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## Pokémon Discussion

### Pokémon Crystal Battle Tower Help (Level 40 Challenge) - Page 1

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#### Pokémon Crystal Battle Tower Help (Level 40 Challenge)

Posted by: Feltyham
Date: 2018-01-31 13:11:05
I picked up Crystal for the 3DS VC because I had never played it before (had Gold as a child).
I picked up eight badges; my team is currently all level 40, so I thought - why not give the battle tower a try.
Well so far, I've only successfully beat a single trainer. Now I know the battle tower is supposed to be difficult, however I didn't figure I'd get stomped by the first trainer almost every time. I've played the battle tower in other games; usually I can get to the tower tycoon no problem.
I guess my question is what Pokémon combinations/movesets have brought you success?
To give some background, these are my options in terms of level 40 Pokémon I currently have with their movesets in brackets, current held item and stat totals underneath. In regards to stats; I have no idea what my Pokémons IVs are, and not really sure how I would calculate the EVs. I know in Crystal, you can max out EVs in every stat. Using a calculator to try and reverse engineer totals, it seems my Pokémon have sub-optimal IVs, but if someone could help me interpret the stats better, Id appreciate it.
Hypno - (Thunder Punch, Fire Punch, Ice Punch, Hypnosis) Item: Magnet
o HP: 130 / ATK: 81 / DEF: 69 / SpATK: 78 / SpDEF: 112 / SPEED: 69
Meganium - (Sleep Talk, Rest, Razor Leaf, Poisonpowder) Item: Mint Berry
o HP: 133 / ATK: 81 / DEF: 102 / SpATK: 89 / SpDEF: 102 / SPEED: 84
Poliwrath - (Surf, Ice Punch, Earthquake, Hypnosis) Item: Mystic Water
o HP: 137 / ATK: 87 / DEF: 89 / SpATK: 79 / SpDEF: 95 / SPEED: 75
Arcanine - (Flame Wheel, Dragonbreath, Bite, Dig) Item: Charcoal
o HP: 133 / ATK: 102 / DEF: 78 / SpATK: 102 / SpDEF: 87 / SPEED: 91
I run Hypno in slot 1, Meganium in slot 2 and either Poliwrath or Arcanine in slot 3.
I figured the Hypno would be a good first starting Pokémon, since he has good type coverage and can take a few hits. Ive left Hypnosis on my Hypno for when I get to Kanto get the Dream Eater TM.
Meganium has proven pretty useful, I can whittle down most enemies via Poisonpowder, its a bit slow, but it works. Once I get to Kanto, I will replace Poisonpowder for Toxic.
My third slot seems weak. Poliwrath works better than Arcanine I find, but regardless Poliwrath seems to lose the type battle a lot (weakness to electric, physic and flying). I need to replace Hypnosis on my Poliwrath with a fighting move, I used my water stone too late so he doesnt know submission. At this point, perhaps I should just scrap that Poliwrath. Or if he can be salvaged, let me know potential options.
Arcanine usually gets gibbed by a water or ground move, I find she never lasts long enough to do anything. I havent done the elite four yet; once I do I will replace Flame Wheel with Flamethrower via the Move Tutor in Goldenrod. Again, any advice in regards to the Arcanine is appreciated.
My movesets are probably lacking, but at this point in the game I do not have all the potential options. I've thought about just cloning my current party and trying the battle tower again when I have more TM and item options at my disposal.
Anyways, thought I'd open this thread up. If anyone can give me some tips for the crystal battle tower or share their experiences I'd appreciate it.
(Side note: used the following URL to attempt to make sense of my stats: http://pycosites.com/pkmn/stat_gen2.php)

#### Re: Pokémon Crystal Battle Tower Help (Level 40 Challenge)

Posted by: Nostalgia
Date: 2018-01-31 14:40:48
The gen II battle tower is actually quite easy, you just have to be prepared for it. By prepared I mean, choosing good Pokes, having Pokes with good DVs and trained well to at least max out most, if not all of the stat experience, and having good movesets and items. You have none of these things, so you can see why you're struggling.
Not to be mean, but your Pokemon choices are mediocre, the movesets are not the best (not running Psychic on Hypno is silly, its a great STAB option in gen II, also Arcanine could benefit from Extremespeed) and you don't have the best items, leftovers and miracleberry are the best.
I finished level 40, 50, 60, 70 runs of the battle tower on my last Crystal playthrough. If you interested in my team I can make a post about it, but if you want to beat the battle tower my advice for now would be to either 1) beat the elite four to get access to better moves/items for your pokes or B) start training new pokes.
It's very possible to complete the battle tower pre-Elite Four, but it all depends on good Pokemon choices and good strategy.

#### Re: Pokémon Crystal Battle Tower Help (Level 40 Challenge)

Posted by: Feltyham
Date: 2018-01-31 16:45:23
Thanks Nostalgia, I appreciate the reply.
I figured as such, otherwise why would I have so much trouble with the first random trainer I fight.
But yeah, you're right - I was just curious to see if my pre-elite four team had a shot, and well as it turns out - they do not!
Regardless, please post what teams you were successfully with; I want to be unique but I need a starting point.
In the mean-time, I'll finish the rest of the game - I can tailor make a party after that and bring the battle tower to its knees!

#### Re: Pokémon Crystal Battle Tower Help (Level 40 Challenge)

Posted by: Nostalgia
Date: 2018-02-01 05:49:53
My team wasn't a tailored made team for the Battle Tower, it was just some of my favourites along with a few new pokes I was using for the playthrough, but I can go over why they were effective in the tower.
My team:
- Kingdra
- Gengar
- Machamp
- Electrode
- Porygon 2
- Espeon
First what I have here is a effective bulky water Pokemon in Kingdra, which stalls with toxic and heals with rest talk. There are a number of bulky waters you can use for this role and they are effective in the battle tower. Defensive play in general is effective in the battle tower. Kingdra is so good in gen II though, due to there not really being any effective dragon moves and the only other dragon pokemon being Dragonite, so pretty much means Kingdra has no weakness and it can survive for longer toxic stalling, not fearing any grass or electric Pokemon like other water types would. Pretty much every Pokemon game I play I run a bulky water, I think they're just really effective in that role. In Yellow I ran Vaporeon, in Emerald I ran Milotic which helped in the Battle Frontier and in Fire Red I ran Lapras, any water type with good defensive stats, healing and toxic makes for a good bulky water. Remember in gen II, you can max out every stat, so pokemon are more defensive and harder to take down, further making toxic stalling and rest talk a great strategy.
Second I have Gengar, which along with being one of my favorites is a top Pokemon in G/S/C, stops normal types, explosion etc, has great coverage, power and access to explosion and is very fast. The move set I used on Gengar was: hypnosis, thunderbolt, explosion and fire punch. Which is typically Gengar's best moveset. And it's my one of two exploders I use on my team. Explosion is so good in gen II, having 250 power and halving the defense of the enemy, it was so good they nerfed it when gen 5 came out. Explosion is a great strategy in the battle tower because if you can take out one pokemon in the tower, you can explode on another often netting you another kill, if not you will sufficiently weaken the other pokemon letting your new Pokemon clear up. Taking out two pokes with one poke, makes it a lot easier to win.
Third I have Machamp which is a favourite of mine and the best fighting type in G/S/C. Machamp has great coverage and power, I ran the moveset of: cross chop, earthquake, fire blast and rock slide. The problem with your Poliwrath is it doesn't get cross chop which is the best fighting move in the game and it only gets Submission which is awful, Poliwrath also doesn't have good stats either. Other good fighting types would be Heracross, Hitmonlee or Primeape (just because it gets cross chop). A fighting type is a good choice for the tower, taking out the common powerful normal types, rock types and dark types.
Forth I have Electrode which is a oddball choice, but its my favourite Pokemon if you couldn't tell from my avatar. Electrode has a good niche in gen II, being the fastest Pokemon in the game, fastest exploder and faster status inducer with thunder wave. I ran a Electrode with: thunderbolt, thunder wave, mirror coat and explosion. Mirror coat is great against the bad AI, with Electrode poor defensive stats, mirror coat will give you a easy KO, then explode on the next Pokemon and do a lot of damage, similar to Gengar above. If you're facing a Pokemon that doesn't have special moves or won't take much from Explosion, use thunderbolt or thunder wave. Electrode can't do anything to rock/ground Pokemon though, so I would only use it with Kingdra.
- Fifth I have Porygon 2, again a oddball choice but it's a decent normal type, there are better normal types to use, but I definitely recommend a normal type for your team, as normal types have great STAB options (body slam, return, double edge) and normal types usually have great coverage options. Good normal types would be: Snorlax (best pokemon in the game, you can sweep the tower easily with a curselax set and any snorlax set will put in work) Tauros, Miltank, Ursaring etc. Porygon 2 wasn't very helpful in the tower for me, I would of been better of with a more offensive normal type so I would recommend something else.
- Last I have Espeon which is a great choice for a Psychic type, as it's fast with great power and the moveset I used was: psychic, bite, zap cannon and morning sun. Which provides good coverage and healing. With Espeon's good speed, bite can provide some lucky flinches. Psychic types are powerful and other good choices would be Alakazam, Jynx and Exeggutor.
In my team, Kingdra and Porygon 2 are defensive, Espeon and Genger are offensive, Electrode is offensive/support and Machamp is a slow, hard hitting wall breaker. It's important to have balance with effective offensive and defensive Pokemon in your team.
As I said, all these Pokemon were just what I used for the playthrough, I never went and used something different or bred anything specifically for the tower because the tower is easy after you get used to it and have good strategy. Quick claw is another good item I didn't mention, I run it on my Machamp and it will help out any slow powerful Pokemon.
Overall, the battle tower in Crystal only awards vitamins upon completion and doesn't keep track of your wins or winstreaks, and its greatly inferior and less challenging then the battle frontier in Emerald, but it still can be fun to play.

#### Re: Pokémon Crystal Battle Tower Help (Level 40 Challenge)

Posted by: Feltyham
Date: 2018-02-01 10:15:23
Awesome! Thanks for the thorough reply.
I have plenty of ideas now; as well as learning some new things about Gen II.
I think I'll start with the bulky water type, probably leaning towards a Lapras. I do not have a second 3DS so at the moment I'll pick options that do not require trades to evolve. A few of my buddies have 3DSs I can put a few guys on the backburner till I am able to trade.
Anyways, I'll experiment based on your analysis. From what you've mentioned, it seems I can make many parties that will be successful, just have to figure out a good balance.
I'll probably provide an update once I get good flow going.
Cheers man!

#### Re: Pokémon Crystal Battle Tower Help (Level 40 Challenge)

Posted by: Nostalgia
Date: 2018-02-01 11:45:23
Yeah, I figured because you are playing VC you might not have the options to trade. I was playing on cartridge and trading with my Red, Yellow and Gold cartridges. However I completed VC Gold a few months back and because of the coin case glitch in G/S it's possible to complete the Pokedex and get all the trade evolutions without trading haha. There's always good options even if you can't trade though.
Lapras is a decent choice and it gets Ice STAB, just make sure to cover it's extra weaknesses to fighting and rock with your other members of your team.
One source that helped me learn more about the game and learn a lot more about each individual Pokemon was Smogon, even though Smogon is dedicated to competitive battling you can learn a lot about what Pokemon are more effective then others, what movesets are most effective on a certain Pokemon, and it helped my team building skills. Movesets from my Gengar and Machamp posted above, are exact movesets from Smogon, but they work great in-game and for the battle tower. When you learn more about the game from a competitive standpoint, it helps your overall game, and you learn why a Pokemon like Starmie for example, is much better then something like Feraligatr. So I would recommend Smogon.
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