three HM slaves, one for Rock Smash, Strength, and Cut, one for Dive, Waterfall, and Surf, and one for Fly. Pelipper would work for the latter two, but do you really want a Pelipper with you on your whole adventure?

Platinum did also have HM problems in the form of Rock Climb and Defog in place of Dive and Flash (nobody liked Flash), but HMs didn't seem to be of as much use in Platinum. I really just used a Staraptor for most HMs other than Strength.

(Hard mode needs to come back ASAP, games these days seem to hold our hands through them)
 
(Hard mode needs to come back ASAP, games these days seem to hold our hands through them)

May I interest you... in a Nuzlocke? You'll never ask for a hard mode again!
(but really, Nuzlockes are fun if they're your speed, maybe try one and see if you like it.)

This was a fun run to follow; although I've never played Platinum myself, I really noticed how it's both a classic and known for it's difficulty (thank god you weren't playing a Nuzlocke indeed!)

For the legendaries, I'd say do them if you want to/have ideas for how to do them. It would be cool, but also it's ultimately up to you.
 
Lucian: Ah, just in time. I just finished reading this novel! *sips tea* Now, you'll show me a battle worth writing a story about, eh?

Me: Hmmm...perhaps. *sips maple syrup*

Lucian: *screams in horror*

Also this is my favorite part of the update – Lucian was just reading his book in peace and drinking tea, then you showed up with the maple syrup.
What did he do to deserve this?:p
 
I have been meaning to try a nuzlocke, but my only game that does not have a playthrough going is Diamond, and while it is my favourite generation, the speed kills D/P for me. I may reset Y or Ultra Moon, as the idea of a nuzlocke sounds really fun! I may even do what Vom did with a "megathread" of my progress in the journey, as I love that Vom did this.
If you want a good game to nuzlocke, either of the Gen 5 titles can never do you wrong, if you own them.
 
Alright, so...we're doing the legendaries! Just one last question: would you rather see them more story style (like the whole Cyrus summons Dialga and Palkia) or like, commentator (like the Eilte 4)?
 
Alright, so...we're doing the legendaries! Just one last question: would you rather see them more story style (like the whole Cyrus summons Dialga and Palkia) or like, commentator (like the Eilte 4)?
I like the commentator style for a casual read, but the detail in the story style was incredible. I would love to read more of the story style dialogue. Besides, I don't think you would want to put your agonizing screams of trying to catch the roaming legendaries (MESPRIT) into commentator style.
 
Alright, so...we're doing the legendaries! Just one last question: would you rather see them more story style (like the whole Cyrus summons Dialga and Palkia) or like, commentator (like the Eilte 4)?
I'd say story for whatever's leading up to it, and then commentary for the actual encounter? I could see that working out since those fit the kinds of scenarios you'd be in.
 
I like the commentator style for a casual read, but the detail in the story style was incredible. I would love to read more of the story style dialogue. Besides, I don't think you would want to put your agonizing screams of trying to catch the roaming legendaries (MESPRIT) into commentator style.
It's so great that you liked it! However, I was only planning on doing the event legendaries that many of us missed because there are way too many legendaries in this game
 
Aaron: ...no, but the ones who do get here are amazing. Show me what you've got!

And so, he sends out Yanmega, and I Turtwig. I should be able to live either Bug Buzz or Air Slash, so I should set up rocks and then switch out. Yanmega goes for Double Team, sparing my HP bar, and I use Stealth Rock to cripple his team.

Aaron: Wow, low blow, hotshot. What is this, OU?

lol So that's why you kept Stealth Rock. Worth it.
 
Pokemon Platinum in my opinion is one of the most underrated Pokemon games ever. For me it's as good as Fire red and many other classics. I recently started playing it again on an emulator and my god, the nostalgia hits hard! I am playing the game a bit differently this time by using pokemon platinum cheats. And I haven't had this much fun for a long time.
 
Is Pokémon Platinum any harder than Pokémon Diamond? Out of curiosity. You see, I’m a big time fan of Sinnoh and Pokémon Diamond was the first Pokémon game I ever got. Still have it. I’m just wondering if the difficulty levels are the same and how they compare to the difficulty levels of Pokémon Heartgold and Soulsilver, Pokémon Black and White, and Pokémon Black 2 (Pokémon Black 2 and Pokémon White 2 have different difficulties).
 
Is Pokémon Platinum any harder than Pokémon Diamond? Out of curiosity. You see, I’m a big time fan of Sinnoh and Pokémon Diamond was the first Pokémon game I ever got. Still have it. I’m just wondering if the difficulty levels are the same and how they compare to the difficulty levels of Pokémon Heartgold and Soulsilver, Pokémon Black and White, and Pokémon Black 2 (Pokémon Black 2 and Pokémon White 2 have different difficulties).
So sorry for the late reply, I completely missed your message! I'd say Platinum is more difficult than all of these, except for Hard mode specifically.
 
When focusing on the main objectives, Pokémon Platinum is about 35 Hours in length. If you're a gamer that strives to see all aspects of the game, you are likely to spend around 239 Hours to obtain 100% completion.
 
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