Climb to the Shrine, Right What Is Wrong

I KNEW HE WAS STRONG, BUT 
FECK 
UBERTROLL

...*shaken* I - I honestly wasn't expecting that. I haven't been level-grinding except by defeating Rockets in Silph Co. and fighting off Gastlies in Pokemon Tower (which was mainly on my Butterfree, which I didn't use in this battle).

Ahahahaha... oh gad... WTF. Ahahaha... L40 starter...

You know something, rival? It's usually considered polite for the miniboss to not be stronger than the actual boss.

...Think I'll post Erika soon. I was going to wait until after Sabrina to update, but the shock of seeing an L37 Pidgeot in response to my L31 Gyarados (and then finding out that, unlike Cerulean, his Pidgey-line Pokemon wasn't just overleveled compared to the rest of his team)... eh heh heh. I've had enough excitement for the update.

(On the bright side, I now have proof-of-principle that Yulong can destroy Psychics. I lost 50 HP to a single attack, but it was a CRITICAL. I can survive that and have time to heal on the side. If that's his response to an ALAKAZAM three levels higher than he is, he can take on the Saffron Gym and make it out in one piece. The ONLY impediment will be possible confusion, and Reservoir is defensively-oriented enough that he can act as a switchwall to heal Yulong's confusion. And at least, on Sabrina, I won't be getting unexpectedly trolled by overleveled Pokemon!)

Aaaand off to catch me a Snorlax before my Pokemon get too overleveled.
Snorlax successfully captured.
( Team planning, abruptly derailed by a discovery about an epic fail on the part of the Red-Blue (but NOT YELLOW!) Elite Four. )

NEVER MIND! :D I can afford my pathetically unbalanced team in the final rounds. I just... I mean... damn. That's all but BEGGING you to use Gyarados on Red-and-Blue!Elite Four.

EDIT:
In Silph. Co right now.
Swore heart skipped a beat when Yulong dropped down to 9 HP courtesy of a hit from a Hypno after a confusion-turn.
Confusers, hypnotizers, and poisoners actually MORE dangerous than the heavy-hitters and the self-destruct monsters. (It helps to a hilarious extent that the self-destructers are weak to Ground, this being before Levitate, so Dig will have one of two effects:
1) Allows dodge of Self-Destruct. Enemy goes down.
2) OHKOs enemy before it can use Self-Destructed. Enemy goes down.
You've really got to wonder if the designers intended that gimmick and are *wink-wink-nudge-nudge*-ing the player forward to using Digspam to handle that "puzzle" dynamic.)

If she's remarkably strong, I'll CONSIDER skipping her for a little while and coming back later. I'm not to her yet (just beat Erika), but I do not want anyone to die.
Same goes for Koga, whom I hear can be very bad. I should be able to get by him just so long as I remember to take Antidote xBajillion into the fight, though.
Blaine would be trivial, and Giovanni's main issue will be making sure my Pokemon can outspeed his in order to cause Fissure to fail. Should be easy.

( Other thoughts, and commentary on current status - next post will come when I have the time to write the text, as it will likely contain a good deal of chatting. [Or perhaps that's the next post... anyway, lot of talking either way.] )

( Rock Tunnel! Go go go! (As a bonus: without using Flash! :D) )

( All of Vermilion City, including S.S. Anne, Lt. Surge, and both routes leading out of the city, is beneath the cut! )

 Only wild grinding was to get Diglett to L19 for Dig, and the rest was legitimate S.S. Anne switch baiting.

Now onto Celadon, where Erika will discover her Gym's weakness to Flying. 

Predict Diglett will bring much drama. It is a glass cannon par excellence, so it will add that spice of gonnadiegonnadiegonnadie that every Nuzlocke needs.

( Quick update with the Gym Leader battle! The next update will cover some Vermilion City adventures. )

( Evolutions, awaaaaaaaaay! :D :D :D )

Here we are, now in Cerulean City! :D
( In this update: Rival Battle, Bridge, Bill, and T-T-TRAINING MONTAGE! )

Nidorina: Tail Whip L23, Bite L32, Fury Swipes L41, Double Kick L50
Nidoqueen: Body Slam L23

Mediocre stat-lowering move, possible-flinching move (power 60), weak multi-attack move, middling Fighting move VS. possible-Paralysis move (power 85).

Remember, this is Gen 1. Bite is NOT Dark-type yet, and such has no especial utility beyond flinching.

I believe immediate Stone evolution is for the best, in this case.

*relevant to my current run* ;)

Just finished beating up a bunch of Trainers at low HP, had my Wartortle at low HP, and TAPPED RIGHT WITH SPACEBAR HELD DOWN and ran straight into L17 Slowpoke guy.

To add insult to injury? I had my newly-caught BELLSPROUT out front (training it for Misty), and so was obligated to immediately switch out.

I LITERALLY only won because I had poisoned it with Butterfree. Ran through ALL MY POTIONS while switching out to clear confusion.

Lesson learned - do NOT have a party full of low-Special Pokemon and Poison-types when running around blind and not checking where the Trainers are!

...Wait, does Starmie have Psychic-type attacks? *facepalm* Um, maybe sending this thing headfirst into Misty isn't a good idea. I'll have to send out a scouting Pokemon to see if it uses Confusion at any point.

(Note: L17 Drowsee is also not a pleasant thing to fight.
Fortunately, using Stun Spore enabled me to get through on one Potion, but STILL. Gen 1 Psychics really ARE nasty buggers.)

Off to grind. These close calls with Psychics do not bode well for Ma'am Water/Psychic Pokemon. :\

( We train ourselves up, and then master Mt. Moon! :D )

I'm not grinding up to L16. Just to L14 or thereabouts.
( Mildly obsolete now. )

Let's walk to Mt. Moon! (Yes, I'm a coward. I upped the size of my Pokedex by 50% in one session, cut me

( We're off to the mountain! (Whether we'll get there yet is another story.)) )

((All right. I'm stopping here, and we'll resume with the promised L16 training-montage next time. See you then!))

( *decisions, decisions... indecision, indecision...* )

See you after grinding! :D

((I should note: I was actually at an airport/on a plane for most of these pictures. If I forgot a screencap, it was because the guy in front of me was reclining all the way back, my computer screen was at a 45 degree angle to the keyboard, and I was more concerned with shifting around to relieve an ominous muscle cramp in my hip lest it turn into a clot. On the bright side, it was STILL a fun session with the ROM!))

( In this part: A Rival Battle! An evolution! And our first Gym Leader! )
((And there we run out of screenshots - now, to go 'gather more', and proceed to Mt. Moon! :D))

Viridian Forest CLEARED! (Also - are Poison-types impossible to poison on Gen 1? I wonder if Nidoran availability was supposed to remove need for antidotes. Oh well.)

Everyone's alive, though I would have been SCREWED without Antidotes. I don't think it's possible to survive the walk to the Pokecenter without overleveling otherwise. Reservoir is L10, everyone else is L7-L9. Going to check out pre-Pewter grass before going ANY farther with grinding for Brock - don't want to get into OHKO territory. (I'm blind-running everything but checking the occasional level-up moves, since I remember a fair chunk from muscle memory and I want to make this more of a challenge.)

Plan to get Reservoir to L13 before Brock, since Brock himself is pretty easy if you Tail Whip through Bide, as I recall. Misty will be MUCH more cautiously treated, since I have no Pilachu and I'm not betting on getting a Bellsprout/Oddish (whichever is Blue version ) before her. And Lt. surge... *shudder* I had better be VERY careful to catch Diglett when I see it! D:

Update to likely come later tonight. I wonder if I have the guts to fight Route 22 Rival.

If anyone has overleveling cap suggestions, please tell me. I've seen +5 levels as a good number - for a first-time Nuzlocker, is this a good number, or should I go lower? I just don't want to trivialize the run by making it Grinding: The Game.
( Still trying to capture as many new Party members as possible, alas. Actual FIGHTING will likely take place in the next part. )

Well, the Pokemon I got AFTER that was a L3 Pidgey. So much for not getting one. :P

Now, off to grind 'em to about L7. Do NOT want any embarrassing deaths in Viridian Forest.

(Also need to refill my PokeBalls to 5...)

Current Party: Resevoir L8, Wormtail L4, Sky Terror L3
...a bit later...
Reservoir L9, Wormtail L7, Sky Terror L7

Now, a bit of a GREAT MOVE, GENIUS moment: can I CATCH the first Pokemon I see in Viridian Forest?! D:

Mercifully, YES. It was a L4 Metapod, and I could let it Harden until I could chip away with it with Pidgey. First ball worked, too!

More on this next update. I want to get through Viridian Forest with zero causalities before I start bragging...

This is my first time on an emulator. Don't mind my nostalgia.

(IMAGES NOW REPAIRED!)
( A world of dreams and adventures with POKeMON awaits! )

( Potential FAQ. )
So let's embark on a Nuzlocke!