Pokemon Trading Card Game - Any% route Leaderboards: http://www.speedrun.com/pkmntcg If you have ANY questions, feel free to tweet at me. (@SWhiteblock) This set of notes reflects the most current route for the game. Note: This guide assumes that you know how to play the Pokemon Trading Card Game. If you do not know how to do this, you probably should not be trying to speedrun this game yet. Contents of this guide (ctrl+f): I. Useful trainer cards IIa. Useful rare cards IIb. Useful non-rare cards III. The Route IV. Route/Strategy deviations (If you are learning this game for the first time, do NOT read this. This is intended for runners who are very familiar with the game). Credits: -NesKamikaze: Original author of notes -Mountebank/HorouIchigo - Updating deck strategies/guide after transition from single segment to save+quit -Blazephlozard - Much needed improvements to early game -stumpdotio - Writing up a formal guide to Continue Duel (http://notes.stump.io/tcg-continue-duel) ***I highly recommend read this guide if you plan on trying to get good at this speedrun*** Button shortcuts: -In hand/deck - [Select] sorts your hand or deck by Energy > Pokemon > Trainers [Right] skips through cards faster (I believe it's about 5 card increments) -On main battle screen - [B + up] views opponent's bench - [B + down] views your own bench -Deck edit menu - [Select + down] scrolls down your cards faster > Useful for all deck edits, especially for any edits involving cards near the bottom of the list such as Scyther, Mewtwo, Magmar, Dewgong Useful tips: -You can advance text with the B button. During longer periods of text, mash B and A. -Generally, you want to lead with a Pokemon with free retreat cost (such as Diglett or Rattata) whenever possible to switch into something better if you need to later. -Using Switch removes status effects (Confusion and Sleep being the main ones) on your Active Pokemon so you can switch back and forth to attack freely. To avoid coin flips regarding Tail Wag Eevee, Smokescreen Magmar/Horsea and Leer Rhyhorn you can switch back and forth between Pokemon to attack freely. This is Mysterious Fossil's main use for the run. -When it's not your turn, hold B while mashing A to skip through animations faster. -Because this category is no longer restricted to single segment, we can abuse Continue Duel. To understand and maximize usage out of this, take a read of stump's notes on Continue Duel: (http://notes.stump.io/tcg-continue-duel) ======================================================================== I. Useful trainers (listed in order of how many I recommend you should put in your deck, but it's up to you) As many as you can/max out (this is not up for debate): -Professor Oak -Bill -Computer Search -Item Finder -Pluspower -Energy Removal -Energy Search -Gust of Wind -Potion 2-3 is fine: -Super Potion -Full Heal -Defender -Mysterious Fossil/Clefairy Doll (can max these out if you want) *Read above why this card is useful in the speedrun. -Super Energy Removal (you only need to put in 2, if you ever get that many) -Switch -Pokemon Trader I'm so desperate for deck filler because my trainers are trash: -Poke Ball -Gambler (good deck filler if you have bad Oak/Bill count) ======================================================================== IIa. Useful rare cards Each booster pack you receive has 1 rare card that is shown as the FIRST card. Pay attention to these. Here are some of the good/important rares: Colosseum: -Scyther (important - PAY ATTENTION TO THIS) -Dugtrio (important) -Computer Search -Item Finder Evolution: -Clefairy Doll Laboratory: -Super Energy Removal IIb. Useful non-rare cards Of course, there are non-rares that are useful. If you see these, you might want to consider putting them in your deck as soon as possible or even immediately, depending on where you are in the run. Colosseum: -Seel/Dewgong (Dewgong is very important) *Note: Colosseum has most of the best cards in the game, so it's worth your time to pay attention to your drops from these packs. You receive a lot of these packs over the course of the run. -Professor Oak -Bill -Pluspower -Item Finder Evolution: -Energy Search -Gust of Wind -Super Potion Mystery: -Mysterious Fossil -Energy Removal -Double Colorless Energy Laboratory: -None (no seriously, there's nothing useful for the run in here besides MAYBE Gambler) ========================================================================= III. The Route [routebegin] -Timer begins after inputting name and selecting "END" DR. MASON'S LABORATORY -Perform tutorial and do everything exactly as prompted -Pick "Charmander and Friends" deck -Edit Config -Speed: 5 -Animation: None (If you are using a save that has already completed the tutorial, start the timer here at 8 minutes and 3 seconds - 8:03) -Deck Edit: +: 2 Grass Energy -: Raticate, Meowth (Colorless) -Speak with lab assistant to the right to receive additional energy -Deck Edit: +: Adjust energy to 20 Fire Energy and 14 Fighting Energy [Fire/Fighting] -: 2 Grass Energy, Charizard, and all Lightning Pokemon FIGHTING CLUB -Speak to Ronald (automatic) -Go up one room and speak to Mitch (club leader) *This unlocks 3 trainers that you need to defeat later on in the run. GRASS CLUB -Duel Heather and Kristin (top room) > Heather - Pretty straight-forward. You can get walled by Porygon's Conversion2 if you get unlucky. Switch to a Pokemon of different typing if this happens. Do note that if you have a Diglett with two fighting energy, it can OHKO Porygon even if it has changed its resistance to Fighting due to the fact that Weakness is applied BEFORE Resistance [(30 x 2) - 30 = 30] Real threats of her deck are Eeveelutions, especially Vaporeon, and the occasional Venomoth. > Kristin - Also straight-forward. Worst thing to deal with is easily Lickitung. Charmander and Magmar are great here. You can use Diglett to beat the Lickitung or to set up Charmander and Magmar safely. -Duel Brittany (girl at the table in the lounge to the left) > Brittany - Easily one of the most annoying fights in the game. Coin flips for days as well as a very diverse selection of Pokemon, making it difficult to exploit one weakness. You're just going to have to do the best you can. If you can set up Magmar or Charmeleon, you're good to go. Do note that Gastly resists Fighting Pokemon. ISHIHARA's HOUSE -Talk to Nikki (club leader) *You can do this now or after you clear Lightning Club LIGHTNING CLUB -Duel Nicholas and Brandon (the two boys to the left and right) > Nicholas - Pretty easy fight most of the time. Charmander and Magmar are great here. Ponyta is pretty good if you go first. Koffing and Geodude require two energy in order to attack. Threats are evolutions (Weezing, Magneton, Graveler). > Brandon - Can be annoying due to Defenders (-20 damage), Lv20 Electabuzz (has Light Screen to halve damage rounded down), and Zapdos. If you see Zapdos, make sure you have a Fire Pokemon as it resists Fighting attacks. -Deck Edit: +: Any additional Diglett/Dugtrio, Charmander/Charmeleon, Lv24 Magmar -: Growlithe/Arcanine, Ponyta, Machop/Machoke, Rattata -Duel Jennifer (girl) > Jennifer - Very annoying fight if she uses Flying Pikachu as it resists Fighting Pokemon. Diglett is great here backed up by either Charmander or Magmar. -Duel Isaac (club leader) > Isaac - A pretty easy fight, honestly. Diglett makes this a breeze, Dugtrio makes it even better. Only annoying thing is getting paralyzed by Electabuzz, Magnemite, or unlucky Tauros coin flips. GRASS CLUB (2) -Duel Nikki (club leader) > Nikki - Usually an easy fight, but unlucky coin flips and Exeggutor can be trouble. If you have Diglett and Charmander/Magmar, lead with Diglett to set up your Charmander/Magmar. -Lose to Ronald as fast as possible (automatic duel as soon as you walk out) > Ronald - In order to lose as fast as possible, use only one Pokemon. If he leads Cubone, you can try attacking it to either prompt it to use Rage or kill it so that something else can kill your Pokemon. If you have a Mysterious Fossil in your opening hand, you can use that. -Duel Michael (boy in the lobby to the right) > Michael - Probably the toughest fight in the game - one of the only ones you can really lose. Just play it the best you can. If you can get a Dugtrio going, it destroys this fight. WATER CLUB -Duel Amanda (girl to the right) > Amanda - This one is a little tricky. Main threats are Jigglypuff/Wigglytuff and Scyther. Wigglytuff forces coin flips with Lullaby. Its Do the Wave attack does 10 damage + 10 additional damage for every Pokemon on her bench, which she often stacks with Poliwags, Scythers, and Mysterious Fossils. On rare occasions, she will evolve the Mysterious Fossils into Omanytes (and potentially Omastars) and Aerodactyls. Diglett handles Jigglypuff nicely but is walled by Scyther's Fighting resistance. Charmander/Magmar handle Scyther well but MIGHT be in danger of getting killed due to Poliwags and Omanytes. ***WHAT YOU DO FROM HERE DEPENDS ON WHETHER OR NOT YOU HAVE PULLED A SCYTHER FROM A COLOSSEUM PACK*** I will label each section as the following: > If you did pull a Scyther, follow the [early scyther route] > If you did not, follow the [normal scyther route] ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ SKIP THIS SECTION IF YOU DID NOT GET A SCYTHER YET [early scyther route] ROCK CLUB Deck Edit: +: Scyther [Grass/Double Colorless Energy/Fighting (as the filler)] -: All other Pokemon (Diglett/Dugtrio, Charmander/Charmeleon, Magmar) (*) If you pulled a Hitmonchan, consider adding them here. -Duel Chris (the boy in the lounge to the left) > Chris - Swords Dance + Slash everything. Worst case scenario is Persian or Lickitung. Do NOT attack Tauros with Slash twice or he can deal heavy damage to you with Rampage if he gets 3 Energy attached. -Duel Gene (*) If you put Hitmonchan in your deck for Chris, take it out now. > Gene - It is almost impossible to lose this fight as Scyther resists all of his Pokemon. The only annoyance is Rhyhorn stalling with Leer with unfavorable RNG. Otherwise, Slash everything (including Rhyhorn). Swords Dance + Slash on Onix. If you get Leer'd and you have another Scyther or Mysterious Fossil, you can switch back and forth (Mysterious Fossil requires you to go to the Pokemon Power menu) to attack. However, you will lose any Swords Dance boosts. Always have 4 energy attached at all times as Gene has Energy Removals. FIRE CLUB -Duel Jessica (girl at the table in the lounge to the left) > Jessica - Swords Dance + Slash everything. Only thing that is threatening is Tauros. Do NOT attack Tauros with Slash twice or she can deal heavy damage to you with Rampage if she gets 3 Energy attached. -Go to the PC and check e-mails 1, 3, and 6 for additional Colosseum packs *It is ALWAYS worth checking these for potential Dugtrios, Dewgongs, and trainers -Deck Edit: +: Any additional Diglett/Dugtrio [Fighting] -: All Fire Pokemon -Duel Ken (club leader) > Ken - Actually an easy fight as long as he doesn't lead Magmar. Goal is to get Dugtrio set up and using Earthquake if possible. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ IF YOU DID NOT GET SCYTHER AFTER MICHAEL [normal scyther route] FIRE CLUB: -Deck Edit: +: Diglett/Dugtrio [Fighting] -: All Fire Pokemon -Duel Ken (club leader) > Ken - Actually an easy fight as long as he doesn't lead Magmar. Goal is to get Dugtrio set up and using Earthquake if possible. -Go to the PC > SAVE FIRST > Check e-mails 1, 3, and 6 for additional Colosseum packs > If you did not get a Scyther, reset until you do *Make sure you take all three packs, they're worth it -Deck Edit: +: Scyther [Grass/Double Colorless Energy/Fighting (as the filler)] -: Diglett/Dugtrio -Duel Jessica (girl at the table in the lounge to the left) > Jessica - Swords Dance + Slash everything. Only thing that is threatening is Tauros. Do NOT attack Tauros with Slash twice or she can deal heavy damage to you with Rampage if she gets 3 Energy attached. ROCK CLUB: (*) Optional Deck Edit: -If you pulled a Hitmonchan or 2, you can add them before fighting Chris. -Duel Chris (the boy in the lounge to the left) > Chris - Swords Dance + Slash everything. Worst case scenario is Persian or Lickitung. Do NOT attack Tauros with Slash twice or he can deal heavy damage to you with Rampage if he gets 3 Energy attached. (*) Optional Deck Edit: -If you put Hitmonchan in your deck for Chris, take it out now. -Duel Gene > Gene - It is almost impossible to lose this fight as Scyther resists all of his Pokemon. The only annoyance is Rhyhorn stalling with Leer with unfavorable RNG. Otherwise, Slash everything (including Rhyhorn). Swords Dance + Slash on Onix. If you get Leer'd and you have another Scyther or Mysterious Fossil, you can switch back and forth (Mysterious Fossil requires you to go to the Pokemon Power menu) to attack. However, you will lose any Swords Dance boosts. Always have 4 energy attached at all times as Gene has Energy Removals. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ PSYCHIC CLUB: -Deck Edit +: Diglett/Dugtrio, Rattata (you only need 2 or 3, 4 is *okay* if you pulled a Pokemon Trader) [Fighting] -: Filler/Scyther (depending on which path you had to take) -Duel Murray (club leader) > Murray - This can be a tricky fight. Rattata's only purpose is to be able to 2HKO Mr. Mime (since Mr. Mime negates all damage >20). Do not evolve into Dugtrio unless you need it to get an OHKO or you need it to live a Super Psy from Kadabra as Diglett has free retreat cost. Otherwise, Diglett/Dugtrio handles all the other Pokemon very well. If Murray gets an Alakazam, Mr. Mime, and Chansey/Snorlax set up, it's basically an auto-loss unless you have a Gust of Wind AND Pluspower to OHKO the Alakazam with Dugtrio's Earthquake. -Lose to Ronald (automatic duel as soon as you walk out) > Same as before, although it should be much easier this time with all 30 HP basics. Use fossil only as your starter if you have it in your opening hand. -Go into the left room and talk to the man at the far left to get a Mewtwo Lv60 promo card! WATER CLUB (2) -Deck Edit: +: Lv12 Pikachu/Lv40 Raichu, Lv35 Electabuzz (if you pulled one) [Lightning (use Double Colorless as filler energy if needed)] ***Note: If you have were fortunate enough to pull 3+ Lv35 Electabuzz, do not include Pikachu and Raichu in the deck. -: Diglett/Dugtrio, Rattata -Duel Sara (girl to the left), Joshua (boy in front of beach chair), and Amy (club leader) > Sara - If you lose, I don't know how you got this far unless you got insanely unlucky (aka lead Staryu going second or Farfetch'd coin flips). > Joshua - A bit of an annoyance with Lapras and Shellder, but nothing more than that. > Amy - This fight only gets bad if she manages to troll you with coin flips and/or Energy Removals, she gets Seaking out while you only have one Pikachu, or she somehow gets Blastoise (which is extremely rare). Otherwise very straight-forward. SCIENCE CLUB -Duel Joseph (man blocking the way to the club leader) > Joseph - Very straight-forward. Flying Pikachu and Zubat are annoying for coin flips but nothing more than that. If he somehow beats you with a Pidgeot, you're about as unlucky as me! -Deck Edit: +: Mewtwo Lv60 ONLY [Psychic + Filler Energy, ideally Water] -: All Lightning Pokemon -Duel Rick (club leader) > Rick - This fight is generally easy, but can get tricky if Porygon gets into the picture, since it resists Psychic. Fortunately, he has only two of them in his deck. If you can discard two energy (psychic + anything) and attach a Psychic energy on Turn 1, you can Energy Absorption and attack on turn 2. Psychic will OHKO everything except Porygon. Be careful if Porygon2 manages to use Conversion1 to change your weakness to Grass. It's rare but also don't let his Lv.53 Mewtwo get two energy attached as it can OHKO if you have 3 energy attached to your Mewtwo. FIGHTING CLUB (2) -Duel Mitch (club leader) > Mitch - This is usually an easy fight, but you can lose if your starting hand is really bad and you start second against a Hitmonchan lead. Potions and Defenders add a great deal of safety and consistency to this fight. Same strategy as Rick - get Psyburn as soon as possible. Super Potions are actually great here as they do not interrupt the energy attaching process since you Energy Absorption. Mewtwo will OHKO everything with Psyburn except a Hitmonchan with a Defender, but you can get around this with a timely Pluspower. POKEMON DOME *If your deck is looking really bad or if this is your first time running this game, I recommend going to the PC one last time and checking e-mail 12. This is the last Colosseum pack you can reasonably get during Any%. -Deck Edit: +: Seel/Dewgong [Water + Double Colorless/Fighting as the filler energy] -: Mewtwo *Save before entering the Dome *SAVE BEFORE EVERY FIGHT FROM HERE ON OUT. Similar to the main Pokemon games, you have to start over from the beginning if you lose any fight. These fights often require heavy resets for favorable opening hands. You want to have your evolution (Dugtrio/Dewgong) or some draw/search cards in your opening hand. -Duel Courtney (grand master) > Courtney - Straight-forward. Set up Dewgong and Aurora Beam everything. Make sure she doesn't get 3 energy on any of the Moltres and Ninetales. -Deck Edit: +: Diglett/Dugtrio [Fighting] -: Seel/Dewgong -Duel Steve (grand master) > Steve - The only thing that can kill you is Zapdos. Hopefully you don't get trolled by Lv68 Zapdos's Peal of Thunder shenanagans. Otherwise, set up Dugtrio as fast as possible and go nuts with Earthquake. -Deck Edit: +: Seel/Dewgong [Water] *As a last resort, if your deck is bad and you only have 1 Dewgong, consider adding Lv35 Articuno to your deck. -: Diglett/Dugtrio [Fighting] OR Do not do this deck edit until Ronald. -Duel Jack, Rod, and Ronald (grand masters + champion) What deck you choose to use depends on several things: > How many Dugtrios or Dewgongs do you have? If you have 1 Dugtrio and 3/4 Dewgongs, choose Dewgong, for example. > How good are your trainers? For example, if you have the same amount of Dugtrios and Dewgongs and you have a great trainer line (such as 3/4 Oaks, 3/4 Bills, etc.), then choose Dugtrio. This is your judgment call. If you don't have a lot of success with Dugtrio, stick with Dewgong as it is more consistent and safe, but can be slower than Dugtrio. If you are learning this game for the very first time, I would strongly recommend using Dewgong here unless you have something abysmal like 2 Seels and 1 Dewgong (meaning you didn't get any Seels and Dewgongs in Colosseum packs). Dewgong strats: > Jack - Annoying fight. His general strategy is to use big walls such as Chansey and Lapras to set up Seels and Articunos (and sometimes Lapras). He tends to use Scoop up on Chansey when it has 60 or less HP. Set up Dewgong as fast as possible and Aurora Beam everything. You can Ice Beam Lapras (and hope for a heads) and then Aurora Beam it if it has 2 energy attached. Same with the Lv35 Articuno if it has 3 or more energy attached. Try your best to not let any Seel or Articuno get 3 energy attached. Use Energy Removals sparingly. > Rod - Extremely easy fight. Only threat is Dragonair. Set up Dewgong and Aurora Beam everything. Note that he only has Water and Double Colorless Energy. Dugtrio strats: > Jack - The setup is the most dangerous part of the duel, but the upside is that you can OHKO Chansey with Earthquake. You can also OHKO Lapras with Pluspower + Earthquake. You can 2HKO the Lv35 Articuno with Earthquakes and 3HKO the Lv37 Articuno. > Rod - Extremely easy fight. Setup Dugtrio as soon as possible. The only issue with Dugtrio is that Dragonite will resist your attacks, but it is VERY rare for this to happen. Setup is dangerous if he leads Lapras, but fine with anything else. Keep in mind that Rod only has Water and Double Colorless Energy, so Charmander can not readily OHKO you. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ (Do NOT use Dugtrio here) > Ronald - Annoying fight if you get the short end of the RNG stick. Real threats are Dragonair and Jolteon (he only has one, though). He can troll with Scoop Ups on Articuno and Zapdos as well as Energy and Super Energy Removals. He can't attack with Articuno and Zapdos because he only has Fire and Double Colorless Energy in his deck. Just like the Courtney duel, don't let Moltres get 3 energy attached. If he puts Double Colorless Energy on any Dratini, get rid of it (or the Dratini) ASAP. Same with Eevee. -Go up to the final room and press A at the glowing cards > Mash B during this -TIMER ENDS when screen fades to white to the credits [/routeend] ======================================================================== IV. Route/Strategy Deviations (intended for experienced players. Do not read this if you are learning for the first time). This is more of an info dump more so than a guide. Keep in mind Ronald 2 is always after the FIFTH medal you receive. ROUTE DEVIATIONS: EARLIER Isaac (this is the one that I currently use now): -Finish Lightning Club all the way through Isaac -Order: Brandon/Nicholas > deck edit > Jennifer > Isaac -Finish Grass Club all the way through Nikki* -Order: Heather > Kristin > Jennifer (doesn't really matter as long as Heather is first, imo) -Go to Ishihara's House -Grass Club (2): -Order: Nikki > Ronald > Michael -The rest of the route *Depending on how good my deck is (particularly Dugtrio count), I sometimes fight Michael before Nikki. *Insert deck edits where you feel are necessary E-mail checks are are 1, 4, and 6 for this route. Logic: This allows for more consistent grass clubs which I think works better for races and full game runs (since tutorial resets are pretty obnoxious). For Grass Club, you'll have only Charmanders, Magmars, and Digletts, which is much more consistent than the starter deck. Early Amy (Callumbal's route) -Grass Club -Order: Heather > Kristin > Jennifer -Ishihara's House -Lightning Club -Order: Nicholas > Brandon > deck edit > Jennifer > Isaac -Grass Club -Order: Nikki > Ronald > Michael -Water Club -Order: Amanda > deck edit > Sara > Joshua > Amy -Science Club -Joseph -Rock Club -Order: e-mail checks* > Chris > Gene (doesn't matter) -Fire Club -Order: e-mail checks* > Jessica > deck edit (include Rattata in this one) > Ken > Ronald 2 *e-mail check at Rock if you didn't get Scyther after Sara, e-mail check at Fire if you did -Psychic Club -Order: Murray > pick up Mewtwo -Science Club -Order: Rick -Fighting Club -Order: Mitch -Pokemon Dome E-mails checks are still 1, 3, and 6 unless you deviate in the same way I do for early game. Logic: This route has more optimal movement and less deck edits. I personally don't do this unless I have 2+ Electabuzz (AND I have not pulled a Scyther yet) after Michael. This gives you another chance to pull Scyther from Sara's Colosseum packs. STRATEGY DEVIATIONS: The main cause of deck deviation is a really bad Seel/Dewgong count. 2-1 Seel/Dewgong is absolutely unplayable (at least, without a significant time loss trying to reset for a good starting hand). 3-1 is also very close to being unplayable. There are SOME alternatives to try and make up for this, but they're fairly unreliable. Nonetheless, here are some other decks you can use for Dewgong duels: -Dewgong/Articuno > Articuno used to be a "partner" to Dewgong in single segment runs. It's not really used now because save+reset makes solo Dewgong the better option since you can just reset until you get a good starting hand. However, if you have a high Seel count, but a low Dewgong count (3-1 or 4-1), consider adding an Articuno or two as backup. It does 30 damage for 3 energy and 50 damage for 4 energy. Downsides are both of its attacks are coin flips and that both of its attacks have strict energy costs. -Gyarados > Gyarados by itself is pretty much just as good as Dewgong. It has the same damage output for its 3 energy attack (50 - Dragon Rage) and a slightly higher damaging paralyzing move (40 damage - Bubblebeam). The main downside is that Magikarp has really low HP without useful resistances. Gyarados's energy requirements are more strict than Dewgong - it must use ALL Water Energy. In terms of the actual run, you're not guaranteed any given amount of Magikarp and Gyarados. -Wigglytuff/Scyther > This strat requires a lot of Mysterious Fossils and/or Clefairy Dolls. Essentially, you try to power up Do the Wave to do at least 50 damage (which is 4 bench Pokemon). The parter Pokemon is Scyther (since it takes advantage of Double Colorless Energy as well). The setup requires a lot of cards, which can make it unreliable if your deck isn't good. In terms of the run, you're not guaranteed any amount of Jigglypuff or Wigglytuff. Do NOT try to go for these strats for the sake of going for them. These should only be used as a last resort.