I'll admit- after my experience with Sapphire, I was not looking forwards to playing this instead of Platinum. And, to be honest, there were certainly some rough patches compared to the third version, but I had so. Much. Fun with this run! Ending this run made me feel incredible, and looking back on all of it, I'm really happy with how this playthrough went.
Gardenback the Torterra, level 63, Champion
M, Overgrow, calm, quick tempered, starter Pokemon at Lake Verity
Not even a year before I started this challenge, I beat a Nuzlocke of Platinum with a Torterra on my team, so I was fully aware how well this Pokemon does in this game. Even with the Attack lowering nature, Gardenback always did truckloads of damage, and Leech Seed was very helpful on some bulkier targets. Love this turtles :)
Divebomb the Starly, level 4
F, Keen Eye, docile, likes to relax, caught on Rt 202
This is, easily, the most pathetic loss in this whole challenge, and I don't know when it will be dethroned, or if. She literally didn't even level up ONCE before dying to a random wild Starly. An embarrassment to her whole species.
Chokehold the Machamp, level 63, Champion
M, No Guard, calm, often scatters things, caught on Rt 207
Of all the incredibly solid, surprisingly strong Pokemon I used during this game, none of them stick out to me quite like Chokehold. I was disappointed in him when I caught him, having an Attack lowering nature and No Guard instead of Guts, but he proved himself over and over and over again, so much so I started calling him Clutchhold whenever he did something particularly insane. Some notable highlights- a perfectly timed crit Vital Throw against Crasher Wake's terrifying Floatzel, doing the same to Byron's Bastiodon a couple gyms later, thawing out of a freeze literally the same turn as he was frozen to OHKO Cyrus's Sneasel with Cross Chop, and surviving his battle with Cynthia's Lucario, which I didn't have many other answers to. I'm never ever going to forget about this guy, and he's easily my favorite on this team.
RoyalJelly the Vespiquen, level 36
F, Pressure, sassy, a little quick tempered, caught from a honey tree in Floaroma Meadow
Not the most notable Pokemon on my team, but I was sad to lose her all the same. I do really like Vespiquen, especially because she has unique moves you never really get to see otherwise, but I made a mistake leaving her in against a Galatic Grunt's Golbat on Iron Island, and that was that for my lovely queen bee.
Howler the Mismagius, level 64, Champion
F, Levitate, bashful, loves to eat, caught in Eterna Forest
Mismagius is an INCREDIBLE Pokemon, and Howler did an excellent job. Her diverse moveset, incredible Speed, and massive Special Attack made her a total killer for this whole run. She ran Shadow Ball, Psychic, and Thunderbolt, with Confuse Ray to help with more difficult enemies, which it often did to great effect. I've always loved this Pokemon, and Howler will forever have a special place in my heart.
Wildfire the Rapidash, level 63, Champion
M, Run Away, serious, proud of its power, caught on Rt 211
I wasn't expecting anything too great out of Wildfire; Rapidash is a famously... mediocre Pokemon, but without using an Infernape, I didn't have a Fire type for this run, so I picked up a Ponyta, expecting him to do some work, then likely die or otherwise get swapped out for a better Pokemon. I couldn't be more wrong. Not only did Wildfire do crazy damage with Flame Wheel, later Flare Blitz, Return, and Bounce, but after I got the Fire Blast TM he proved crazy accurate with it. I'm so in love with this horse.
Gale Force the Pelipper, level 39
F, Keen Eye, impish, hates to lose, caught on Rt 213
To be completely honest, I added Gale Force to the team because I wanted to conserve more Sinnoh 'Mons for Brillant Diamond and Legends: Arceus, and because I didn't really see myself going out of my way in any other game to use Pelipper. Living up to those. 0 expectations, Gale Force was fine as a team member. The most impressive thing about her was her utility; having one Pokemon to Surf and Fly on your team is really fucking nice lol. She got hit by a Shock Wave from Saturn's Kadabra, and that was it for Gale Force.
Sting the Drapion, level 63, Champion
F, Battle Armor, relaxed, often scatters things, caught in the Great Marsh
It says a lot about how much I loved this whole team that the Poison/Dark scorpion with Battle Armor stood out to me the least, but I really enjoyed my time with Sting! There were some annoyances with her moveset (Gen 4 LOVES having Pokemon learn their moves at Level 10000000...), but overall she was a great addition to the team after we lost RoyalJelly.
Fire Away! the Octillery, level 48
M, Sniper, hasty, impetuous and silly, fished up in Pastoria City
Before Legends: Z-A came out, I decided to do a Professor Oak Challenge (my first) of Pokemon X, and one of my favorite catches that game was an Octillery. With that in mind, when I needed a new Water type, and I saw I could get Remoraid in this game, it was an easy choice for me. Fire Away! was a very good addition to the team, with a good moveset and decent stats for a random midtier Pokemon, but while grinding for the League, he got Hi Jump Kick'd by a Medicham in Victory Road. After, I considered catching another midtier Water type I wouldn't have other uses for, but with Cynthia on the horizon, I knew I had to commit to a stronger catch.
Leviathan the Gyarados, level 63, Champion
F, Intimidate, bold, capable of taking hits, fished up in Mt. Coronet
After specifically making the decision to break the seal on Gyarados for this run, you can only imagine how disappointed I was to get a Attack lowering nature... I had really bad luck with physical attackers' natures in this game lol. But it all worked out! By complete accident, I ended up... EV training her in Special Attack? So Leviathan ended up a mixed attacker. She wasn't on the team long- only really for the final Rival fight, and the League- but she did CRAZY work, especially against Cynthia's Garchomp, which she killed with Blizzard. Impressive work.
Final Thoughts
I loved this run, and this team is one of my favorites so far, right next to my Silver squad. I really enjoyed taking another trip through Sinnoh, too; as I mentioned on Sapphire's page, I play a lot of Gen 3, so trekking through Sinnoh was very fun for me. But, as much fun as I had with this run, I was even more excited to return to my favorite region in my favorite Pokemon game with Heart Gold.
Stats