Intense Rejuvenation Solo Run Completed

[Elucidative 36]

This thread has lots of spoilers of boss fights.

 

For a while, I've been wondering if it's even possible to complete a "true" solo run of Rejuvenation on Intense. After tons of attempts and a long grind, I can finally say that the answer is yes (in a way - let me explain). 

 

Falirion completed a Gyarados solo run. In Rejuvenation, there are tons of double battles and they tend to crash the game if you only bring one Pokemon. To get around this, he is bringing two Gyarados for double battles. I wanted to do a counterpart to that - during double battles, rather than giving myself a second copy of my Pokemon, I would give myself a Level 1 throwaway Pokemon to make this a "true" solo run (at least, as true as it can get given the limitations of the game). My run is not "more legitimate" than his because as you'll see, I had to use a Pokemon that is beyond stupidly overpowered in order to do it, and despite how disgustingly broken this Pokemon is, the run was still barely completable. 

 

Completing a "true" solo run of Intense Rejuvenation is so difficult that none of the regular Pokemon can do it. Arceus is nowhere near good enough of a Pokemon to do it, even if you give yourself all of the plates (I tried). I am almost certain that the other best Pokemon (Primal Groudon/Kyogre, Mega Rayquaza, Mega Mewtwo X/Y, Xerneas, etc.) are not able to do it either (for example, how would a single Mega Rayquaza beat Angie?). There are just too many hard double battles that you have to essentially 1v6. Using debug, you can actually use a lot of the alternate forms that you fight against in the game, such as Goomink, rift Pokemon, and so on. This was the key to completing the run - finding the perfect Pokemon that is on a similar level to Eternamax Eternatus, and using a combination of insane strategy, grinding, and required luck to win. 

 

The Pokemon

Spoiler

The Pokemon I used to complete the run is Dufaux, the boss you fight at the very end of Narcissa's questline. It's an alternate form of Froslass and is actually a functioning Pokemon. Here are its characteristics:

 

• Form 1:
  • Type: Electric / Fairy
  • Base: 500 HP / 60 Atk / 250 Def / 130 SpA / 250 SpD / 60 Spe
• Form 2:
  • Type: Electric / Ice
  • Base: 500 HP / 60 Atk / 130 Def / 300 SpA / 130 SpD / 180 Spe

 

• Ability: Temporal Shift (User is immune to negative stat changes from all sources. Casts Hex at a random opponent slot that will hit in 3 turns. Only one of these Hexes can be active at once. At half health, transforms Dufaux from Form 1 to Form 2.)
  • It was made so Dufaux transforms back to Form 1 at the beginning of the each fight, unless Dufaux is under half health, in which case it starts in Form 2.

 

Here are the characteristics I went with to begin the game:

• Modest nature (Form 1 is too slow to outspeed anything important with Timid, and Form 2 is so fast that I can outspeed everything important without Timid)
• Max Special Attack and Speed EVs
• IVs for HP Electric, as both forms are Electric but Froslass can’t get a good Electric move until the Thunderbolt TM, which is extremely late

 

Now you might be thinking, "Of course you were able to complete a solo run with this Pokemon, its stats and ability are insane." Yes, Dufaux is completely busted, but as you will see, there were multiple fights that required a unique setup, perfect play, and ridiculous luck to win. This run was quite difficult, despite what Dufaux's stats might lead you to believe. Solo Running Intense Rejuvenation is just that demanding. If you don't believe me, I encourage you to give it a go!

You also might be thinking "Dufaux isn't a real Pokemon, so this isn't a real solo run". As I explained, no official Pokemon can do it, so from that lens a true solo run is impossible and the conversation ends there. Dufaux is in the game's code - all I did was give myself it from the beginning and went on my way. Related to my previous point, this run was barely completable even with this overpowered form. Solo Running Intense Rejuvenation requires a Pokemon at a level beyond any official Pokemon.

 

Rules 

Spoiler

Here are the rules that I used for my run:

 

• Intense difficulty (I cannot change it at any point)
• I cannot use items in battle (aside from my held item). I did not have the "Items Ban" mod enabled, thus my opponents could use items (potions, etc.) during battle
  • Allowing items in battle makes the run trivial, as I could just potion spam.
• During double battles, due to the game crashing, I will give myself a Level 1 throwaway Pokemon (Abra) that only knows Final Gambit, and I will target myself with Final Gambit
  • This was the best option for self-KO, as Self-Destruct could break an opponent's Sash/Sturdy and Memento lowers stats, giving me an unfair advantage. Healing Wish fails if I don't have any other Pokemon to send out.
• I cannot boost my evasion in any way (Brightpowder, Double Team, etc.) 
  • If I did this, it would make the run all about whether I can just get good enough evasion RNG, and to me that kind of defeats the purpose
• I am not allowed to battle with or use any other Pokemon unless it is required to progress the story
  • This means I cannot use Pickup
  • Any Pokemon I obtain must be immediately and permanently boxed
  • This also means I cannot do things such as complete the Forest Restoration Help Quest (I can’t obtain Poliwag/Scyther) and thus cannot access the Kingdom of Goomidra
• I am not allowed to purchase Rare Candies from the AP shop (explanation below)
• In the actual Dufaux fight, it knows Hex, Thunder Wave, Ice Beam, and Dazzling Gleam. Instead of giving myself that moveset from the very beginning, I will consider these moves as “Level 1 moves” that I can use Heart Scales to relearn. Otherwise, I will be using Froslass’ natural learnset (in V12, Froslass is incapable of learning Ice Beam and Dazzling Gleam, which Dufaux knows).
  • I did not have the "Learn Pre-Evolution Moves" mod enabled

 

 Modifying my Pokemon

Spoiler

I am not allowed to modify my Pokemon in ways that are not possible at the current point in the story. Here is when I unlock the ability to change certain aspects of my Pokemon:

 

• Reach Sheridan: I can now relearn old moves
• Reach Lost Camp: I can get EV-reducing berries, allowing me to change my EV spread
• Reach GDC Underground: By doing Help Quest 1 and unlocking the underground, I have access to the Nature Changer

 

It is not possible to change your IVs in Rejuvenation (unless you breed, but I consider Dufaux to be unbreedable), and therefore I cannot change my IVs during the run. I am not allowed to modify my Pokemon if I do not have access to any of the above features. For example, at Blacksteeple, I cannot access the Move Relearner, so I will not be relearning old moves. Again, the whole point of all of this is that I cannot modify my Pokemon in ways that are not possible.

 

Debug

Spoiler

Obviously, I had to use debug to get this Pokemon in the first place. Otherwise, I will not be using Debug to gain an unfair advantage. I will only be debugging:

 

• The Itemfinder at the beginning of the game (the Item Guide says where every item is anyway – all this does is save me time)
• Max Repels (you get a Smoke Ball at the beginning of the game anyway)
  • I am not allowed to sell these Max Repels for money
• Golden Items
  • This is related to my point earlier about not buying Rare Candies from the AP shop. Because I’m not allowed to catch any Pokemon, tons of achievements are not obtainable. However, I need a lot of AP to get all of the necessary Golden Items to progress through the game. To get around this, I decided to debug myself the Golden Items and then disallow use of the AP shop.
• I will debug myself anything necessary to progress through the story, but will only use it for that.
  • I think the only time I had to do this was giving myself a full team of Level 1s so that I was allowed to participate in the GDC Tournament (you need a team of 6).

 

 

Moveset

Spoiler

Here is the main moveset that was used throughout the game. On certain boss fights, using the move relearner, a move tutor, or teaching a TM was required/very helpful of course, but this was the moveset for most fights:

 

• Dazzling Gleam (The best available Fairy STAB, fairly strong, hitting both opponents and having benefits in lots of different fields are massive bonuses)
• Hidden Power Electric (The best available Electric STAB as Dufaux can't learn any better Electric move for most of the game)
• Blizzard (Ice STAB when Dufaux changes forms, and completes boltbeam coverage even when Dufaux isn’t Ice type yet. Hitting both opponents is fantastic, but importantly, it changes tons of fields which allowed me to win many boss fights)
• Substitute (Mainly for protection against status, as Dufaux doesn’t really have/need more coverage. Also Dufaux can’t really boost, so this is the best option most of the time)

 

Starting at Ren5, my main moveset was Dazzling Gleam, Blizzard, Will-o-Wisp, Hex due to HP Electric being poor on Desert Field, and Wisp helping against Ren’s Scizor and the GDC Tournament guy who uses Level 1s with Endeavor.

 

Major boss fights and how they were beaten

Spoiler

As I was going through the game, I jotted down notes about how I had to win the most challenging fights for Dufaux. If a fight is in regular-colored text, it means that it was a difficult fight, but not overbearing. If a fight is in red text, it means that fight was incredibly tough. If a fight is not listed here, it's because it was very easy and probably beaten in one try, maybe a couple tries at most.

 

Chapters 1-6

Pretty much every fight in the first 6 chapters was a breeze due to my ridiculous stats, ability, and moves. There were a couple fights that took a few tries, but once I saw how the battle would play out, I would be able to easily select the right held item and sequence of moves to win.

 

Chapter 7

Angie: Suddenly, it turned up to 100. The correct setup and sequence of moves were difficult to find. Had 52 Speed EVs to outspeed Slush Rush Beartic once I was in my second form. At the start, had to not get high rolls on Rotom and had to not get low rolls on Mamoswine such that only the Mamoswine would die to 2 Dazzling Gleams, at which point Angie healed the Rotom. Then, had to crit the Ninetales so it wouldn’t set up Veil, or had to crit the Walrein on any of 3 different attacks through the Veil. All the while, had to not get haxed (such as crit, Blizzard frozen, Icicle Crash flinched, etc.). Sitrus Berry allowed me to barely survive long enough.

 

Chapter 8

G/Z: Used a Telluric Seed for the Defense boost. After taking out the first couple mons with Dazzling Gleam and chipping the Typhlosion, I began to spam Blizzard to go from Volcanic Top -> Mountain -> Snowy Mountain. By this point I had taken enough damage to transform, and Blizzard OHKOs everything on Snowy Mountain. From here, I just needed to get decent luck with misses and the AI on all sides and all that.
 

Amber: Found the right sequence, including abusing her taking turns to use potions, to have exactly the right timing of Hex going off, me changing forms, and getting 2 consecutive Blizzards off so I could get the field to Snowy Mountain before Magma Drift turned it back into Volcano Top. Used Icicle Plate. Had to hit 3 consecutive Blizzards, get a 62.5% roll on Blizzard to OHKO Incineroar, and get a 93.8% roll on Arcanine to OHKO it with Ice Beam, adding up to a 20.1% chance for me to win. I actually had to not get a crit either in the first few turns for the sequence. Interestingly, I beat this Fire gym using only Fairy and Ice moves.

 

Chapter 9

Rift Garbodor: Had to freeze with Ice Beam/Blizzard, and then have it stay frozen for long enough to KO it. This was the only way Dufaux could beat it and it required insane luck.

 

Amanda3: Had to have the right sequence of events in terms of sending her Pokemon out in the right order. Also had to not get poisoned by Poison Jab and had to hit Blizzard to simultaneously kill the Torkoal and Rhyperior in the sun. This fight was more brutal than it’s sounding – I almost made this fight a red one.

 

Chapters 10-12

Even though there are some traditionally tough fights in these chapters, none of them were issues. I did have to take full advantage of the fields in some of them, but the actual fights themselves took only a couple tries at most, often just one try.

 

Chapter 13

Angel of Death (Phase 1): Going into this, used the move relearner to learn Switcheroo so I could give the Gardevoir Black Sludge. This was pretty much necessary due to it being many times more specially bulky than Blissey – even a crit, Frozen Dimensional Field-boosted Blizzard would do about half. There are wild Delcatty, so went into the battle already asleep (but about to wake up next turn) so that the Ralts couldn’t put me to sleep. Then, I froze Gardevoir with Blizzard, also changing it to Frozen Dimensional Field. For some reason, Gardevoir switched even though the Kirlia used Aromatherapy the turn before, so against two Kirlia I barely had enough HP to set up a sub, as they took multiple turns to break it. All the while, I needed decent luck with Blizzard hitting, and I OHKO’d the first Ralts with Blizzard, which was a roll in my favor but still a roll. If all of this didn’t go right, I don’t think I would have won.

 

Angel of Death (Phase 2): Good thing I saved during the cutscene. Needed to not stay asleep for too long and needed the Ralts to not use Nightmare. This took more tries than it felt like it should have.  

 

Adam: Needed to not miss any attacks (several Wisps and one Blizzard, even though I had Wide Lens) and also probably not get bad rolls/haxed because I won the fight on 11 HP.

 

Chapter 14

Lorna: Used Magical Seed, so had to not get bad confusion hax. Set up a sub turn 1, and the Vivillon uselessly spammed Rage Power as I kept using Dazzling Gleam. With Sub, Wisp, the residual Hexes, and a couple of attacks, I was able to stall out the Trick Room and take out Solrock before it could set up another one. From there, I just had to hit Blizzard to win. This was a fight where the sequences of so many events lined up right, but it wasn’t overly difficult to get to this situation, hence this fight not being red.

 

Ryland: The setup and sequence were a bit tricky to find. My set was Blizzard, Hail, Substitute (never had to use 4^th move but it was Hex and could’ve come into play depending on the sequence) with Weakness Policy. Nidoqueen procced WP as I used Hail, which was necessary to destroy the harsh sandstorm. Then, I subbed and due to all the various damage I had been taking, barely got below half. On the Torterra, it used Arenite Wall first turn, and on the second turn, I froze it with Blizzard. Hail ran out on this turn, and it stayed frozen on this turn so I could set the hail back up. Having a sub up was necessary to survive a hit from Excadrill. From here I swept with Blizzard. In hindsight I probably should’ve kept attacking as that was the safer option. This could have played out a few ways but regardless I needed the right setup and amazing luck.

 

Isha was very easy with Synthetic Seed, Dazzling Gleam, Shadow Ball, Thunderbolt, and Sub. Just listing it here because completing this battle marks the completion of the run!

(Yes, as you can tell from Isha's dialogue, I did choose to free Giratina, but it wouldn't have mattered becuase Blizzard OHKOs it, so either way this fight is very easy.)

 

Attempts with other Pokemon

Spoiler

Dufaux was not the first Pokemon I tried this with - I've been grinding this for a while. Here are my previous attempts:

 

Arceus: The first thing I tried was to see if any official Pokemon could do it, and Arceus seemed like the best choice because you can change its type to whatever you want using plates. However, as I mentioned, this quickly fell flat - Arceus is nowhere near good enough. Its main problem is that it's not strong enough - both Swords Dance and Calm Mind TMs are unavailable, so Arceus can't boost and doesn't have enough power to break through the harder fights. Arceus got destroyed so pathetically that I resorted to using the broken Rejuvenation-specific alternate forms, as this was the point I realized that almost certainly none of the official Pokemon can do it. Considering how I barely pulled it off with something as broken as Dufaux, I am pretty sure I'm right about this.

 

Kowapudunga: I tried using the behemoth that is the base 800 HP Wailord, and all of its other stats aside HP are boosted compared to a regular Wailord as well. Despite this thing having off-the-charts bulk, it could not reasonably get past the Rift Carnivine fight. I believe I mapped out a way to win, but it would require luck that has somewhere in the order of magnitude of 1/10000 chance to win. At that point, I just called the run off rather than suffer through that.

 

Goomink & Delpha: Not exactly a true solo run, but I might as well mention that I tried doing a Goomink & Delpha only run. It's a really cool theme! Unfortunately, it is impossible for this duo to beat Rift Carnivine, as the moves Goomink knows during his actual quest are Leaf Blade, Sacred Sword, and Thousand Arrows. At this point you really only have the Frustration TM to use, and thus Goomink is completely walled by the Ghost/Grass Tangrowths. You could argue that Goomink would probably be able to know Night Slash and give it to him, but I didn't want to jump down that rabbit hole.

 

Rift Aelita (I got so close!)

Spoiler

Here are Rift Aelita's characteristics:

• Type: Rock/Fighting
• Ability: Savagery (+1 Atk & SpA when health drops below every 20% threshold)
• Base Stats: 150 HP / 190 Atk / 105 Def / 105 SpA / 250 SpD / 200 Spe

 

Like Dufaux and Eternamax Eternatus, Rift Aelita is stupidly overpowered, largely in part to its ability. I got so close to completing the run, but like Kowapudunga, I ran into a fight near the very end which required unreasonable luck to win. For this run, I gave myself the ability to learn Rock Slide and Gunk Shot, as those were moves that Rift Aelita has in her actual fight, and as you can imagine, Rock Slide is what allowed the run to get as far as it did. 

 

When I was jotting down notes, I noted every fight. The easy ones were a super brief couple-word note, but warning, the following is long. Bold fights were hard, and Bold red fights were excruciatingly hard. Unbolded fights were easy.

Spoiler

Chapter 1

Melia1, Zetta1, RiftGyara1, and Venam’s gym were free due to how high my stats are, and I have Rock Throw + Bulldoze for good coverage.

 

Chapter 2

Pulse Musharna was free due to me being able to Sub and give myself safe Savagery boosts. Nim1 wasn’t bad, just had to make sure to target the right Pokemon. Zetta2 was free and so was Rift Galvantula due to Bulldoze.

Keta1: Had to burn a Telluric Seed. For some reason, after the first turn, Breloom didn’t Mach Punch me. Then, Hariyama got a fortunate high roll, bringing me barely below 40% so I got +3 in Attack rather than +2. This extra boost allowed me to kill the Throh with Bulldoze.

Madelis1: Not too bad. Sub may have prompted Mewtwo to go after Keta’s Pokemon. Once the AI did that, it was easy to win.

Rift Volcanion was free. Keta2 wasn’t hard either.

 

Chapter 3

Amanda2 and RorimB1 were free. Marianette was also free with help from Sub.

 

Chapter 4

Aelita1 was free because Gligar’s Bulldoze doesn’t break my Sub.

Eli&Sharon1: As long as I didn’t miss Rock Slides, I was fine due to Sub, but this fight could’ve gone wrong pretty easily.

Geara1: Had to intentionally let myself get down to red health to get +4 Attack from Savagery, but that wasn’t hard to do with how much damage they were doing + Sub. Then, I had to not miss Rock Slides and either flinch or crit the Giratina.

Ren3: Had to have Sableye miss a 90% accurate Will-o-Wisp on the first turn. Then I had to not miss Rock Slide against Arcanine and Greninja.

Narcissa: Had to flinch or crit the Dusclops, and had to hit about 8 rock slides in a row.

 

Chapter 5

Pokegang: Had to get to low health to get sufficient boosts and not miss several Rock Slides.

Nim2: I got 4 rock slide flinches that all were necessary, and I didn’t miss ~10 Rock Slides to win on the first try. I forgot to give myself a second Pokemon which might have affected things but either way I think I would have had to get very lucky to win this fight.

Madelis2 was very easy, especially with the Cave boost, just had to not get unlucky. Neved was not hard either due to how broken Rock Slide is. For Melia2, had to put an Earth Plate on and get to a specific amount of health so I would be at +3 but not in range of Shadow Sneak, but this was easy all-around. Sam&Alex1 weren’t hard, just had to not get unlucky.

Valarie: Burned 3 Rare Candies so I could learn Stone Edge. Had to adjust EVs to 252 HP and Defense to live Floatzel’s hit. Had to crit or get a decent roll on Stone Edge vs Quilfish, then hit one Stone Edge and 4 Rock Slides after.

 

Chapter 6

Geara2: Had to remove Stone Edge for Sub. Got a Flinch with Rock Slide on Masquerain, which might have been required but that’s not hard to get. From there just used Sub appropriately and didn’t miss Rock Slides.

Rift Carnivine: Surprisingly, Rock Slide spam worked. I might have gotten one crit, but I think a flinch would have worked as well. Had to not get crit and had to make sure they attacked instead of statused.

Zetta3 was completely free. RorimB2 was easy because they couldn’t do much damage to me and I just had to not miss a couple times. Ren4 was an easy sweep after I let the Cacturne hit me to get boosts.

Crawli: Needed 72 Attack EVs to KO the Scizor with +2 Rock Slide, then maxed out Defense due to Scizor having Telluric Seed. Also, set my health going into the fight such that I would, by 1 HP, get a +2 boost (as opposed to a +1 boost) after using Substitute, but still be at enough health to barely live Scizor’s +1 Bullet Punch. After that, it was just about not getting crit or missing.

 

Chapter 7

Sharpedo Gang: Had to flinch twice and hit 6 Rock Slides, slightly less than a 5% chance

Sam&Alex2: Had to flinch Machamp and not get bad rolls on their priority attacks, or miss of course.

Venam&Saki: Actually not bad. Meganium helped and once I got to +2 I was able to mow through their teams and even get a sub up. Might have gotten slightly lucky though.

Madelix&Bartz: Not too bad, just had to not get unfortunate after a while.

It feels weird not to be bolding a historically tough gym leader, but Angie was free because I’m Jolly – I won on the first try and I even missed a Rock Slide vs Rotom.

 

Chapter 8

Aelita2 was easy, and so were the Kingdra Statues. Groudon was free due to Sub/Poison stalling. Kyogre was too with the same method. Giratina wasn’t bad, just had to get one flinch.

G/Z: It didn’t take me an absurd number of attempts, but I think I got really lucky on my successful attempt in terms of AI stupidity. They kept targeting Melia, and this was the only attempt where on Turn 1, Zetta spent the turn using Silvally Crest. I had to hit Zap Cannon on Gyarados. Maybe I got one Rock Slide flinch? And I don’t think I missed Rock Slide. Overall, the AI switched once when they didn’t need to, kept targeting Melia when they could’ve hit me, and could’ve sent out their Pokemon in a better order.

Amber: Not bad. Had to not miss too many Zap Cannons vs Chandelure. Once I got to low HP I swept with Fist Plate Brick Break.

 

Chapter 9

Rift Garbodor wasn’t bad due to Sub and Bulldoze, and Drain Punch not breaking my Sub.

Amanda3: Taught Return so I could target the not-Torkoal, as keeping Torkoal alive helped me due to how little damage it was doing to me. After coming up with this strategy, just had to flinch one Rock Slide.

Erick: Had to have pre-set Sleep going into the battle so I wouldn’t get paralyzed by Raichu’s Thunder Pulse. Had to either flinch Magnezone or have it miss with Thunder Pulse. Ampharos set up Electric Terrain, and I was able to Sub-stall Tailwind because amazingly, Electric Terrain-boosted Thunder Pulse didn’t break my sub.  

 

Chapter 10

Spelunker bot was easy but then again it kept targeting my ally with attacks.

Flora: Had to have 12 Speed EVs to outspeed Ludicolo in rain, and had to hold a Chesto Berry. Had to get a max roll, flinch, or crit on Whimsicott, then had to crit/flinch Mega Venusaur or, what happened in my win was the Shiinotic kept clicking Strength Sap against my Sub, so I was able to have a Sub up against the Mega Venusaur allowing me not to have to crit/flinch it.

 

Chapter 11

Venam3: Had to not have Cursed Body proc. Otherwise just had to not get the usual bad luck – taught Return for the fight just so I could take out troublesome Venusaur.

Zetta5 was pretty free.

Puppetmasters: Had to nearly max out my Speed to outspeed Telepathy Gardevoir. This fight wasn’t bad. Just kind of had to get a decent sequence going, like avoiding Metagross + Bronzong out simultaneously, having them not attack me too much, etc. Wasn’t really a formula, just had to have the battle play out decently.

 

Chapter 12

Vivian was completely free, made even easier by getting a free Sub vs Ttar. Valarie2 was also free – it helped that Toxicroak kept going for Sucker Punch even though it had a Sash. And so was Kenneth, with the usual “Sub while they use a status move” thing on Roserade.

Again, it feels weird to not be bolding a typically difficult fight, but Souta was free. Hawlucha’s Sky Attack almost never kills and instead brings me into +4 boost range, and I OHKO it and everything else with Return/Ice Punch. All I had to do was give it an Elemental Seed myself (and change to Adamant because I finally have access to the nature changer and I don’t need Jolly for now).

Code: Bella: How perfect that this fight happens to be an intense fight! Had to flinch the first Golem with Rock Slide so it couldn’t Superpower, bringing it in range of my Drain Punch. Florges used Protect which bought me enough time to kill Rift Aelita. And on one turn, one of the Psycho Boost Golems attacked Florges instead of me (when I was almost dead), allowing me to win.

 

Chapter 13

Huey was free but I had to burn a Magical Seed to reverse the Trick Room. Reina was free as long as I flinched the Ribombee and that’s all.

Angel of Death (Phase 1): Equipped a Chesto Berry and had Gunk Shot over Ice Punch. If I didn’t have Gunk Shot, this fight would require near-lottery odds to win. Allocated Speed EVs to outspeed Angelus by 1. Set HP going into the battle such that after a Sub, I would, by 1 HP, get a +2 Savagery Boost. Had to hit and poison Gunk Shot, and then on the next turn, had to flinch with Rock Slide, which comes out to a 6.5% chance. After that, it was a matter of subbing up one more time to get to a +4 boost and hitting all my Rock Slides. The Eviolite Ralts lives a +4 Rock Slide, but I flinched it. After getting the 6.5% luck, I didn’t have to get extremely lucky to win, but I had to not get slightly bad luck, as I could’ve missed Rock Slides, or Heal Block could’ve killed me after a few turns due to the field.

Angel of Death (Phase 2): She outspeeds me but targeted Ren with Lovely Kiss turn 1, so I was able to get a sub up. It didn’t matter because I had my Chesto Berry from the last phase, but only because I got lucky, but normally I don’t think I would have a Chesto Berry. Anyway, from there it was not bad as long as they kept targeting Ren, just had to not get terrible luck.

Ren5: Taught Fire Punch and gave Sitrus Berry. Kept Gunk Shot for Silvally-Fairy. Most of this was finding the setup and sequence to go through, but after that the actual fight wasn’t bad, just had to not miss a few moves.

Huey was free. After this, changed nature to Jolly for Ryland’s Excadrill, as I would be losing access to GDC after the next fight.

Adam: Not bad. Had to have either Gigalith or Terrakion miss Stone Edge, or flinch Terrakion. After that just had to not miss a few times.

 

Chapter 14

THE RUN ENDER (LORNA): I think the run is over because it appears you need unreasonable luck to win.

First of all, you have to go into the fight fully healed because in the cutscene, Audino heals you and then you immediately go into the fight. Therefore I can’t start the battle at a low amount of health to get a massive Savagery boost.

Here’s the closest I got:

She leads with Friend Guard/Sash/Sleep Powder Vivillon, and physically defensive Trick Room Screens Aromatisse. The Aromatisse always uses Trick Room on the first turn against me, and if that happens I auto-lose. So, on the first turn I have to Rock Slide flinch the Aromatisse, then use Gunk Shot on the next turn to KO it. This entire sequence thus far has around a 10% chance of happening because I need decent rolls to kill the Aromatisse.

Then, she sends out LunatoneSolrock fusion, and Vivillon is at 1 HP. She switches Vivillon out for Marowak. But, the LunatoneSolrock has Trick Room also, so I have to prevent that from using it as well. But since the Marowak is out and OHKOs me with Bonemerang, and Iron Head doesn’t 2HKO LunatoneSolrock, I need to have Marowak miss Bonemerang at least twice as I KO the LunatoneSolrock. Or instead of Iron Head, I could simultaneously flinch both of them down which is also stupidly unlikely. This sequence is even less likely, and combined with the earlier sequence, puts me at less than a 0.1% chance. And even if all of this happens, I still might have to get additional luck to win, as there’s a Psychic/Will-o-Wisp Crest Darmanitan and Psyshock Sylveon still in the back.

,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

Another possibility is using Ice Punch instead, and freezing the Aromatisse Turn 1. Then it has to stay frozen (or flinch if it defrosts) as I either freeze or flinch down the LunatoneSolrock. But Rock Slide is pretty much a 5HKO, so essentially, I need to freeze the LunatoneSolrock as well, and have both it and Aromatisse stay frozen as I take multiple turns to kill them. The rest of the fight probably won’t be as bad but I will almost certainly still need a little luck, and that’s not including the default Rock Slide misses. So, with this method, my chances of winning are also under 0.1% (as I need two first-try freezes with in itself is a 1% chance).

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Regirock also learns Zap Cannon and Dynamicpunch, but with those moves being 50% accurate, and there only being a 25% chance to full-para and a 33% chance to hit in confusion, this seems as unlikely or even less likely to work because I need them to not only hit multiple times, but also proc many times in a row.

Maybe there’s some other way, but it seems unlikely that there is. The run was so close to happening, only to trip up right before the finish line. And what’s even worse is that I am almost certain I can reasonably beat Adam, as Jolly outspeeds Sand Rush Excadrill. Oh well.

 

 

Rift Ferrothorn and Rift Gardevoir might also be able to complete a true Intense solo run, though I'm not sure. I've done more than enough of these runs and will allow someone else to try them if they'd like.

 

 

• Thank you to Moto for providing me with a modified Scripts file that caused Dufaux to not revert back to a regular Froslass after every battle, but to Form 1 instead! This happens because Dufaux (and others) are coded as Mega Evolutions. This saved me tons of headache and time. 
• Thank you to Falirion for creating tons of resources such as the Intense Teams List, bouncing ideas off of, and also coming up with the clever strategy of going into the fight asleep so that I couldn't be statused on the first turn.
• And thanks to all the Rejuvenation devs! I wouldn't have done all of these attempts if I didn't enjoy the game so much. Overall, despite this being a gruesome endeavor, it was a lot of fun!

Edited September 2 by MattL