Pokémon Shuffle (Nintendo Used Pay Day!)

I'm down to one last main stage to S Rank - Timburr, in all his block-spawning glory.

Not had a pop at it yet, as I've been keeping an eye on the Mega Banette challenge to make sure I don't slip out of the top 10000.

Banettite GET! #5927 with a final score of 18767. How did y'all do?

I was fine this morning still being 8070.. Only just got home to find that I missed out by 300 places..

ZeroJones wrote:

Banettite GET! #5927 with a final score of 18767. How did y'all do?

Mine varied, with 2115 (22,232), 2666 (21,185), 3660 (20,125), 7060 - USA (18,604), 7573 (17,368) and 9718 - USA (17,126)

I am pretty pleased, and I only went back to one, which was at place 8286 this morning, and I wasn't prepared to risk it.  Based on some of the jumps, I think it was wise.  I had one drop over 2000 places in 8 hours.  It seems everyone rushed at the last minute to try and win it.

What do we think of Pinsir?

I have caught it once and that was with 11%.  The best I managed was 16%, so it won;t be easy, but we do get get 24 attempts at it.  It is an interesting concept to allow a single attempt per day.  Not sure I like it, but they have to throw out challenges.  For at least 12 of those days I will just try as normal, then I will consider using items to make sure.

Edit: Holy crap Shanks, lucky I had another go, as mine was at 8286 this morning and I took it up to place 2115. That would certainly have missed. Bummer for you man.

24 attempts? I'ts only up for one week... Luckily it's a fairly easy stage so catching him was pretty simple.

As for Banette, was somewhere in the 5000s so got my mega stone which will be great when I actually catch the guy, as I've been stuck this past week trying to catch Milotic. Stupid Feebas RNG...

Aww man! Can't believe you lost out so close, shanks.

From my original placing of 4450, I ranked 7176 overall. I got a bit obsessive about checking my rank towards the end.

I like the Pinsir concept, though I can't decide when the best time might be to spend some coins on it. So far I have enough to lob a Great Ball at it and not much else. I'm also not sure what the Wi-Fi situation might be like on holiday as to whether I'll miss out on any further events.

@slazo/OS: I also thought it was only up for a week...

Got Pinsir on my first try today, and nabbed my Mega Banettite. I'm taking that as karmic retribution for my awful Sharpedo RNG. Now, back to grinding coins for S-Ranking Timburr...

@Slazo - I just threw a load of coins at Milotic. Bugger that stage.

Did you slam coins down on Pinsir, Jay?

Just coins for a Great Ball - upped my chance from 17% to 34%, which luckily was enough!

Good going! It fucks me right off when you're low on cash and your Great Ball chance is scuppered.

Might have my bash at it for the day when I get back home. I'm mainly addicted to grinding for coins at the moment.

Aye, I'd save up for Great Ball uses, especially considering the limited time that Pinsir's around for. He's not difficult, as I don't recall him throwing out any disruptions, nor was my team particularly powerful (save the powerhouse that is Heatran). Best of luck, Stu!

JayMoyles wrote:

Aye, I'd save up for Great Ball uses, especially considering the limited time that Pinsir's around for. He's not difficult, as I don't recall him throwing out any disruptions, nor was my team particularly powerful (save the powerhouse that is Heatran). Best of luck, Stu!

Cheers! I hope your Timburr S-ranking goes well. I've not even embarked upon the S-Rank mission yet (currently up to stage 152); are there any particularly horrific ones to 'look forward' to?

(Is Timburr your last, too?)

Timburr will indeed be my last main stage S-Rank. I've still got the expert stages to S-Rank, but they don't count towards unlocking anything.

As for nasty S-Ranks... just through having a gander at the stage list, these were tricky: the later Megas, Onix, Timburr, Milotic, Larvesta and Zoroark. The beginning of the S-Rank journey is a lot of fun though - demolishing the early stages with your new OP team feels great. I'd recommend catching all the EX stage 'Mon that you can get before starting though, as they're far and away the strongest 'Mon in the game.

Did you need to drop coins on all the EX stages after Rotom and Absol? I've only made it as far as Articuno and I had to spend to catch him.

I've just caught Pinsir on my first attempt! Four turns remaining, 11% capture rate, no Great Ball. I didn't think it would be enough. I also caught Grass Rotom with only two turns taken and no Great Ball. Winning streak today.

Congrats on Pinsir, Stu!

No coins spent on most of the EX stages (maybe some Great Balls, but no actual powerups) - just perseverance and getting good at spotting matches. I did spend some coins on the last few, though. Mega Gengar is a godsend for the EX stages - his ability helps so much in making ludicrous chains.

Slazo wrote:

24 attempts? I'ts only up for one week... Luckily it's a fairly easy stage so catching him was pretty simple.

No idea why I thought I saw that. Clearly I didn't. I'm old. Shut up. Don't judge me.

Looks like I might throw some stuff at it early. Plenty of coins in the bank.

JayMoyles wrote:

Congrats on Pinsir, Stu!

No coins spent on most of the EX stages (maybe some Great Balls, but no actual powerups) - just perseverance and getting good at spotting matches. I did spend some coins on the last few, though. Mega Gengar is a godsend for the EX stages - his ability helps so much in making ludicrous chains.

I have a tendency to panic and fling things around the screen in the heat of the moment. Haven't tried it since I got hold of some excellent Pokémon though, so it might be a game-changer. And I have Mega Gengar, too.

@OS: Don't panic too much over Pinsir, though I guess it's easy for me to say that now...

Maintaining calm is a huge thing in the EX stages, particularly when you've spent a lot of in-game cash on an attempt. I'm getting better at it all the time.

Pinsir fell easily enough, as my second match resulted in an almost stage-finishing combo (I snuck an Attack Power Up on, as well). It gave me a 29% chance of catching, which was enough. Now to train the blighter up into a powerhouse!

Do you lot train specific 'Mon up, or do you merely tackle what you're facing with an optimised team?

I know you guys don't have basic stages to worry about like I do.

I just use whatever team's suggested to me. It does a good job of giving me my strongest 'Mon.

Yeah same, though the same Pokemon seem to be recommended a lot as I have a few up there level wise..

I'm also thinking I may put my focus on getting Blaziken now

I've started to put some effort into training a few non-optimal 'mon up, just to see if they'll bring other benefits. Some help charge the Mega gauge, which sounds like a fine thing, although the appeal does drop when you realise that they become pretty pants when your lead has Mega evolved.

I think most of the Eevee evolutions help with the mega gauge (knew I liked Eeveelutions for a reason)
Though I usually only use Glaceon (to no ones surprise) and Umbreon when the occasion rises

New stages galore!

Regirock is up for grabs (he's tough - not got him yet) as well as a plethora of new main stage 'Mon.

JayMoyles wrote:

New stages galore!

Regirock is up for grabs (he's tough - not got him yet) as well as a plethora of new main stage 'Mon.

I got Regirock, but I threw 15-20,000 coins at it to do so. No way I was going to get it without all the appropriate items. Even with them, I still only got 25%, so it took a couple of Great Balls. As for the other new ones, I am up to Gurdurr so far. Snorlax goes forever - 55 turns! I look forward to finding out where the new ones end. I had just finished catching everything and was building for a go at Mewtwo, so that is on hold for a while.