Unovia's Heartgold Gift, Event, & Trade (G. E. T.) Challenge

[Unovia]

I managed to finally find Lapras. Turns out, I didn't need Strength after all (sorry Rocky!). I just had to go through in the Azalea Town entrance. There, I found a series of trainers that took a while to beat at the lowest level. It was a lot tougher than I would have thought, but eventually I found the deepest pool of Union Cave, where Lapras waited for me. It took me a bit to catch it, even though I had paralyzed it, using a Lure Ball, then 2 Ultra Balls. With the dinosaur in my box, I got out of the Cave.

Now all I have to do is train it up. Before I go back to Olivine, I will get my team up to Level 30. In Olivine, I will face down Glitter Lighthouse. That will help me figure out what the mysterious Pokemon that the Gym Leader is taking care of. Until then, I will see you!

 

[Unovia]

While I was looking to level up Lapras (It comes in at Level 20), I replaced Quagsire with it, then decided to explore a little bit of Mt. Mortar, Mahogany Town, and Route 43, getting my Lapras up to Level 26 in the process. Mt. Mortar is where you can get a Gift Tyrogue, but it requires Waterfall, which is gotten at the Ice Path and the badge from Pryce, making it unavailable at this time. I wanted to be really careful because if I didn't take the long way through Route 43, it would cost me $1000 from the Rocket Grunts, and money is really at a premium right now. Route 43 leads to the Lake of Rage, and I really didn't want to start that subquest yet. The Lake of Rage subquest leads to the Red Gyrados, and is the reason why Pryce's Gym is not open yet.

I have decided to sit on Route 39 to train everyone up to Level 30, since there are Miltanks and Raticates here which can yield a ton of experience. Level 30 will get my Flaaffy to an Ampharos and give a large advantage to me in the future. It won't take me too long to Level up to 30, since most of my Team is Level 27-28, so I think I will spend the day there to get up to where I feel comfortable, then do what I plan at the Glitter Lighthouse, which will be the next Log.

Until then (probably Sunday), see you!

 

[Unovia]

Ok, so I decided not to get my Flaaffy (and the rest of my team) up to Level 30. It would have taken a bit longer than I would have liked. Instead, I decided to face down the Glitter Lighthouse.

The Glitter Lighthouse is one of the major locations in Johto. Legend has it that there is an Ampharos that provides the light and is the Beacon.

The lighthouse is also a fantastic location to train, as it basically functions as the Olivine Gym Challenge. Don't think, however, that, just because you make it to the top that Jasmine is going to accept your challenge. She is too busy taking care of a sick Ampharos. Turns out, that Ampharos is the beacon for the lighthouse, and because she cares about her town, Jasmine has taken it upon herself to take care of the sheep-like Pokemon. While Ampharos is sick, Olivine cannot be a safe harbor for people coming by ship to her fair shores.

Your reward for getting up to the top (so many ladders, and I think I had to drop out a window to get to her!) is a clearly tired Jasmine begging you to help a sick Ampharos, nicknamed Amphy, by getting some medicine from the far off town of Cianwood. Cianwood is across the sea from Olivine, and even though there is a harbor here, I can't get access to it, having to surf all the way there! The area is no doubt dangerous, and it would be nice to have some sailors help me get there safely, but instead, a 10 Year old kid has to brave the waves and get the medicine, then bring it back to the Lighthouse as fast as possible.

Looks like I am off to brave the waves, and do my heroic duty. What awaits me on the trip to the mysterious Cianwood? The sea is quite expansive, so this will be an interesting journey. In the next log, we will face down the challenges ahead! Until then, we will see you!

 

[Unovia]

Heading west, then south from Olivine, I battle swimmers all throughout the routes. Eventually I come across the Whirl Islands.

Legend states that a legendary Pokemon makes its home here, but defends the islands using whirlpools that it creates. I would love to explore here, but Whirlpool is an HM that I can't get access to for a while yet, so it defeats the point to attempt to come into it. Feeling a bit defeated, but curious what is there to discover, I pushed west to Cianwood City.

There is quite a bit here, including the pharmacy where Amphy would get its medicine. There is also a Gym here, though I am not taking it on yet. There is also a trading opportunity here (Krabby for Voltorb) as well as Shuckie, the Shuckle, which I am not going to take on until the Gym. I will spend some time training up off the coast, since there are quite a few Tentacruels that can build my team pretty far.

In the next log, after the training session, I will clear the Gym and get the medicine for Amphy. Until then, see you.

 

[Unovia]

Upon arriving at Cianwood, the first thing I did was get the Secret Potion for Amphy. That is why I was there, after all! With the bag of medicine safely with me, I decided to go north and check out the rest of the island. There is a cave here, though I can't do anything with it yet, so I walked to the extreme north, where Suicune was waiting for me! It jumped around, then sped off. A man came up to me, reintroducing himself as Eusine. He was the guy from the Burned Tower with Morty.

He told me he had been chasing down Suicune for 10 Years, and had been insulted to see that Suicune was interested in me. Did I insult his honor or something? He isn't an old timey southern gentleman. Anyway, he believed that Suicune would watch the fight and upon him winning, Suicune would see him as worthy, despite the fact that Suicune had just left. Anyway, I had to take the delusional man on. In the Gen II games, he was known as Mystery Man. He opened with Drowzee, which I easily took down, to which he changed to Electrode. Electrode is fast, and I had to switch my team around to beat it, due to the super accurate Thunder attacks! WTF! He gets accurate attacks! Anyway, eventually (I think Espeon took it down), Espeon finished his Haunter. Defeated, Eusine turned around and left just as quickly as he came. Strange man, wearing a cape. Moving on.

Wanting a Ampharos, I decided to train in the water, getting my team to Level 30 finally. Cianwood has a MAJOR Tentacool and Tentacruel problem! No wonder people don't readily or easily come there! The one good thing about the Tentacruel is that they give a lot of experience for training. Once I had my team ready to go, I took on the Cianwood Gym, since it was the only major thing left to do on the island directly.

Chuck is a Fighting type Gym Leader. For this fight, I decided to have Espeon and Togetic as my main battlers, with Ampharos as my backup, especially for the Poliwrath. The Gym was unique, requiring me to face down all of his trainers to get access to the switch to stop the waterfall pouring over Chuck's head. Espeon and Togetic easily dispatched the trainers, leaving Chuck still under the waterfall. One movement of the waterfall later and an angry Chuck took me on! I opened with Togetic because Espeon had gotten a lot of experience battling the trainers and he opened with Primeape. I am just surprised that Chuck only has 2 Pokemon and that they are KANTO Pokemon, with no Johto ones included. That is strange.

Anyway, Primeape attempted to set up using Double Team, but Extrasensory took it down with no issue. He sent out Poliwrath in response. Poliwrath can be a nightmare if you are asleep or paralyzed, since it can use Dynamic Punch, an absolutely devastating move. Dynamic Punch fails if the opposing Pokemon is faster. I switched to Ampharos, which dodged the Hypnosis, then just kept Thunder Punching its way to victory over Chuck. Fifth Badge down!

Upon leaving the Gym, a woman came up to me and introduced herself as Chuck's wife. She gave me Fly as a reward for winning, then said Chuck was too chubby and needed to work out. I then headed off to get Shuckie. Unfortunately, there is no Krabby for Voltorb trade here. I think it is in Olivine.

The trainer that owns Shuckie was apparently attacked by Silver, who stole his other Pokemon. The Gold and Silver games state that the other Pokemon was Sneasel. The trainer gave Shuckie to me for safe keeping. Shuckle is a defensive tank, with the highest defense of any Pokemon. Unfortunately, Shuckie has no good level up moves, so I am going to travel with Shuckie until I get to Mahogany Town. Then I will travel back to Cianwood and drop it off again.

In the next log, we will head back to the Lighthouse and drop off the medicine. Until then, we will see you!

 

[Unovia]

This is a quick update.
I wasn't sure I would be able to give Togetic Fly, but as soon as I figured out I could, I gave it to it. Then, I flew to the Glittering Lighthouse, where I gave the Secret Potion to Amphy, healing it. I got the call from Baboa, saying the Safari Zone was open and inviting me to come check it out. Instead, I continued to Route 42, where I ran into Suicune and Eusine, who was still on its tail. There is a grove of Apricorn Trees, from which I took all of them.

I think I will take a few days and do a bit of walking with Shuckie. The plan is to spend a few days between Azalea Town and Goldenrod City, getting the Apricorn Balls done and going to the Radio Tower, getting more points from Buena's Password. I have 8 Points right now, and I know if I get 30 points, I can get Buena's phone number. I listen to Buena early in the morning, so I should be able to get a few more points, finish my set of Apricorns, and clear the Apricorn Box for a bit.

In the next Log, we will check out the Safari Zone, which is in that cave near Cianwood that we did not attempt before. Until then, see you!

 

[Unovia]

I still have some Apricorns in the Apricorn Box, but I have decided to move on. Actually ran into Raikou for the first time. I have run into Entei a few times. Anyway, I flew to Cianwood so I could explore the Cliff Cave area (Routes 47 & 48) which lead to the Safari Zone. This is one of the hardest areas in the game, especially since there are a few double battles in the area, including one who has a Magmar and Electabuzz (which I skipped for now) and the infamous innuendo Cloyster & Onix.

After I got through there, I met with Baboa, who asked me to take the Safari Zone Owner Test. The first part is to catch a Geodude, which I easily did. The next part, which will come later, is capturing a Sandshrew. The grass of Route 48 is a great location to train up. I will not be training Shuckie. Instead, I will train my team to Level 33 before I go after Jasmine. Shouldn't take too long. There are Tauros that give a lot of Experience, along with many other Pokemon that give quite a bit of Experience.

There are 3 things I will do before I battle Jasmine.
1. Finish my Apricorns & Buena's Passwords for those times I am finishing my Apricorns.
2. Train up to Level 33 in the Route 48 grass.
3. Take on that Magmar & Electabuzz team.

In the next Log, we will be facing Jasmine. Until then, we will see you!

 

[Greninjaman]

You got Quilava (soon to be Typlosion). I think you will be fine for Jasmine. By the way, what is your team at this point?

 

[Unovia]

You got Quilava (soon to be Typlosion). I think you will be fine for Jasmine. By the way, what is your team at this point?

Current Team:
Quilava: Lv.32
Ampharos: Lv. 32
Espeon: Lv. 32
Sudowoodo: Lv. 31
Lapras: Lv. 31
Togetic: Lv. 31

 

[Unovia]

Before I went after Jasmine, I got my team up to Level 32, battled the Magmar & Electabuzz double team, then flew to Olivine City, getting ready to take on Jasmine. Olivine Gym is an empty room with no challengers other than the Gym Leader. I often consider Olivine Lighthouse part of the Olivine Gym, especially considering that you defeat the Lighthouse to get to Jasmine. However you consider it, it is tme to take her on.

On to the battle with Jasmine. She opened with her first Magnemite (Lv. 30), which Quilava (Lv. 32) easily beat down with Flame Wheel. Jasmine immediately tried to shut me down by bringing Steelix (Lv. 35) out. In response, I switched to Sudowoodo (Lv. 32), kinda nervously, especially considering Steel can beat Rock Types. Luckily, Sudowoodo was able to use Low Kick to drop Steelix down to under half health, though Steelix used its Sitrus Berry to recover some health. It then used Iron Tail, which almost took Sudowoodo out. Hanging on, Sudowoodo hit again with Low Kick, dropping Steelix under a third. Steelix used Rock Throw which made Sudowoodo almost faint. Luckily, Sudowoodo had quick Claw, which allowed Sudowoodo to move faster, edging out Steelix to take it down.

Now up against a wall, Jasmine sent out her second Magnemite (Lv. 30), to which I switched back to Quilava. Quilava once again OHKO Magnemite, winning me the 6th Badge. Before I move onto the next point, I will spend a few days to finish my To Do List, then go to the Lake of Rage, a trip I have been ignoring until now. See you soon!

 

[Unovia]

With my team leveled up to Level 34, I headed to Mahogany Town. My radio turned to the Mysterious Transmission that plays while in Mahogany Town currently. Pushing north, eventually I reached the Lake of Rage. This area is nearly always raining, making Electric Type moves more effective, meaning the player has to be careful with using Electric moves. Swimming out on Lapras, I came upon Gyrados.

The Gyrados is red and a shiny, the first shiny ever intentionally placed into the game. It took me four tries to get the Gyrados.

Try 1: I opened with Ampharos, used Thunderpunch, thinking I could whittle it down, but ended up killing it (OHKO).
Try 2: I opened with Ampharos again, used Discharge, which OHKOed it.
Try 3: I opened with Sudowoodo, used Rock Slide, which dropped the Gyrados low enough to catch. I then used Lure Balls (I had 8), and ended up using all of them, catching it on the 8th one. Knowing I could do better, I tried again.
Try 4: I opened with Ampharos and Thunderwaved it, paralyzing the beast. Switching into Sudowoodo, I used Rock Slide, almost OHKOing Gyrados. It was left with a sliver of red health. I then chucked Lure Balls at it, catching it on my 6th one.

After I caught it, I named it Red Menace to differentiate it from other Gyrados. With it in the box, I also got the Red Scale from the water. Flying to Cherrygrove, I exchanged the Red Scale for the Experience Share. I wish the Gen 4 one was like the one for later Gens. Anyway, I flew back to the Lake of Rage, where I red headed man named Lance and his Dragonite met me.

He congratulated me for my battle with the Gyrados, then invited me to join him in Mahogany Town to inspect the mysterious shop in the town, then flew off. I am itching to meet him there. Right now, I am going to train up Red Menace to the rest of my team (it comes in at Level 30), then I will join Lance. In the next Log, we will join Lance to investigate the shop. Until then, see you!

 

[Unovia]

With my team ready to go, I joined Lance at the shop in Mahogany. Dragonite hyper beamed the shop owner. That is violence in a Pokemon game. Shame on you Lance! He revealed a staircase down to the Team Rocket HQ. This area was once a ninja base, but all of that changed when Team Rocket took it over. Lance and I split up to take down the HQ. This place is full of challenges, from the Persian Statues to the Game Show Floor of Death, to the massive amount of Grunts. This place has it all.

It is a good idea to train up your team using all of the grunts and the wild Pokemon on the trap floor. Don't worry, you can always leave to heal up your team as needed. Through beating the Grunts, you find that there are two passwords to the electric doors you see all over the place. Those are Slowpoketail and Raticatetail. Once you get them, you meet with your first Rocket Executive of this quest... Petrel.

Once you beat Petrel, he tells you that the overall password is Hail Giovanni. A Murkrow is in the room with him, which escapes to open the door to the Generator Room. As you follow Murkrow, beating Grunts as you go, eventually you run into another Executive, Ariana, who joins with a Grunt for a double battle.

Don't worry, Lance is there to join in with the battle. Once you foil their plot, Ariana and the rest of Team Rocket leaves. You join in with Lance to free up the Electrode who are the power of the Generator.

Beating the Electrode frees them, and Lance gives you Whirlpool as a reward, then asks about your future, finally departing. With the shop liberated, we leave as well. We are now free to challenge Pryce finally. In the next Log, we will do so. See you then!

 

[Unovia]

Before I battled Pryce, I dropped off Shuckie off at his owner in Cianwood, then flew back to Mahogany to battle Pryce.

I hate ice puzzles, though his was not too bad. I like the ability to think through the process and being able to reset as needed. The trainers were not too bad, though being able to reach them required being the puzzles. When I finally got to Pryce, the challenge was to beat him due to the fact that he could stall out using rest to heal up his Dewgong. My Sudowoodo and Gyrados managed to edge him out, giving me the 7th Badge of Johto.

Upon leaving the Gym, I got a phone call from Professor Elm, asking me about the Radio and Team Rocket. Oh boy, looks like I won't be doing Buena's Passwords until I stop them, so in the next Log, we will finally stomp out Team Rocket. See you then.

 

[Unovia]

Desiring to get Buena's Passwords back on the air, and knowing a strong dislike for Team Rocket, I traveled to Goldenrod. Thinking quickly, I went into the underground, since there is a Team Rocket Grunt that will give you a Team Rocket uniform. Nice! Moving into the Radio Tower, I tried to sneak up the stairs, when Silver stopped me and broke my disguise. Thanks dude! Now I have to battle all of the Grunts. Luckily, my team managed to crush them all. As the Grunts piled up, I got the notice that I had to get through to the Director, who was Petrel.

Not him again! I crushed him, then he gave me the Card Key, giving me the ability to hunt down the real Director, who is in the Underground. Heading there, more Grunts and a battle with Silver awaited me. The battle with Silver was okay except for his Feraligatr, who posed a bit of a challenge. I had a automated door puzzle which was a tricky challenge, but eventually I got through there, rescuing the Director, who gave me a Card Key.

Upon getting the key, I headed back to the Goldenrod Tower, where I saw a ghost from the past, Proton, who I last battled at the Slowpoke Well. After shoving him aside, I found my way to the elevator that would take me to the Observation Deck. Before I did that, however, Ariana met me again.

I had to battle her without Lance, and she was a bit of a challenge. After some struggle, she fell, leaving one more challenge...whoever waited in the Observation Deck.

I was introduced to the last Admin, Archer, who took over for Giovanni when Giovanni departed. Archer only had 3 Pokemon, and his most challenging one was Houndoom, who fell after a bit of a struggle. With that, Team Rocket was defeated once and for all. Hard to know if their message reached Giovanni, though their boss never showed up to challenge me. With the Radio Tower freed, I left as a hero to Johto.

What am I going to do now? I think I am going to hunt down and capture Entei and Raikou. Once they are cpatured, I can move onto the Kanto Region in peace, not worried about the Beasts waiting for me to come back. In the next log, we will be going after them. The hunt awaits!

 

[Unovia]

Oh boy. Here we go! The most difficult hunt down in all of the Johto games. It is really hard for most players to do, since both Entei and Raikou will roar unless they are blocked in. Many players will use Haunter/Gengar to lock the two Beasts in. It also takes a while to rein them in because they are erratic. Sudowoodo was my tricky Pokemon. It has the move Block.

Block (move) - Bulbapedia, the community-driven Pokémon encyclopedia

bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net

I ran back and forth until I could get them to go where I wanted. Both Beasts use Pressure, which forces more uses of a move. I slowly lowered the HP of both. You could tell they were frustrated that they could not escape, though they would often use Roar to get away. I was even able to Paralyze Entei. Entei and Raikou would even show up on bodies of water. I had a ton of Fast Balls (thanks Kurt!) which I could throw at Raikou (Raikou is the faster of the two), and I made sure to have a lot of Ultra Balls through the Poke Mart.

Where did I pin them down? Route 42 & Route 43. They were both caught through low HP and Ultra Balls. They have both been caught, and now I can fly through Johto with no worries.

I actually did it! Woohoo! I am now able to move onto Ice Path & eventually Blackthorn City! In the next log, we will go through Ice Path. See you then!

 

[Unovia]

Traveling down Route 43, I battled all of the trainers, who were not much of a challenge, especially considering the challenge ahead. Ice Path is a very difficult ice puzzle, mainly because you have to have Strength. Luckily, Sudowoodo was able to take that on, and there are no trainers, thank goodness. Part of the difficulty with the Ice Path is the rocks that you have to strength into holes. Sudowoodo to the rescue again! I had to use the walkthrough to get me through it, so here is the link to it.

Appendix:HeartGold and SoulSilver walkthrough/Section 10 - Bulbapedia, the community-driven Pokémon encyclopedia

bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net

Once I got past the rocks, then the next challenge was getting to the Kimono Girl and freeing her. She is the last one. Once she was freed, I passed onto Blackthorn City, where an ace trainer met me, impressed at my accomplishment.

In the next Log, we will go after Clair, which will be a tough fight. See you then!

 

[Greninjaman]

Wow. So much has happened since I last read this thread. Nice job!

 

[Unovia]

The Blackthorn City Gym is a tough one to take down. For this playthrough, it was the toughest I have experienced yet. The puzzle is bad because the directional movements are hard to set properly without messing up a few times. Also, the trainers are very tough to take down, a great prequel to the battle with Clair. I should have taken it as a note to take a step back and train up a bit. I was Level 38, and I thought it wouldn't be too hard. Boy, was I wrong.

The battle with Clair took me two tries. Try 1: I beat Gyrados with Ampharos, then she moved to her Dragonairs, which my Red Gyrados were able to beat, but was paralyzed, leaving me in a tougher situation than I would have thought. She sent out Kingdra. Kingdra is VERY HARD TO TAKE DOWN! Why?

In Generation 4, Kingdra is only weak to Dragon Type moves. There are no Fairy types in Generation 4. You might think you can get a Dragon Type to train up easily. WRONG! You can't get a Dragon Type in your team until AFTER this battle, in the Dragon's Den. So Fairies don't exist, and Dragons can't be gotten before this fight, so how can you move forward? You need to have very tough moves against Kingdra, and the best moves could be either Electric or Ice, but neither type are easy to inflict damage on Kingdra, since it is defended against both weaknesses due to its typing. That means that any moves are neutral damage. Kingdra swept my team brutally.

Try 2: Before I tried again, I leveled up in the grass near the Safari Zone (and checked out Routes 45 & 46) to Level 40. When I felt ready, I opened with Sudowoodo to beat Gyrados using Rock Slide. It went down very easy. Kingdra came out in response. I saw each of my team members fall to the crazy thing. Luckily, my Typhlosion managed to Lava Plume it in the last effort to beat it down. As a result, I had to sack off Typhlosion to revive Gyrados, who had Ice Fang. Then I had to just use a few Hyper Potions & Moo Moo Milks to stall while I used Ice Fang to beat down the two Dragonairs. I very nearly lost this fight.

Even though I had beaten Clair, SHE REFUSED TO CONCEDE AND GIVE ME THE BADGE! That forced me to "prove my worth" at the Dragon's Den. I got out my Lapras (Level 34) and gave it Whirlpool, beating the Dragon Tamers in the Den and getting to the Dragon Elder. The Elder asked me a few questions about how I felt about Pokemon, then gave me a Dratini.

Depending on your answers, you will either get one with Extreme Speed (like I did), or not. The better one is the one with it, and I named it Speedy. I also caught another one that I could train to a Dragonair for a trade for a Dodrio. Speedy (Level 15) will be trained up to a Dragonite. Here we go again...sigh. If you watched my "Pokemon Yellow Professor Oak's Challenge", you will remember that it took me FOREVER to get a Dragonite.

Flying to New Bark Town, I got a Master Ball from Professor Elm, who then told me the Kimono Girls were looking for me. Looks like I am going to train up my team a bit before I go to the Ecruteak Dance Theater, since the battle is a 5 battle in a row type situation. See you all later!
After I got my Dratini, I flew to

 

[Unovia]

Wow. So much has happened since I last read this thread. Nice job!

Thanks dude! You are so very supportive!

 

[Unovia]

In this Review, we will be grading the Gym Leaders of Johto (and eventually Kanto). The grade will be out of 12. 3 Points for Gym Puzzle, 3 Points for Gym Trainers, 3 Points for the Gym Leader, and 3 Points for Sportsmanship. Let’s get started.

Falkner:
Gym Puzzle: The Puzzle was very improved from Gen II, moving away from the simple room to the elevated platform walkway. I like the fact that there are also walk around paths if you choose not to battle the Gym Trainers, though often at this point, it is a good thing to battle them anyway, since the experience and money never hurts. It’s more creative than difficult, but I like more creative Gyms. 2 out of 3.

Gym Trainers: Pretty standard trainers. Not too interesting, though it is the first Gym of the Region. 1 out of 3.

Gym Leader: Falkner is a bit disappointing, mainly because his team is notably lacking Johto Pokemon. He could have had a Hoothoot. Also, I must ask, how old is Falkner? The fact that he “borrowed Pokemon from his father” is a strange thing, especially considering he looks old enough to have gone on his own journey. Plus, the only threat is Pidgeotto, and that is only because he can do stall tactics. Major disappointment, even for a first Gym in the Region. 1 out of 3.

Sportsmanship: Despite the fact that he is disappointed with his loss, he still acts humble in defeat, giving the badge as a sign of victory. 3 out of 3.
Score: 7 out of 12

Bugsy:
Gym Puzzle: The Puzzle was a bit fun and I would call it challenging, at least a little. The fact that you have to make both the red and blue ribbons go down to get to Bugsy on the last pathway is interesting. Not too challenging, but it makes you have to think about the switches. 2 out of 3.

Gym Trainers: Why is it that the Gym Trainers have better Pokemon in some cases than the Gym Leader? One has a Beedrill! Still, they are pretty standard Bug Catchers. Easy to take down, and don’t really prepare you for what the Leader is like. 1 out of 3.

Gym Leader: Bugsy is a disappointment. His Scyther can be tough, and is an effective wall, especially since it now has the much better U-Turn instead of Fury Cutter, like it had in Gen II. Once Scyther is bested, Bugsy has no defense. It would have been better and more of a threat if he had a Butterfree and a Beedrill along with the Scyther. Would have been a 1 out of 3 if it wasn’t for the improved Scyther. 2 out of 3.

Sportsmanship: Shocked that he lost, but he understands he has much to learn. 3 out of 3.
Score: 8 out of 12

Whitney:
Gym Puzzle: Pretty interesting, though the biggest challenge was trying to figure out where all of the openings went. You could easily get lost if you were not careful. 2 out of 3.

Gym Trainers: The trainers were good training for Whitney, which is more than I could say for the first 2 Gyms. Not too tough, but could wear you down if not ready for them. 2 out of 3.

Gym Leader: What can I say about Whitney? Having two Pokemon actually suits her, though I might have included a Nidorina, like she had in the Anime. Clefairy was more of an annoyance than anything else, though the Cute Charm ability could pose a challenge if activated. The Miltank is a beast! Level 20, with a very tough moveset. It also has a Lum Berry! A Lum Berry this early in the game is insane! Lum Berries can’t even be found in the wild, so how did she get one? If you don’t play the cards right, you can get swept by it! 3 out of 3.

Sportsmanship: Cried after losing, forcing the player to step away then come back and get the badge from her afterward. 2 out of 3.
Score: 9 out of 12

Morty:
Gym Puzzle: Loved this one in Gen II, when it was a dark pit on the floor, and I loved it even more in Gen IV. It is exceedingly challenging, especially with the candle going out, setting you in complete darkness. 3 out of 3.

Gym Trainers: They were not too difficult at all, though given that they can be a problem due to the pitch blackness of the Gym, it was pretty good. 2 out of 3.

Gym Leader: Morty was a bit disappointing. All he had was the Gastly line. Could have had a Misdreavus in the team as well. A Gastly, 2 Haunters, and a Gengar. Seriously? Gengar is a fast beast and is a hard hitter, but other than that, his team is weak. 2 out of 3.

Sportsmanship: He was gracious in defeat and acknowledged that I was the “Chosen One” that the Kimono Girls were after, so there is that. 3 out of 3.
Score: 10 out of 12

Chuck:
Gym Puzzle: I like this one, mainly because it was inventive and unexpected. A massive improvement over Gen II. It had a neat design and premise. 3 out of 3.

Gym Trainers: Not tough at all, especially if you have the right types for the Gym, which you most likely will at this point have at least a Flying type if not a Psychic type. 1 of 3.

Gym Leader: Chuck was pretty disappointing, especially since he only had 2 Pokemon, which at this point, shouldn’t be. He was also dependent on Dynamic Punch, Status Conditions, and your team to be slow. That is not a real strategy. 1 out of 3.

Sportsmanship: He was honorable, understanding and accepting his loss. 3 out of 3.
Score: 8 out of 12

Jasmine:
Gym Puzzle:The rating for this Gym Puzzle is dependent on what you consider the Puzzle. Olivine Gym is an empty room, with the only battle being the battle against Jasmine. The simplistic nature of it gives the puzzle a score of 1 out of 3. However, if the Olivine Lighthouse is considered as the Gym Puzzle, then this bumps it up to a 2 out of 3. The Olivine Lighthouse is a very challenging trial, forcing the trainer to fight through all of those challengers to get to Jasmine. I tend to consider the Olivine Lighthouse part of the Gym itself, so this is rated 2 out of 3.

Gym Trainers: Once again, there are no trainers in the Gym outside of the Gym Leader, so we count the trainers in the Olivine Lighthouse. 2 out of 3.

Gym Leader: Jasmine is a lot like Bugsy and most of the other Gym Leaders in that she has a really strong Pokemon (Steelix) being guarded by weaker Pokemon (2 Magnemite). Steelix is really difficult to take down mainly because of its bulky nature. Given the right moves and types, the battle isn’t too bad. 2 out of 3.

Sportsmanship: She understands and accepts her loss. 3 out of 3.
Score: 9 out of 12

Pryce:
Gym Puzzle: The puzzle is an ice puzzle, making you slide and hit the blocks to open up the next door. I have always hated ice puzzles, but other than being challenging and making you think, it is okay. 2 out of 3.

Gym Trainers: Were not too hard. The hardest part was reaching them all due to having to beat the puzzles to reach them. 2 out of 3.

Gym Leader: Pryce was not too hard. His Pokemon are equal to Jasmine. The toughest Pokemon he had was Dewgong, only because of the resting and healing. Pryce was an expert in the stall. 2 out of 3.

Sportsmanship: A man of honor, Pryce gave the badge willingly. 3 out of 3.
Score: 9 out of 12

Clair:
Gym Puzzle: Easily the most difficult Gym Puzzle in all of Johto. The sliding pieces and the directional arrows make for a very challenging one. 3 out of 3.

Gym Trainers: The Gym Trainers were difficult, surprisingly, and were an early warning sign about Clair. 3 out of 3.

Gym Leader: Many fans argue about who is tougher, Whitney or Clair. Whitney is tough for her stage of the game, while Clair is tough because the player does not get access to Dragon Type Pokemon until AFTER her battle. That Kingdra is a freaking tank that is hard to take down, even with types that should impact it (sorry, no Fairies this Gen!), and even with strong hits, the beast can just dish out incredible damage. It requires your entire team to take it down, and for me, two tries. 3 out of 3.

Sportsmanship: None at all. Doesn’t recognize your win, forcing you to go to the Dragon’s Den, speak to the Elder, get a Dratini (which hopefully has Extreme Speed), all before she will give you the badge. Has some serious anger issues. At least Whitney cries then after some coaxing, gives you the badge. Clair sends you on a side quest for a type that you should have had access to before the fight. 1 out of 3.
Score: 10 out of 12
Total Score (Out of 96): 70

Johto Gym Leader Total Rankings:

Gym	Puzzle	Trainers	Leader	Sportsmanship
1	2	1	1	3
2	2	1	2	3
3	2	2	3	2
4	3	2	2	3
5	3	1	1	3
6	2	2	2	3
7	2	2	2	3
8	3	3	3	1