Play by Post Pokemon Boss Workshop

[SprungGeoduck]

Spoiler: rambles

me: [has thought]

the bill wurtz inside my head: "you could make a forum game out of that"

Back in the day, I was a huge fan of the old Gym Improv thread, which sadly died on the vine a bit. In that thread, I felt that some people struggled with the narrative aspect of that thread, so I decided to make a variant of that thread that cuts that aspect out and focuses on the teambuilds and theorymonning.

HOW DOES IT WORK?

In this opening post, I'll post a slate of bosses from the Pokemon games – could be gym leaders, evil team members, even rivals! The job of the next poster is to take one of those bosses and give them a rework/upgrade to their team, and if they want, add new bosses to the pool at the end of their post. Simple enough, I hope!

Spoiler: Guidelines!

Here are some optional criteria and modifiers you can apply to make your post more defined.

Difficulty: How tough you want the boss to be

• Normal: The level of most main series games
• Hard: The level of tougher main series games like USUM and BW2 Challenge Mode, as well as mild difficulty hacks like FRA and the Nuzvivor ROMs
• Brutal: The level of "proper" difficulty hacks – Drayano's back catalogue is probably the best example
• Unfair: The level of hacks like Radical Red and Emerald Kaizo (or just go full Dark Rising on it, you know how it is)

Pokemon Selection: The set of Pokemon available to both the boss and the player

• Regional: The standard regional dex of the game the boss is from
• National: All Pokemon from the generation the game is from
• Full: All Pokemon in existence

For the first set of bosses, let's start simple. I'd like to see everyone's takes on Brock, Misty or Lt. Surge. Go!

Spoiler: Reworks by Leader

Brock
DampieNWC (Normal/Regional)
pluslefan (Normal/Regional)
KirbyIsPink (Hard/Hisui)
Trollkitten (Unfair/Full)
RubyClaw (Hard/Regional)

Misty
KirbyIsPink (Hard/Hisui)
RubyClaw (Hard/Regional)

Lt. Surge
KirbyIsPink (Hard/Hisui)
RubyClaw (Hard/Regional)

Falkner
Zorua3 (Hard/National)
Heather (Normal/Regional)
Trollkitten (Anime/Regional)
KirbyIsPink (Hard/Hisui)

Gardenia
KirbyIsPink (Hard/HGSS)
Norhian Samur (Hard/Modified Regional)

Wulfric
SweatingCalendar (Hard/Regional)

 

[DampieNWC]

Spoiler: Brock (Normal)

Geodude LV13
- Tackle
- Rock Tomb
- Defense Curl

Rhyhorn LV13
- Horn Attack
- Rock Tomb
- Focus Energy

Onix LV15
- Screech
- Rock Tomb
- Bide

Spoiler: Misty (Normal)

Psyduck LV20
- Confusion
- Water Pulse
- Icy Wind

Seel LV20
- Headbutt
- Icy Wind
- Water Pulse

Starmie LV22
- Psybeam
- Aurora Beam
- Bubble Beam
- Swift

Spoiler: Lt. Surge (Normal)

Voltorb LV24
- Swift
- Shock Wave
- Rollout
- Self-Destruct

Elekid* LV24
- Shock Wave
- Low Kick
- Fire Punch

Magnemite LV25
- Shock Wave
- Swift
- Supersonic
- Thunder Wave

Raichu LV26
- Shock Wave
- Psybeam
- Thunder Wave
- Quick Attack

*My take on Kanto has all cross-gen evos in its regional dex, similar to ORAS

In my take on Kanto, you’re guaranteed a chance at a counter to the next gym on each route. Routes 1 and 2 will have a possibility of Bellsprout or Oddish, like in Let’s Go. Route 22 has Mankey and the Nidoran twins. Viridian Forest has Oddish and Paras, so you’ll have an easy counter for Brock.

 

[pluslefan]

It always bugged me that Brock makes almost 0 use of the fossil mons. I know lore-wise in kanto they're supposed to be extinct and all that crap but here's Brock but using the fossil mons because that's fun okay?

Spoiler: Brock Brock Brock Brock Brock Brock

Brock, Pewter Gym Leader [Regional] [Normal]

Line-up Omanyte, Kabuto, Onix

Omanyte Lv. 12
- Water Gun
- Rock Tomb
- Wrap
- Screech

Kabuto Lv. 13
- Water Gun
- Rock Tomb
- Cut
- Harden

Onix Lv. 15
- Bind
- Rock Tomb
- Rock Polish
- Mud-Slap

Anyway what about ya boi berdly Falkner? Couldn't he use a tune up or rework in some capacity?

 

[DampieNWC]

It always bugged me that Brock makes almost 0 use of the fossil mons. I know lore-wise in kanto they're supposed to be extinct and all that crap but here's Brock but using the fossil mons because that's fun okay?

Spoiler: Brock Brock Brock Brock Brock Brock

Brock, Pewter Gym Leader [Regional] [Normal]

Line-up Omanyte, Kabuto, Onix

Omanyte Lv. 12
- Water Gun
- Rock Tomb
- Wrap
- Screech

Kabuto Lv. 13
- Water Gun
- Rock Tomb
- Cut
- Harden

Onix Lv. 15
- Bind
- Rock Tomb
- Rock Polish
- Mud-Slap

Anyway what about ya boi berdly Falkner? Couldn't he use a tune up or rework in some capacity?

I feel like the lightyears trainer would have the fossils

 

[Sparklepop]

Are fictional regional forms or fakemon allowed? Just curious.

 

[SprungGeoduck]

Are fictional regional forms or fakemon allowed? Just curious.

I don't want to get in the way of anyone's fun, but this is meant to be more of a vanilla-adjacent theory exercise, so I'd probably use custom regionals and fakemon sparingly (also, if you do use them, please explain what they are/how they work so other people aren't left in the dark)

 

[KirbyIsPink]

I'll stick to the Hisui Pokedex for my rosters and try to go Hard Mode. Battles won't take place using Legends Arceus's engine because I'm inconsistent

Spoiler: Brock

Rhyhorn Lv 13
- Smack Down
- Horn Attack
- Bulldoze
- Stealth Rock

Hisuian Growlithe Lv 12
- Rock Throw
- Ember
- Bite
- Howl

Sudowoodo Lv 15
- Rock Tomb
- Bulldoze
- Block
- Copycat

Spoiler: Misty

Psyduck Lv 21
- Water Pulse
- Confusion
- Hypnosis
- Disable

Spheal Lv 22
- Water Pulse
- Ice Ball
- Rollout
- Rest

Prinplup Lv 23
- Water Pulse
- Metal Claw
- Aerial Ace
- Roost

Spoiler: Lt Surge

Hisuian Voltorb Lv 24
- Energy Ball
- Shock Wave
- Thunder Wave
- Self Destruct because it's a Voltorb classic

Magnemite Lv 24
- Shock Wave
- Mirror Shot
- Thunder Wave
- Metal Sound

Luxio Lv 25
- Spark
- Bite
- Fire Fang
- Ice Fang

Rotom Lv 26
- Shock Wave
- Hex
- Dark Pulse
- Confuse Ray

 

[Zorua3]

Spoiler: Falkner (Hard, National, HGSS)

Delibird @ Oran Berry
Level: 14
- Ice Shard
- Pluck
- Endure

Hoothoot @ Bright Powder
Level: 14
- Hypnosis
- Roost
- Feather Dance
- Pluck

Taillow @ Silk Scarf
Level: 15
- Wing Attack
- Agility
- Quick Attack

Natu @ Charti Berry
Level: 15
- Light Screen
- Air Cutter
- Swift
- Psycho Shift

Pidgeotto @ Sitrus Berry
Level: 16
- Wing Attack
- Uproar
- Steel Wing
- Mud-Slap

Ho-Oh @ Oran Berry
Level: 10
- Twister
- Gust
- Ember
- Safeguard

(thanks jerry)

 

[Heather]

Anyway what about ya boi berdly Falkner? Couldn't he use a tune up or rework in some capacity?

Oh yes he could. And it's simple, really.

Spoiler: HGSS!Falkner, done better (Normal/Regional):

Pidgey @ Keen Eye (Level 9):
-Tackle
-Sand Attack

Hoothoot @ Insomnia (Level 12):
-Growl
-Tackle
-Hypnosis
-Peck

Spoiler: Opinions about Gym Design within

While this is a take based on the levels of HGSS Falkner, I'd go in a similar direction with the GSC variety. Anyway, the logic here is simple: the issue I have with Falkner's gym in vanilla is that it follows the letter of the "be tougher than the average trainer" assignment, but really doesn't catch the spirit of it. I don't like Gym Leaders (or any Trainer, honestly) having illegal Pokémon because they cloud new players' understanding of the mechanics, and Falkner's team is extremely blatant about it, especially in GSC. If simply being at a higher level than most surrounding Trainers feels too easy to you to the point you need an illegal evolution to fix it, you're better served looking at a different Pokémon on the team, or a different placement for that type. Here, I went with the former option, because Hoothoot is right there and is an actual Johto Pokemon, and early Hypnosis makes for a good challenge that still has readily accessible answers that a first time player could pick up naturally. The end result is a battle tougher than the other Trainers in the vicinity, that introduces one of the status conditions you learned about at the Trainers' school and potentially the value in Abilities, all while strictly making use of things that the player can have themselves.

But speaking of early Gym Leaders packing a bit of a ludicrous evolution, who wants a crack at retooling Gardenia?

 

[Trollkitten]

Since Pluslefan brought up Falkner, I'm gonna tease what Falkner's team will be like in my rewrite/reboot of the Johto anime. Yes, his Noctowl is underleveled, but so was his Pidgeotto, so I'm not overly worried about that. I'm also aware that it's underwhelming compared to the other suggestions placed here, but I wasn't aiming for Drayano level of power for this particular canon, I just wanted to create Johto teams with actual Gen 2 Pokemon.

Spoiler: Falkner's falcons

Natu uses Peck, Leer, and Night Shade, while Noctowl uses Hypnosis and Peck. These probably aren't the only moves these two particular Pokemon know, but they're the moves that they use in the story.

Since my Johto anime rewrite uses Gen 2 physics, none of the Pokemon have abilities. But if they did, then Natu would have Synchronize and Noctowl would have Insomnia.

 

[Trollkitten]

Felt inspired, so actually sat down with https://randompokemon.com/ and made up a team for Brock, then came up with movesets for said team.

Spoiler: Brock rocks my socks

Since not all Pokemon are available in every game, and some Pokemon have different movesets in each game, I'm going to focus on the movesets each Pokemon has in the most recent generation they've been made available in (counting SwSh and BDSP as the same generation). I will however allow use of Mega Evolutions, Z-moves, and Dynamax/Gigantamax, because I can and you can't stop me.

So for Brock, I got a team of Carracosta, Nihilego, G-Max Coalossal, Kabutops, Tyrantrum, and Bastiodon. Apparently turning legendaries off does not turn Ultra Beasts off, which is an oversight that I'm just going to run with because I have a team of four fossils and a G-Max form and I want to run with this. I couldn't really decide on a good Z-move for this team, and nothing Mega Evolves on it, so I decided to stick with just one gimmick mon and run with that. Huh. Apparently I'm doing a lot of running today.

Carracosta
Solid Rock, Weakness Policy
-- Shell Smash
-- Blizzard
-- Liquidation
-- Stone Edge

Nihilego
Beast Boost, Power Herb
-- Sludge Wave
-- Meteor Beam
-- Thunderbolt
-- Grass Knot

G-Max Coalossal
Flame Body, Assault Vest
-- Heat Crash
-- Stone Edge
-- Earthquake
-- Heavy Slam

Kabutops
Weak Armor, Rindo Berry
-- Stone Edge
-- Liquidation
-- Leech Life
-- Psycho Cut

Tyrantrum
Rock Head, Lum Berry
-- Head Smash
-- Outrage
-- Dragon Dance
-- Fire Fang

Bastiodon
Sturdy, Air Balloon
-- Metal Burst
-- Heavy Slam
-- Stone Edge
-- Swagger

 

[KirbyIsPink]

Let's also give Falkner a team using the Hisui Pokedex as well since Kanto and Johto are essentially one conjoined region

Spoiler: Falkner (Hard/Hisui)

Drifloon Lv 11
- Gust
- Astonish
- Confusion
- Focus Energy

Rufflet Lv 12
- Peck
- Quick Attack
- Hone Claws
- Rock Smash

Togetic Lv 13
- Air Cutter
- Fairy Wind
- Magical Leaf
- Roost

We'll be funky with Gardenia and use the HGSS Pokedex for her team this time. Heck, let's pretend that we're still confined to Gen 4 Mechanics for this one!

Spoiler: Gardenia (Hard/HGSS)

Bayleef Lv 22
- Magical Leaf
- Reflect
- Synthesis
- Sunny Day

Sunflora Lv 22
- Grass Knot
- Growth
- Leech Seed
- Grasswhistle

Bellossom Lv 24
- Magical Leaf
- Hidden Power Fire (60 bp)
- Sleep Powder
- Synthesis

 

[RubyClaw]

(Gym Improv isn't dead, don't say that , I love Gym Improv!).

Anyway, sure let's give this a go. I'm going for the Kanto three you mentioned, imagining a Regional Dex game which is semi-realistic in the sense that the trainers are indeed experts of their field that only talented pokemon trainers can defeat (and a player can theoretically do so with their regular arsenal of pokemon they can get, but it requires lots of skills and strategy, or at least over leveling if you have no idea what you are doing - so perhaps exp should be more kindly given in such a game so novice players could have a chance if they grind long enough). I'm going to do something a bit controversial and allow each gym leader one pokemon who fits their theme and not their type as I personally really like this idea (I know a lot of people don't), as was done by Platinum. Assuming we'll be doing the other gym trainers of Kanto eventually I think their pokemon numbers per team would be gyms 1,2,3 - 3 mons. gym 4,5,6 - 4 mons. gym 7,8 - 5 mons.

Spoiler: Brock. Hard. Regional

Mankey lvl 14. Oran Berry. Vital Spirit.
Mud-Slap, Low Kick, Leer, Rock Tomb.

Geodude lvl 14. Sturdy. Oran Berry.
Sandstorm, Rollout, Harden, Headbutt.

Onix lvl 14. Sturdy. Oran Berry.
Harden, Rock Tomb, Iron Tail, Dragon Breath.

Spoiler: Misty. Hard. Regional

Eevee lvl 20 - Adaptability. Oran Berry.
Quick Attack. Baby-Doll Eyes. Dig. Rain Dance.

Cloyster lvl 21 - Shell Armor. Nevermeltice.
Icicle Spear, Withdraw, Whirlpool, Light Screen.

Starmie lvl 21 - Natural Cure. Mystic Water.
Recover, Psybeam, Water Pulse, Brine.

Spoiler: Lt. Surge. Hard. Regional

Hitmonchan lvl 25 - Iron Fist. Expert Belt.
Thunder Punch. Ice Punch. Drain Punch. Fake Out.

Electabuzz lvl 25 - Static. Expert Belt.
Thunder Punch, Low Sweep, Screech, Fire Punch.

Riachu lvl 26 - Static. Bright Power.
Double Team, Nuzzle, Thunderbolt, Surf.

 

[Norhian Samur]

So let's do Gardenia here, This is based on a what if scenario where BDSP got regional variants (the idea is those regionals would be mons who were added to the platinum dex but weren't connected to a sinnoh mon, those lines being Swablu, Houndour, Tropius, Scyther, and Absol, also maybe a few other ones, I can cover the ideas more elsewhere). Also this is for a theoretical Challenge mode resulting in minor level boosts/more mons.

Spoiler: Gardenia - Hard - Modified Regional

Cherubi - Level 21 - Chlorophyll - No item - Grass Knot/Growth/Dazzling Gleam/Morning Sun
Grotle - Level 21 - Overgrow - Sitrus Berry - Razor Leaf/Sand Tomb/Stealth Rock/Reflect
Roserade - Level 23 - Technician - Miracle Seed - Grass Knot/Poison Sting/Leech Seed/Venom Drench
Sinnohan Houndoom - Level 24 - Sap Sipper - Sitrus Berry - Thunder Fang/Grass Knot/Bite/Howl

Spoiler: Sinnohan Houndoom

Type - Grass/Electric
Abilities - Early Bird/Sap Sipper (HA: Galvanize)
Stats - 75/110/80/90/50/95

Basically a nature dog, Houndour is pure grass but gains electric upon evolution. Galvanize is there because I wanted it on another mon.

Anyway for the sake of adding a new idea, I'm gonna throw out the idea of a Wulfric Rework, rework the 8th Gym leader of Kalos to make his ice type team a threat, even with the legendary.

 

[SweatingCalendar]

Anyway for the sake of adding a new idea, I'm gonna throw out the idea of a Wulfric Rework, rework the 8th Gym leader of Kalos to make his ice type team a threat, even with the legendary.

Will try o7

Making it harder with a Yveltal is p easy, since they are already weak to ice, Xerneas might be a tall order

So Im gonna keep the mons within the regional dex, its gonna be hard mode so I have an excuse to use more than 3 mons for the gym lol, I also want to keep Avalugg as his Ace since I like when the gym leader's strongest mon is one introduced in that region:

Spoiler: Wulfric (Hard/Regional)

Abomasnow (lvl 57)
@ Focus Sash
Ability: Snow warning
Moves: Blizzard/Ice Shard/Earthquake/Energy Ball

Mamoswine (lvl 57)
@ Chesto Berry
Ability: Snow Cloak
Moves: Ice Fang/Earthquake/Stone Edge/Rest

Vanilluxe (lvl 57)
@Icy Rock
Ability: Ice Body
Moves: Hail/Blizzard/Flash Cannon/Freeze Dry

Jynx (lvl 57)
@ NevermeltingIce
Ability: Oblivious
Moves: Psychic/Blizzard/Shadow Ball/Sweet Kiss

Avalugg (lvl 59)
@ Lum Berry
Ability: Ice Body
Moves: Avalanche/Hail/Earthquake/Rest

Instead of giving you the tm for Ice Beam, he gives you the tm for Blizzard