Current Events > Attempting to replay Pokemon Platinum (Spoilers)

(+) Yeah! (+)

Found this on my shelf.
This is the third one after DP but I can't really remember what changed except for the Distortion World.
Couldn't hurt to find out.

I don't know which starter to pick. I'm not particularly attached for any of the three. Maybe I'll try to use some oddball choices.

Better Pokedex than D/P, for one.

turtwig

The way they talk about not going into the tall grass without Pokemon makes it sound like my guy lives in an isolated camp with the grass acting as a moat.

GeminiDeus posted...

Better Pokedex than D/P, for one.

I remember nothing about addictions to the Pokedex.

ViewtifulJoe posted...

I can't really remember what changed except for the Distortion World.

* More Pokemon are available before postgame (I believe it's 210 compared to 150 for D/P) and some gym leader and E4 teams were changed to incorporate these new Pokemon in the expanded Sinnoh dex. The most notable flaw fixed by this is D/P only having 2 Fire-type lines (the Chimchar and Ponyta lines) available before postgame, so the Fire-type Elite Four member Flint had half his team not even Fire-types.
* Rotom, Shaymin, and Giratina have their alternate forms, but only Giratina's can be accessed without an event in Platinum.
* The gym order was changed (you don't need to backtrack to Hearthome for Fantina's gym in Platinum so she's 3rd instead of 5th like she was in D/P) which makes the game's pacing a bit better.
* There's a bunch more post-game stuff like move tutors and the bigger Battle Frontier.
* The game just generally runs better and faster (you move and surf faster, HP bars go down faster, stuff loads faster, and so on) on a technical level.

It fixes most of D/P's flaws while adding a ton of new content. Unless you specifically want to use Mismagius, Honchkrow, Purugly, or Skuntank on your team (since they're available in D/P but not Platinum) then Platinum is objectively better and completely invalidates D/P's entire existence.

Freddie_Mercury posted...

turtwig

Done. Your words ring true and your impressively cold and varied insults towards fire and water types have not fallen on deaf ears.

Rival used leer 6 times in a row which makes me imagine the rival standing there going "No, don't hit him back. Just keep giving him that funny look. Oh, he's about to hit you again.", amazed at the control he can exert over this clueless creature.
No prompt to nickname Turtwig yet.

Global Trading? Wifi?
Not gonna lie, third town in the game is a strange place for a ghost level.

GeminiDeus posted...

Better Pokedex than D/P, for one.

Which is worth it's weight in gold. Changes the whole experience for the better.

ViewtifulJoe posted...

Global Trading? Wifi?

Not anymore. DS Wifi servers have been shut down for years.

I'm finally at the first gym. I've been going slow.
My Zubat has a modest nature so I wanted to stick around and get some levels before the game really started outpacing me. Plus the first gym is rock so a Zubat's not really going to come in too clutch.

I have procured the legend himself Bidoof but he is a known HM enthusiast before anything else.
I caught a Ponyta north of this town and I'm kind of torn. On one hand this is a Pokemon I never use, on the other hand, it's not exactly exciting and I don't know if the movepool is any good.

ViewtifulJoe posted...

I caught a Ponyta north of this town and I'm kind of torn. On one hand this is a Pokemon I never use, on the other hand, it's not exactly exciting and I don't know if the movepool is any good.

https://serebii.net/pokedex-dp/078.shtml

Solar Beam is the only coverage move that actually covers any of Rapidash's weaknesses, but that move runs off its lower (but not that bad) SpAtk and has a charge-up turn unless you use Sunny Day. A set with Sunny Day, Solar Beam, and a Fire move could work well though. It also gets Megahorn via move relearner on the physical side if your team needs something to hit Psychic and Dark types. You can't use Infernape (since you started with Turtwig) or Magmortar (since it's a trade evolution) so your only other decent Fire-type options you can get later on in Platinum are Houndoom and an unevolved Magmar.

https://serebii.net/platinum/sinnohdex.shtml

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GhmDmIt8AHY

It is a dark day to be a Grotle.
Golbat and Rotom have both overtaken Grotle in level.
I realised after I got Rotom, the only enemy in the chateau was Gastly so I could grab some levels and even EV train. Lv28 and lv27, I'm probably ready to go fight Jupiter at the top of the Galactic building.

Shame about the other Rotom versions being locked behind an event. That'd probably be fun swapping them out every few gyms.

Bronzong's a lot of fun. Going in there with that type combo and levitate, then using iron defence 3 times doesn't seem like something the gym leaders were briefed on.
I have to admit I feel a bit like an evil team grunt, using common finds like Crobat and Bronzong like this.

I didn't have enough room for the egg Riley wanted to give me, but that's okay. I have not forgotten what Lucario did to Mewtwo in SSBB and I have no problem leaving him waiting.

Edit: Oh yeah I don't appreciate the game trying to stuff my team with HMs. Surf and Strength I can be pragmatic with but I don't want to be 40 minutes into a cave just to find out I need Rock Smash and Defog.

Snow area has hail slowing down every fight.
Forces me to walk through snow in slow motion for the sake of boring realism like it's a ps4 game.
Can't even use the bike, vs seeker becomes slower than ever.
Gym Leader tries to act like we're friends after I win even though she had her Froslass use double team 3 times.
My prize is that I am now expected to add fucking rock climb to my team.

Really puts the sin in Sinnoh.

Edit: Oh right here's the team.
We got.
Torterra lv45
Bronzong lv44
Crobat lv41
Rotom lv43
Houndoom lv36
revolving door slot to carry 4 hms at a time. Quagsire and Bidoof can't learn Rock Climb and Bibarel's already full up on hms so this is going south fast.

Edit again: Oh it's just dawned on me I sound like I'm having no fun. That's not true. I'm having lots of fun. Game's pretty good.

I'm trying to get some levels for Distortion World Cyrus and front cover guy.
The VS Seeker kind of confuses me. Some trainers are making the jump up to lv40s while others are staying around lv20 even though I've beaten them multiple times. Inconsistent ceilings to how strong trainers can get?

ViewtifulJoe posted...

Global Trading? Wifi?
Not gonna lie, third town in the game is a strange place for a ghost level.

Wasn't the second gym in GSC Ghost?

DrizztLink posted...

Wasn't the second gym in GSC Ghost?

No, GSC goes flying, bug, normal, then ghost in Ecruteak.

My joke was that WiFi was discontinued and now the global trading place is a big room full of ghosts from back when WiFi still worked, unaware of what's happened.

Huh, dunno how I fucked that up so thoroughly.

I still haven't beaten Distortion Cyrus. I haven't even fought him again.
Instead, I took a detour and have just kind of been running around the game world seeing what's what.

I also got both an adamant and modest Ralts from the day care, so for a laugh I gave them the proteins/carbos/calciums and am seeing how long I can put up with non-power item/non-pokerus EV training. Also caught two Gibles and got an adamant one out of it. I'm pretty sure you're supposed to go for speed, but this'll do.

Still messing around with the VS Seeker. I still don't understand how the level jumps work. Some are up in the lv40s while others stay down in 20s. Maybe I have to reach a certain level before the other trainers unlock their level jump.

I gotta say, handheld RPGs are really coming in clutch nowadays. I don't play a lot but whenever I do I have a pretty fun time.

Calwings posted...

The gym order was changed (you don't need to backtrack to Hearthome for Fantina's gym in Platinum so she's 3rd instead of 5th like she was in D/P) which makes the game's pacing a bit better.

I disagree. The Gym change ruined the game's pacing and made the middle section feel more like a boss rush.

The best game in the series

Full_Pokedex posted...

I disagree. The Gym change ruined the game's pacing and made the middle section feel more like a boss rush.

We've talked about this before in a past topic, and I still disagree. IMO, gyms 3-4-5-6 in D/P have worse pacing and feel more like a "boss rush" than gyms 3-4-5-6 in Platinum. In D/P, you literally only have one single mandatory route between gyms 3-4 and between gyms 5-6 as well, but in Platinum, the routes and content are spread a lot more evenly because they put the Celestic Town detour between gyms 5-6 rather than between 4-5 like in D/P.

Caught front cover mcgee, got the last badge, beat the Pokemon League.

Team that beat the Pokemon league
Garchomp lv56
Rotom lv52
Gallade lv58
Gardevoir lv51
Houndoom lv58
Crobat lv44

Highly prestigious friends of the team that beat the Pokemon league
Bronzong lv47
Torterra lv50

Giratina was in the same PC box as those two if that counts. I can't remember where to get the orb that makes him boxart worthy.

ViewtifulJoe posted...
Still messing around with the VS Seeker. I still don't understand how the level jumps work. Some are up in the lv40s while others stay down in 20s. Maybe I have to reach a certain level before the other trainers unlock their level jump.

I believe some trainers just never level up so that you have options for training lower-leveled Pokemon. I used to have a bunch of the trainers memorized and knew who to avoid and who to go to for exp and money.

This post-league area definitely feels different to what it was way back in DP. It looks different, they got a whole Battle Frontier, there's this whole bit where you fight Mars and Jupiter, then they quit Team Galactic on the spot. I think the cafe where you can re-fight gym leaders is new.

Pal Park opened up too. I actually replayed Leaf Green late last year, maybe I should bring that team over.
Maybe not. Hard to know how much stuff there is left to do. Some legends, gym leader rematches, probably E4 rematches.

Oh wow you can straight up get both Dialga and Palkia as well in this one.
I need to go get my status guy and some x defends for the stall off.

And in the meantime, I gotta come up with nicknames too. I don't think about Dialga a lot so I'm not sure what to do for him, maybe he could be some kind of Mechon from Xenoblade 1. Palkia, I think he's a cool guy, I'm just gonna get a top tier name off the top tier names shelf for him.

Edit: And did these guys ever get a better deal than having pressure as an ability? I always hated how they just slapped it on 90% of legendaries. You'd think with powers like time and space they could give Dialga permanent Trick Room and give Palkia some kind of passive water type take on Stealth Rock that's active while he's on the field.

Edit again: Aw dude how's this for a fight? Fight Palkia, send out Rotom, Palkia goes for 2 slashes in a row (no damage), a heal block (whatever), an earth power (no damage). On my turns I use Discharge 4 times. They bring him down to red health and the last one paralyzes. I throw one Luxury Ball and I get a catch on the first try. Read above. I told you. Palkia's the cool one.

Is there a faster way to get Battle Frontier points? They want 16 for a power item, 80 for the good TMs and that kind of grinding just seems joyless.

I played a few rounds of the Battle Tower and got cheated by Palmer's last Pokemon surviving with the band thing that lets him stay at 1hp.
There was a Quick Claw or two in there as well and now I'd like to play as little of this mode as possible.

ViewtifulJoe posted...

Is there a faster way to get Battle Frontier points? They want 16 for a power item, 80 for the good TMs and that kind of grinding just seems joyless.

I played a few rounds of the Battle Tower and got cheated by Palmer's last Pokemon surviving with the band thing that lets him stay at 1hp.
There was a Quick Claw or two in there as well and now I'd like to play as little of this mode as possible.

Nah, the grind is real and the AI cheats. You're in for the long haul to get those points.

GeminiDeus posted...

Nah, the grind is real and the AI cheats. You're in for the long haul to get those points.

Brutal. On the bright side I just beat the E4 rematch so I don't think I'm gonna need to build a solid team for anything at this point. Garchomp and some X items walked it. I wasn't even expecting to win, I just wanted to get some levels on a Mamoswine with the EXP Share.

I guess Cresselia's still kicking about somewhere and if I really wanted to I could play a gen 3 game, Pal Park over the Regis and get Regigigas.
I'm sure there's more.

I think that's a wrap.

-I tried pretty hard not to look anything up. The only thing I ended up looking up was where to get the Adamant and Lustrous orb once I saw Dialga and Palkia were in here.
-I've got the legendaries I care about. I didn't use them though, I just like to catch them and give them belittling nicknames.
-PBR way back made me hate stipulations and luck items so I'm skipping the Battle Frontier.
-I beat the E4 rematches. Then I beat some Rival/Gym Leader rematches. At the end Cheryl showed up in the cafe so I got to personally deplete the legendary Gen 4 Blissey health bar.
-I tried the Pokeradar briefly but I am not the chosen one.
-I EV trained a Garchomp, Gardevoir, Gallade and Mamoswine because I was feeling nostalgic for riding up and down Solaceon Town.
-My highest levelled Pokemon was Lv74.
-There's nothing at the end of the eastern Victory Road path (Pretty sure the shiny rock is for the Shaymin event.) I did the lap of the resort/survival/battle area + Stark Mountain so I think that's as far as I can walk.

I have three main complaints.
1. My inventory got really clogged with trade evo items and that list gets pretty long in general.
2. I hate trade evos and I don't like the way the game taunts me by letting me get as close to a Scizor, Kingdra or Electivire as a single DS possibly can. Game even has that trade for a Haunter with an Everstone.
And 3. I used to not mind HMs as much but going in years later with a bunch of ideas on how to make a fun and varied team, these were really clogging the party up. I had multiple Bibarels set up and a Scyther with Cut and Defog if I unfortunately needed to waste two slots on HMs.

Pretty great video game on the whole though. Shame they only give you one save file. I wouldn't mind doing a second lap.

Good job on the playthrough, you blazed right through the game. Gen IV was always my favorite and I was so disappointed when I saw BDSP. You do have alternate methods to play a new game that can remove the trade restrictions and change which Pokemon you encounter.

ViewtifulJoe posted...

Game even has that trade for a Haunter with an Everstone.

I never knew about this lmao what a fucking troll

ViewtifulJoe posted...

I used to not mind HMs as much but going in years later with a bunch of ideas on how to make a fun and varied team, these were really clogging the party up. I had multiple Bibarels set up and a Scyther with Cut and Defog if I unfortunately needed to waste two slots on HMs.

The fact that gen 4 has a whopping 8 HM's is rough. Surf and Waterfall are good moves though, and I'd argue that Strength and Fly are also decent enough to be usable in a casual playthrough, so I would usually try to include those in my battling team's movesets. Then I would use an HM mule Bibarel to cover Cut, Rock Smash, Rock Climb, and either Surf or Waterfall (depending on which one my main Water-type was using) and Defog is used so infrequently that I would just throw it on any random Pokemon for the rare times I need it.

ViewtifulJoe posted...

Game even has that trade for a Haunter with an Everstone.

ELI__2__SLAYTON posted...

I never knew about this lmao what a fucking troll

https://bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/wiki/Snowpoint_City#In-game_trade

Yep, that bitch Mindy in Snowpoint City. Forget Cyrus and Team Galactic, she's the greatest villain in Sinnoh.