I'm glad to see MDB keeping to his roots of not giving himself advantages, and keeping the Rivalry ability...but also, I don't think anyone would have begrudged resetting until getting Intimidate.
@@caylacomix it would more than pay off with being able to win on earlier levels, not needing to heal as often, and being able to go farther. Probably would still lose to Cynthia without HP Ice but I respect the no Hidden Power clause
Yeah, I was also iffy on Byron, just because I have the experience of soloing most of the game with my jolly intimidate luxray as a kid. Byron was tough with a luxray, so I wasn't sure how well shinx would do and I was expecting Bertha to be the wall that the run ended to, unless something like hidden power and some nieche item pulled through.
"but he has a Quagmire" Quagmire: Giggity! Also I love how he kept referencing the Steel Gym and Cynthia's Garchomp, always forgetting Bertha exists until the very end xD Yo, I wouldn't mind listening to you talk about coffee! I just like your energy, vibe, and voice lol
"Knock out two Pidgey with one Rock Throw" Goodness I love you MDB xD Have always loved Shinx and the evolution line! Disappointing that Shinx wasn't strong enough. Great video man!
Missing out on Natural Gift strats - definitely should be using ice natural gift to beat Torterra, should be useful with other types for Steelix and other walls too. Need to look at less-commonly used moves to ease up on the grind Also - Magnet Rise move tutor probably can make bertha doable.
Wouldn't Natural gift be just one time use though. He still gets hard walled at Bertha regardless, even with Magnet rise. The only way he wins the run is if he ends up with Hidden Power Ice/ Water
Bertha still has quite a lot of type coverage in her moves. Shinx would need to survive those and knockout bertha’s Pokémon before the damage piles up.
I would suggest getting the held item Metronome. You can get them from Kricketots in the beginning of the game. It makes moves used over again stronger with each use. It would help with the grinds and those pesky damage ranges if one move works on certain Pokémon that give you a hard time. Might help on the next Platinum run.
When he said: "Have we ever needed level 90 by gym 6?" I kinda realized how big of a differenece the right nature, IV, EV and ability would have made at this point 🤔
You doomed this challenge the moment you got Rivalry as an ability... but even with Intimidate, I don't think you would've made it past Bertha, unless you got a good Hidden Power.
Shinx can also learn Magnet Rise via the Move Tutor in Snowpoint City. MDB could look up for shards in the underground and then teach Shinx the move in order to avoid the ubiquitous late game Earthquake. Shame Ice Fang is an egg move, but he could manipulate Shinx's IVs to get Hidden Power Ice, a good nature and Intimidate as an ability (Rivalry is terrible). Still, I wonder if a Shinx with Thunderbolt, Return, HP Ice and Magnet Rise can beat the game.
I would’ve tried to reset for a intimidate shinx in all honesty. Even if it’s only the lead Pokémon that gets the attack drop that at least allows you to do more damage consistently not only that but rivalry is one of the worst abilities in Pokémon history. Upon finishing this video You should’ve done intimidate you would just take less damage in the beginning. And Cynthia’s lucario is always male. Same with Maylene. Those double battles would’ve been better too intimidate hits both lead Pokémon. Resetting for the intimidate would’ve taken way less time than the amount of resets you had on Byron.
I dont think the amount of time is the reason he doesn't reset for abilities its more of a self imposed challenge to not reset to get the perfect optimal pokemon for every challenge. Thats my take on it anyway, but I agree with you fully
@@dollenrm I think this is impossible without the prefect shinx with ice fang if he fail the run he should try again with the prefect Pokémon to see if it’s possible
@@dolphin_fed743 nah he doesn't need to redo it with the perfect shinx that's a waste of time and a second video on the same exact mon/game would perform badly for the amount of time and frustration he'd need to put in. Just next time if this situation arises he should let himself get the better ability and possibly nature
@@dollenrm I also think that you could have a bad nature and intimidate. Or poor Ivs wouldn’t be optimal. But investing in EV training and not giving yourself an insane disadvantage with the ability paired with the gender made it not possible off the bat honestly.
“Good news is that Earthquake doesn’t one shot us… bad news is that it two shots us” is probably one of my favorites lines from MDB and idk why, that was so funny to me lol
I remember recommending this challenge a few years back! I'm looking forward to seeing this run! Fun fact- I've beaten Platinum with a mono-electric team, but I did evolve my Pokemon. Magnezone, Jolteon, Rotom, Luxray, Pachirisu, and Electevire. One of my favorite teams to date.
So I used a stat calculator and unfortunately due to w/e reasons, it couldn't determine the exact IVs for Shinx but heres what I got. Level 100 Shinx, no clue how formatting will look below: Base Stats EV Range Possible IVs Actual Stat HP 45 200-231 Invalid Value 246 ATK 65 135-166 26 161 DEF 34 73-104 Invalid Value 109 SP. ATK+ 40 93-127 Invalid Value 154 SP. DEF 34 73-104 17 90 SPD- 45 85-113 31 113 Total 263 --- 74 So, with that, the funny thing is that you had MAX Speed IVs but a speed lowering nature and a decent attack IV still. If you look at what Shinx's base stat range should be at level 100 (depending on IVS, EVS and Nature) its: HP: 45 200 - 294 Attack: 65 121 - 251 Defense: 34 65 - 183 Sp. Atk: 40 76 - 196 Sp. Def:34 65 - 183 Speed:45 85 - 207 You can see that your HP was very high, whether that was EVs or your IVS, not sure. Your ATK, despite your good IVs must have not received enough EVs during the run. Your DEF & SpDef were middling so not the worse. Your SpA wasn't too far off its max potential of 196 from your 154, it would needed another 168 SpA EVS and you could've maxed that. Lastly, without being able to know the rest of your IVs that aren't invalid, we can't determine your Hidden Power or what its Base Power would have been, but Shinx would have benefitted from it since its a SpA move.
What’s frustrating about the Shinx line is they have a really good coverage move that is super-effective against grass and ground (which gave the most trouble) in Ice Fang, but it’s unavailable in a run like this since it’s only obtainable as an egg move.
So don't forget to make training go faster try any fight at levels that end in 0, 3, 5, or 8. Thanks to how the damage calculations work these levels give you a significant boost in damage compared to any other level up.
Hey MDB, just wanted to say that it might be a good idea to manipulate natures, IVs and abilities of the pokemon you're using on the challenge so that it doesn't get impossible like that (maybe just reset a few times until you get an optimal one) EV training might be a decent idea in some cases too Btw, great video! I love shinx 🥺
This challenge is definitely doable with optimized stats, specifically to get HP-Ice for Cynthia's Garchomp. Although HP-Grass would be even better for Bertha, and Garchomp could crumple to a Pomeg Berry fueled Natural Gift instead. Even without one-shots, There's also the option of Magnet Rise to negate all those pesky ground moves. With a bit of research, there are probably even more potential routes to victory. It's just not the kind of challenge that can be brute forced without a plan.
Nice to see a Shinx run. Shinx is a cool pokemon. 3 minutes in and I am already thinking you should’ve rerolled to get a Shinx with Intimidate. Rivalry is horrible.
Hey MDB!!! I'm not sure you'll ever read this, but you are amazing and an inspiration!!! One of my favorite Pokemon is buizel. Maybe someday you can do a solo run with it. Maybe platinum? Anyways, I always appreciate your jovial spirit and bright cheery commentary! Thank you for being such an awesome person! I really appreciate your time! Have a great day!!!
On our way through, I prompted this video’s sponsor. I knew if I didn’t say what I did, you’d all ask. Actually, now that I think about it, everyone ask anyway. Comments are good for the RUclips algorithm.
The fact that this run was worse than the Ledyba one was insane. I had no clue Shinx was THAT weak. Still, you are a legend for trying this. I don't even think this run would easy with a Luxray.
Waited for the updates vid to say this: How absolutely brutal! And there isn't even much that could help. Intimidate instead of rivalry would've helped, and maybe a speed positive nature but that's rng that could screw you over with IVs. I also thought Shinx got all the Fang moves but I guess that's a gen 5 or 6 addition. It's also crazy how anti-electric gen 4 is, everyone talks about how anti-fire it is but this has opened my eyes to such a disparity
There should be a caveat that if you can’t beat a challenge at level 100, you try to evolve the Pokémon by using a save at level 99 (or 98) and topping off with rare candy, to see if your evolved Pokémon can actually win if the 1st forms can’t pull through.
I think this run is definitely possible, but you’d definitely need some combination of, a good nature (probably jolly), ice fang (egg move), perfect iv’s, careful ev training, and intimidate (because it’s not rivalry). Of all of those ice fang is probably the most important, with not rivalry being a relatively close second. That said, still a fun run to listen to:)
How could you justify giving Shinx an egg move? I think a favorable hidden power makes more sense. Regardless, I think it would have been possible in his current situation with the power of a billion double teams.
Tested it myself over the past few days. With a fully optimized Shinx at max level and using Hidden Power Ice the Elite Four was an effortless OHKO sweep. With strategy and planning It's probably possible to clutch a victory 10-20 levels lower. Hidden Power Grass would be even better against Bertha, and Pomeg fueled Natural gift can handle most Ice type needs. Not to mention Magnet Rise for evading that pesky ground weakness.
I feel like the only win condition is to do Toxic Stalling with Double Team and Attract for all the Male Pokémon in the run. It sounds as boring as it probably would be but it’s still (probably) possible. The only other option would be to allow you to bread Ice Fang down onto a Shinx and use that for the rest of the run. Good video and can’t wait for that Bethesda.
I don't think you necessarily need to reset for perfect IVs, but I don't think anybody is going to dog you for resetting for a good ability or nature. Great work MDB!
I had to test for myself, but can confirm that an optimized Shinx crushes this challenge. One-shot sweep through the entire Elite Four at max level. With good strategy and a little luck probably possible in low 90s or high 80s.
I really enjoyed this video. It's rare to see a fair but not for the want of trying! No one wants to grind for weeks to finish a challenge, I reckon you'd not want to look at Pokémon for a month after that kind of commitment, even with perfect health. Funny to see if Trapinch would end the same way, more attack and better nature but worse other stats. Don't think I've seen a Trapinch video
I was doing a buneary run in platinum(or pearl I forget) and was getting roadblocked by Wake thanks to intimidate us down pretty fast. Took me a while to remember I had picked up the Shockwave tm since bunearys are more physical than special but a 4x effective move that ignores the intimidate drop was a godsend. I never finished the run because I got bored and forgot about it. Just a random story I remembered when you mentioned using thunderbolt despite shinx's lower special attack.
i think intimidate with adamant/jolly nature makes the run "possible". the 25% increase in damage against males would have made the steel gym significantly easier. also you would be able to eventually get magnet rise move tutor. Still this run seems insanely hard.
With a random Shinx, yes, it is insanely hard. Optimized for a good Hidden Power though and it becomes not only possible, but almost effortlessly easy.
I like to make predictions for how I imagine runs will go, and this one in particular made my brain click and recall an old let's play I watched and now I'm very emotional going down memory lane instead of trying to think of the challenge.
It's such a minor thing, but I am surprised you chose Thunder Fang over Spark. I guess the flinch chance was worth the drop in accuracy and paralysis chance to you, which is valid. It's honestly not a huge difference either way, I just favor Spark, myself for those factors and PP. Still, flinch is a very useful effect, especially if they already are paralyzed.
Intimidate allows swagger to be a viable option for confusing enemies. This run was doomed just because of his ability. I think with enough tries and a level 100 he stood a better chance to make it to the end
I generally only watch Kanto and Johto videos, but I absolutely love Shinx so I had to watch this. I’ve been playing a D&D-like Pokémon RPG and chose Shinx as my starter. I commissioned “me+realistic Pokémon” artwork and Luxray was one of the Pokémon in it. I’m getting one for my cat too and Shinx will be in that one.
The Shinx line is honestly one of my favorite Electric-types in the entire franchise. Can't quite explain why that is, maybe design of the line. Used one in Diamond that actually had Rivalry and it got into the Hall of Fame. Intending to use one in BD, LA, and I have one on my Scarlet team with an Ice Tera-type. Honestly never knew the line was a physical attacker in spite of using it so often all these years.
Honestly I think, even if you could have atleast resetted for intimidate (being maybe the biggest help you could have had on the whole run), you SHOULD have EV trained your special attack or attack and speedknowing your movepool (and also cinsidering EV training is a flat base stat increase if i'm not wrong, so it has an even bigger impact on low stat pokemons)... I think it would have been a great help and made a huge difference for pokemons dying in more than 3 hits...
Oof that is rough! I still like Shinx but still, yikes! Oh and thank you for the coffee offer! No need to worry, I'm not a fan so even if I were somehow there, it wouldn't matter. So more coffee for you!
Shinx! The best Sinnoh boi! He's so cute, I couldn't resist putting one on my first team despite swearing to not use any of the "classic Sinnoh team members".
Doing Skyrim with an orc with the equipment and skill you see on the orc during the loading screen sometimes. So no magic, no shield, one handed, 2 axes light armor, smithing...
I wonder if you get a specific shinx with IVs to get you an ice type hidden power along with a special attack nature that doesn't hit you speed. Trying a special route might help in areas with ground types. Still enjoyed the video!
I wondered the same thing myself and tested it over the past couple days. Short answer, with HP-Ice and optimal EVs, a max level Shinx can OHKO sweep the entire Elite Four.
I remember taking this challenge on a couple of years ago and getting through the Elite 4 and even beating Cynthia. I guess Intimidate is just far better than Rivalry.
Yeah having intimidate would have helped. However, I don’t think it was possible. Bertha would have been too much. Also, even with an attack drop garchomp still hits hard. Shinx is just way too weak and its movepool sucks
A note about those level 100 stats: A level 100 Shinx with NO evs BUT 31 ivs across the board would be 231/166/104/127/104/113 with a quiet nature (compared to your actual Shinx, which was 246/161/109/154/90/113). I don't know where all your evs went, so I can't tell you exactly what ivs that Shinx had, but Attack, SpDef, and Speed particularly stick out here, being lower or equal to a zero ev perfect shinx.
Out of all the Pokémon runners, MDB has my favorite commentary. But about strategy, he has a lot of room for improvement… I also believe that he should restart until he has a decent starter.
Thanks for the offer MDB, I don't drink coffee but that's awfully nice of you. Tough run good attempt! I kept thinking the ground elite four was gonna be the wall on this one going in.
Shinx is the most adorable electric type so I forgive it for having a bad time (I always name mine Luna Luna - guess the reference). REALLY should have reset for Intimidate though. Re: why Bite/Crunch is dark: dark type moves are thematically supposed to be tricky or underhanded, like Sucker Punch, Beat Up and Foul Play. Biting somebody in a fight is pretty underhanded I'd say.
Let me make you smile bro. I m a shiny hunter and i m working on my black 2 file. Got a shiny Axew. Not only it has rivalry but a minus attack plus defence nature.
Honestly, this is one of the few runs I would like to see you redo. Why? Intimidate and a better nature. That MAY make this happen, but I have no idea.
The run would've required way more optimization than just nature and ability, i enjoy watching mdb but he's too casual with these runs to have been able to successfully beaten this particular challenge.
I agree with the other comments saying that Rivalry was hindering Shinx more than it was helping for most fights. The only other thing I can think of is maxing Shinx's IVs at the start bc that Shinx wasn't great all things considered. The challenge is going to be rough regardless of any Stat/Ability changes, but would love to see another attempt!
A suggestion for the future, if there's a single horrible roadblock such as Steelix in a fight the move Natural Gift can give you a single super-strong attack. I did a Jynx run and that was pretty much the only way I beat Aaron's Scizor. As for actually winning with Shinx... can't help you there, that pokemon is just horrific.
LOL "two pidgeys with one rock throw" has me rollin'. That was a good one! I really like shinx and luxray, so it was rough seeing this being so challenging. Thanks for making it fun tho :)
I would like to see you attempt this again with a different ability and a perfect IV spread. If that doesn't work perhaps at lv 98 or 99 you get to evolve the shinx.
Since you're taking the candy pill, I don't think many people would also object to you hacking in EV lowering berries and vitamins to correct your stats. It'd mostly be a small bump in power overall, but it's something to consider, especially since you could just farm these things normally.
If only Ice Fang wasn't an egg move... Also, I'm surprised you didn't reset at least once, because between its nature and ability you handicapped yourself with one of the worst Shinx you possibly could.
I dont remember but couldnt you have picked the hidden power HM before the first gym and restart for a hidden power ice? That would had made the rock gym pretty easy
I'm glad to see MDB keeping to his roots of not giving himself advantages, and keeping the Rivalry ability...but also, I don't think anyone would have begrudged resetting until getting Intimidate.
It’s weird since he used to reset for better natures or abilities in other runs
also if he had Intimidate it would make every wild encounter take a little extra time which would make grinding take longer
@@caylacomix it would more than pay off with being able to win on earlier levels, not needing to heal as often, and being able to go farther. Probably would still lose to Cynthia without HP Ice but I respect the no Hidden Power clause
@@goldkobold6496 He's only done that when he knew he needed it to even have a chance from the start.
i see no issue with him doing minor things to help that still keeping the challenge.
MDB saying Quagmire instead of Quagsire really threw me for a loop for a second. 😂
Came to the comments to see if anyone else mentioned that. Had to rewind and make sure I heard it right.
"Giggity Giggity, Alright."
I thought I misheard quagmire, thank goodness I’m not the only one
Who else but quagmire
i was laughing xD
If only ice fang wasnt a egg move
_(laughs in Gyarados)_
Lol
I mean, the rules don't say breeding for egg moves aren't allowed...
@@blinkspot2667 i think the rules kinda imply that ur only allowed to use the one shinx
@@blinkspot2667with only ONE shinx, can’t breed and get another shinx cause then that’s two
I find it funny that you kept brining up Cynthia's Garchomp, because the whole time I was just like "Bro, do you think you're getting past Bertha?" XD
Yeah, I was also iffy on Byron, just because I have the experience of soloing most of the game with my jolly intimidate luxray as a kid. Byron was tough with a luxray, so I wasn't sure how well shinx would do and I was expecting Bertha to be the wall that the run ended to, unless something like hidden power and some nieche item pulled through.
Yeah, he was absolutely not prepared for Bertha, although she's manageable with Magnet Rise starts, or even downright easy with Hidden Power Ice.
"but he has a Quagmire"
Quagmire: Giggity!
Also I love how he kept referencing the Steel Gym and Cynthia's Garchomp, always forgetting Bertha exists until the very end xD
Yo, I wouldn't mind listening to you talk about coffee! I just like your energy, vibe, and voice lol
"Knock out two Pidgey with one Rock Throw" Goodness I love you MDB xD Have always loved Shinx and the evolution line! Disappointing that Shinx wasn't strong enough. Great video man!
There is a Trick to do it. You see the trick is Big stone small birds.
Missing out on Natural Gift strats - definitely should be using ice natural gift to beat Torterra, should be useful with other types for Steelix and other walls too. Need to look at less-commonly used moves to ease up on the grind
Also - Magnet Rise move tutor probably can make bertha doable.
Wouldn't Natural gift be just one time use though. He still gets hard walled at Bertha regardless, even with Magnet rise.
The only way he wins the run is if he ends up with Hidden Power Ice/ Water
Swagger+ magnet rise might do the trick
Natural Gift consumes the berry and with Shinx's stats it'd be pretty useless
You mean hidden power?
Bertha still has quite a lot of type coverage in her moves. Shinx would need to survive those and knockout bertha’s Pokémon before the damage piles up.
10:30 “ He’s got a Quagmire” Giggity
I would suggest getting the held item Metronome. You can get them from Kricketots in the beginning of the game. It makes moves used over again stronger with each use. It would help with the grinds and those pesky damage ranges if one move works on certain Pokémon that give you a hard time. Might help on the next Platinum run.
'Faint two pidgeys with one rock throw' is something I want to adopt into my vernacular.
When he said: "Have we ever needed level 90 by gym 6?" I kinda realized how big of a differenece the right nature, IV, EV and ability would have made at this point 🤔
Can confirm, with optimized stats, I cleared the 6th gym at only around Lv.70
You doomed this challenge the moment you got Rivalry as an ability... but even with Intimidate, I don't think you would've made it past Bertha, unless you got a good Hidden Power.
i hate when top comments spoil the entire fucking video tbh can creators stop liking comments that spoil the video and putting them at the top
or just edit your comment like
spoiler!
and put the rest of it down here so it doesn't peak out and spoil the video for mobile users???
@@delta6704 why are you looking at the comments before watching the video? lmao
@@ColonelKoopa On mobile, the top comment is visible as soon as you load the page. 😭
Shinx can also learn Magnet Rise via the Move Tutor in Snowpoint City. MDB could look up for shards in the underground and then teach Shinx the move in order to avoid the ubiquitous late game Earthquake. Shame Ice Fang is an egg move, but he could manipulate Shinx's IVs to get Hidden Power Ice, a good nature and Intimidate as an ability (Rivalry is terrible). Still, I wonder if a Shinx with Thunderbolt, Return, HP Ice and Magnet Rise can beat the game.
Poor Shinx being done dirty with the bad ability challenge
I would’ve tried to reset for a intimidate shinx in all honesty. Even if it’s only the lead Pokémon that gets the attack drop that at least allows you to do more damage consistently not only that but rivalry is one of the worst abilities in Pokémon history. Upon finishing this video You should’ve done intimidate you would just take less damage in the beginning. And Cynthia’s lucario is always male. Same with Maylene. Those double battles would’ve been better too intimidate hits both lead Pokémon. Resetting for the intimidate would’ve taken way less time than the amount of resets you had on Byron.
I dont think the amount of time is the reason he doesn't reset for abilities its more of a self imposed challenge to not reset to get the perfect optimal pokemon for every challenge. Thats my take on it anyway, but I agree with you fully
@@dollenrm I think this is impossible without the prefect shinx with ice fang if he fail the run he should try again with the prefect Pokémon to see if it’s possible
@@dolphin_fed743 nah he doesn't need to redo it with the perfect shinx that's a waste of time and a second video on the same exact mon/game would perform badly for the amount of time and frustration he'd need to put in. Just next time if this situation arises he should let himself get the better ability and possibly nature
@@dolphin_fed743 all he needs is intimidate and maybe just maybe ice type hidden power. But it’s probably possible.
@@dollenrm I also think that you could have a bad nature and intimidate. Or poor Ivs wouldn’t be optimal. But investing in EV training and not giving yourself an insane disadvantage with the ability paired with the gender made it not possible off the bat honestly.
“Good news is that Earthquake doesn’t one shot us… bad news is that it two shots us” is probably one of my favorites lines from MDB and idk why, that was so funny to me lol
I remember recommending this challenge a few years back! I'm looking forward to seeing this run!
Fun fact- I've beaten Platinum with a mono-electric team, but I did evolve my Pokemon. Magnezone, Jolteon, Rotom, Luxray, Pachirisu, and Electevire. One of my favorite teams to date.
So I used a stat calculator and unfortunately due to w/e reasons, it couldn't determine the exact IVs for Shinx but heres what I got.
Level 100 Shinx, no clue how formatting will look below:
Base Stats EV Range Possible IVs Actual Stat
HP 45 200-231 Invalid Value 246
ATK 65 135-166 26 161
DEF 34 73-104 Invalid Value 109
SP. ATK+ 40 93-127 Invalid Value 154
SP. DEF 34 73-104 17 90
SPD- 45 85-113 31 113
Total 263 --- 74
So, with that, the funny thing is that you had MAX Speed IVs but a speed lowering nature and a decent attack IV still.
If you look at what Shinx's base stat range should be at level 100 (depending on IVS, EVS and Nature) its:
HP: 45 200 - 294
Attack: 65 121 - 251
Defense: 34 65 - 183
Sp. Atk: 40 76 - 196
Sp. Def:34 65 - 183
Speed:45 85 - 207
You can see that your HP was very high, whether that was EVs or your IVS, not sure. Your ATK, despite your good IVs must have not received enough EVs during the run. Your DEF & SpDef were middling so not the worse. Your SpA wasn't too far off its max potential of 196 from your 154, it would needed another 168 SpA EVS and you could've maxed that. Lastly, without being able to know the rest of your IVs that aren't invalid, we can't determine your Hidden Power or what its Base Power would have been, but Shinx would have benefitted from it since its a SpA move.
10:30 oh yeah Crasher Wake definitely has a Quagmire....giggitty
What’s frustrating about the Shinx line is they have a really good coverage move that is super-effective against grass and ground (which gave the most trouble) in Ice Fang, but it’s unavailable in a run like this since it’s only obtainable as an egg move.
Yeah, that is a real shame. Although with stat manipulation, Hidden Power Ice works almost as well.
I, too, love shorts. They’re comfy and easy to wear! 😂
9:15 Fainting two Pidgeys with one Rock Slide would make more sense, because it hits both opponents in double battles
So don't forget to make training go faster try any fight at levels that end in 0, 3, 5, or 8. Thanks to how the damage calculations work these levels give you a significant boost in damage compared to any other level up.
Probably should have restarted the run (at the beginning) till you had intimidate as your ability along with ev training.
10:30 He said Quagmire instead of Quagsire.
😂
Lol I noticed that too
😅 I can't unhear it he called Quagsire... Quagmire like the Pervert from Family Guy.
😂 MDB, bro I know you're Canadian but this is hilarious.
Hey MDB, just wanted to say that it might be a good idea to manipulate natures, IVs and abilities of the pokemon you're using on the challenge so that it doesn't get impossible like that (maybe just reset a few times until you get an optimal one)
EV training might be a decent idea in some cases too
Btw, great video! I love shinx 🥺
This challenge is definitely doable with optimized stats, specifically to get HP-Ice for Cynthia's Garchomp. Although HP-Grass would be even better for Bertha, and Garchomp could crumple to a Pomeg Berry fueled Natural Gift instead. Even without one-shots, There's also the option of Magnet Rise to negate all those pesky ground moves.
With a bit of research, there are probably even more potential routes to victory. It's just not the kind of challenge that can be brute forced without a plan.
@@EmeralBookwise Very true
Nice to see a Shinx run. Shinx is a cool pokemon.
3 minutes in and I am already thinking you should’ve rerolled to get a Shinx with Intimidate. Rivalry is horrible.
Hey MDB!!! I'm not sure you'll ever read this, but you are amazing and an inspiration!!!
One of my favorite Pokemon is buizel. Maybe someday you can do a solo run with it. Maybe platinum? Anyways, I always appreciate your jovial spirit and bright cheery commentary! Thank you for being such an awesome person! I really appreciate your time! Have a great day!!!
10:30 Giggidy
On our way through, I prompted this video’s sponsor. I knew if I didn’t say what I did, you’d all ask. Actually, now that I think about it, everyone ask anyway. Comments are good for the RUclips algorithm.
The fact that this run was worse than the Ledyba one was insane. I had no clue Shinx was THAT weak. Still, you are a legend for trying this. I don't even think this run would easy with a Luxray.
Waited for the updates vid to say this:
How absolutely brutal!
And there isn't even much that could help.
Intimidate instead of rivalry would've helped, and maybe a speed positive nature but that's rng that could screw you over with IVs. I also thought Shinx got all the Fang moves but I guess that's a gen 5 or 6 addition.
It's also crazy how anti-electric gen 4 is, everyone talks about how anti-fire it is but this has opened my eyes to such a disparity
There should be a caveat that if you can’t beat a challenge at level 100, you try to evolve the Pokémon by using a save at level 99 (or 98) and topping off with rare candy, to see if your evolved Pokémon can actually win if the 1st forms can’t pull through.
That'd be interesting. If Shinx couldn't do it, what about Luxio? Or Luxray?
Pretty sure most third form evolutions at level 100 could curb stomp the whole game
@@recodegamesstudio: Screw Evolution, all Shinx needs is a good Hidden Power and it can curb-stomp this challenge just fine itself.
I think this run is definitely possible, but you’d definitely need some combination of, a good nature (probably jolly), ice fang (egg move), perfect iv’s, careful ev training, and intimidate (because it’s not rivalry). Of all of those ice fang is probably the most important, with not rivalry being a relatively close second. That said, still a fun run to listen to:)
How could you justify giving Shinx an egg move? I think a favorable hidden power makes more sense. Regardless, I think it would have been possible in his current situation with the power of a billion double teams.
@@hoodedman6579 agreed, especially because Natural Gift could fairly easely replace the need for Ice Fang
Tested it myself over the past few days. With a fully optimized Shinx at max level and using Hidden Power Ice the Elite Four was an effortless OHKO sweep. With strategy and planning It's probably possible to clutch a victory 10-20 levels lower.
Hidden Power Grass would be even better against Bertha, and Pomeg fueled Natural gift can handle most Ice type needs. Not to mention Magnet Rise for evading that pesky ground weakness.
I feel like the only win condition is to do Toxic Stalling with Double Team and Attract for all the Male Pokémon in the run. It sounds as boring as it probably would be but it’s still (probably) possible. The only other option would be to allow you to bread Ice Fang down onto a Shinx and use that for the rest of the run. Good video and can’t wait for that Bethesda.
I don't think you necessarily need to reset for perfect IVs, but I don't think anybody is going to dog you for resetting for a good ability or nature. Great work MDB!
Would like to see this again using an ideal shinx to see if you can get further!
Seconded. Though it doesn't even have to be an ideal Shinx, just a "not the worst possible" Shinx with Intimidate instead of Rivalrly.
I had to test for myself, but can confirm that an optimized Shinx crushes this challenge. One-shot sweep through the entire Elite Four at max level. With good strategy and a little luck probably possible in low 90s or high 80s.
"he's got a quagmire." 😂 Oh boy quagsire's 3rd evo 10:30
I really enjoyed this video. It's rare to see a fair but not for the want of trying! No one wants to grind for weeks to finish a challenge, I reckon you'd not want to look at Pokémon for a month after that kind of commitment, even with perfect health. Funny to see if Trapinch would end the same way, more attack and better nature but worse other stats. Don't think I've seen a Trapinch video
I was doing a buneary run in platinum(or pearl I forget) and was getting roadblocked by Wake thanks to intimidate us down pretty fast. Took me a while to remember I had picked up the Shockwave tm since bunearys are more physical than special but a 4x effective move that ignores the intimidate drop was a godsend. I never finished the run because I got bored and forgot about it. Just a random story I remembered when you mentioned using thunderbolt despite shinx's lower special attack.
i think intimidate with adamant/jolly nature makes the run "possible". the 25% increase in damage against males would have made the steel gym significantly easier. also you would be able to eventually get magnet rise move tutor. Still this run seems insanely hard.
With a random Shinx, yes, it is insanely hard. Optimized for a good Hidden Power though and it becomes not only possible, but almost effortlessly easy.
FINALLY! I HAVE BEEN BEGGING FOR THIS RUN FOR YEARS! SHIIIIIIIIIINX! YOU GOT THIS BEST BOI
Oh boy
@@lyingcorn best Boi didn’t have this….
I KNOW IVE BEEN ASKING FOR YEARS
@@cameroncox1008 too bad our boo couldn’t do it! BUT STILL LITTLE SHIX TRIED AND HE DID GOOD! It’s ok shinx you’re still the best Boi!
I like to make predictions for how I imagine runs will go, and this one in particular made my brain click and recall an old let's play I watched and now I'm very emotional going down memory lane instead of trying to think of the challenge.
It's such a minor thing, but I am surprised you chose Thunder Fang over Spark. I guess the flinch chance was worth the drop in accuracy and paralysis chance to you, which is valid. It's honestly not a huge difference either way, I just favor Spark, myself for those factors and PP. Still, flinch is a very useful effect, especially if they already are paralyzed.
it is not a minor thing. I miss moves with 95 or less accuracy very often.
Intimidate allows swagger to be a viable option for confusing enemies. This run was doomed just because of his ability. I think with enough tries and a level 100 he stood a better chance to make it to the end
I generally only watch Kanto and Johto videos, but I absolutely love Shinx so I had to watch this. I’ve been playing a D&D-like Pokémon RPG and chose Shinx as my starter. I commissioned “me+realistic Pokémon” artwork and Luxray was one of the Pokémon in it. I’m getting one for my cat too and Shinx will be in that one.
The Shinx line is honestly one of my favorite Electric-types in the entire franchise. Can't quite explain why that is, maybe design of the line. Used one in Diamond that actually had Rivalry and it got into the Hall of Fame. Intending to use one in BD, LA, and I have one on my Scarlet team with an Ice Tera-type.
Honestly never knew the line was a physical attacker in spite of using it so often all these years.
Rivalry AND a speed dropping nature? This was a technoconspiracy to prevent your success. That's close to the worst a Shinx can be. :(
Black/white with Yamask, oh might algaerythm!
Did he just say: 'he's got a Quagmire' 10:30. Almost as great as snowbama
Honestly I think, even if you could have atleast resetted for intimidate (being maybe the biggest help you could have had on the whole run), you SHOULD have EV trained your special attack or attack and speedknowing your movepool (and also cinsidering EV training is a flat base stat increase if i'm not wrong, so it has an even bigger impact on low stat pokemons)... I think it would have been a great help and made a huge difference for pokemons dying in more than 3 hits...
He did. He said he had his EV maxed out.
@@sensilvar7709 Maxing out EVs doesn't mean he did the repartitions as best as he could though, specially counting all of the early battles
Would Love to See more gen1 runs with specific rules like only peck or only first Form Bugs!
Oh man. Bertha is really going to suck in this one. Cynthia’s Garchomp too like you mentioned. Good luck with those two.
I would love to see an Oblivion challenge as the next one, it's been a while
This one’s crazy, can’t believe that Cynthia fight… wait
Oof that is rough! I still like Shinx but still, yikes!
Oh and thank you for the coffee offer! No need to worry, I'm not a fan so even if I were somehow there, it wouldn't matter. So more coffee for you!
Shinx! The best Sinnoh boi! He's so cute, I couldn't resist putting one on my first team despite swearing to not use any of the "classic Sinnoh team members".
YES A SHINX ONE I’ve been DYINGG to see a challenge of it
Man, what a BRUTAL challenge! Thanks MDB!
Doing Skyrim with an orc with the equipment and skill you see on the orc during the loading screen sometimes. So no magic, no shield, one handed, 2 axes light armor, smithing...
I wonder if you get a specific shinx with IVs to get you an ice type hidden power along with a special attack nature that doesn't hit you speed. Trying a special route might help in areas with ground types. Still enjoyed the video!
I wondered the same thing myself and tested it over the past couple days. Short answer, with HP-Ice and optimal EVs, a max level Shinx can OHKO sweep the entire Elite Four.
We want a re-try with a different ability
I remember taking this challenge on a couple of years ago and getting through the Elite 4 and even beating Cynthia. I guess Intimidate is just far better than Rivalry.
Yeah having intimidate would have helped. However, I don’t think it was possible. Bertha would have been too much. Also, even with an attack drop garchomp still hits hard. Shinx is just way too weak and its movepool sucks
Tragic! My boi couldn’t pull the weight without Ice Fang or HP ice😭
A note about those level 100 stats: A level 100 Shinx with NO evs BUT 31 ivs across the board would be 231/166/104/127/104/113 with a quiet nature (compared to your actual Shinx, which was 246/161/109/154/90/113). I don't know where all your evs went, so I can't tell you exactly what ivs that Shinx had, but Attack, SpDef, and Speed particularly stick out here, being lower or equal to a zero ev perfect shinx.
Out of all the Pokémon runners, MDB has my favorite commentary. But about strategy, he has a lot of room for improvement…
I also believe that he should restart until he has a decent starter.
'Kill two Pidgey with one Rock Throw'?
I need more proverbs like that!
Thanks for the offer MDB, I don't drink coffee but that's awfully nice of you. Tough run good attempt! I kept thinking the ground elite four was gonna be the wall on this one going in.
I love how at 9:20, you use thundering on a geodude multiple times. Pretty comical.
Shinx is the most adorable electric type so I forgive it for having a bad time (I always name mine Luna Luna - guess the reference). REALLY should have reset for Intimidate though.
Re: why Bite/Crunch is dark: dark type moves are thematically supposed to be tricky or underhanded, like Sucker Punch, Beat Up and Foul Play. Biting somebody in a fight is pretty underhanded I'd say.
Finally! I’ve been requesting this one forever and I’m glad to see it’s just as brutal as I thought it would be
MDB confidently using thunder fang on geodude at 9:15
My favorite line of Electro Pokémon. I just wish it didn't have "Rivarly" as one of its possible abilities.
Let me make you smile bro. I m a shiny hunter and i m working on my black 2 file. Got a shiny Axew. Not only it has rivalry but a minus attack plus defence nature.
@@DiabloTommaso Thats the game just giving you a shiny middle finger.^^
@@riemaennchen rigth? And fhe evolution is soooo cool. I had an hard time just levelling.
Honestly, this is one of the few runs I would like to see you redo. Why? Intimidate and a better nature. That MAY make this happen, but I have no idea.
The run would've required way more optimization than just nature and ability, i enjoy watching mdb but he's too casual with these runs to have been able to successfully beaten this particular challenge.
@TheGhostFart Maybe, but the roadblocks would be somewhat different, and I think it'd be interesting to see.
I agree with the other comments saying that Rivalry was hindering Shinx more than it was helping for most fights. The only other thing I can think of is maxing Shinx's IVs at the start bc that Shinx wasn't great all things considered. The challenge is going to be rough regardless of any Stat/Ability changes, but would love to see another attempt!
Luxray is my favorite pokemon, I want it to get a moveset refresh sooo bad. It gets basically nothing
oh i wanted to recommend this exact challenge, nice that you get to do it!
What fossil did you take?
A suggestion for the future, if there's a single horrible roadblock such as Steelix in a fight the move Natural Gift can give you a single super-strong attack. I did a Jynx run and that was pretty much the only way I beat Aaron's Scizor.
As for actually winning with Shinx... can't help you there, that pokemon is just horrific.
LOL "two pidgeys with one rock throw" has me rollin'. That was a good one!
I really like shinx and luxray, so it was rough seeing this being so challenging. Thanks for making it fun tho :)
I would like to see you attempt this again with a different ability and a perfect IV spread. If that doesn't work perhaps at lv 98 or 99 you get to evolve the shinx.
wow way more brutal then i thought it be. Like you were like "this is going to be hard" and i was like "I dont think so". and i was so wrong.
10:30 he has a Quagmire? Didnt know he was in this game as well lol.
my favourite mdb quote is ‘faint two pidgeys with one rock throw’
10:30 He's got what? 😂😂
I enjoyed the coffee outro... I enjoy allthe outros... Thank you for being a person... 🙌🙌🙌
This run looked so brutal, I can't imagine how demoralizing it is to lose fights while over double the level of your enemies.
Since you're taking the candy pill, I don't think many people would also object to you hacking in EV lowering berries and vitamins to correct your stats. It'd mostly be a small bump in power overall, but it's something to consider, especially since you could just farm these things normally.
I feel like the ability and gender was a major roadblock… perhaps MDB should have reset for a better ability (intimidate) or a male shinx
I'm glad you used rare candies! Your time is valuable and some parts of the grind aren't necessary.
Breed a shinx with ice fang and a nature that doesnt lower speed? That might stretch the rules a bit, but I'd say its fair game!
If only Ice Fang wasn't an egg move... Also, I'm surprised you didn't reset at least once, because between its nature and ability you handicapped yourself with one of the worst Shinx you possibly could.
I love that the thumbnail is an outline of platinum! I love it
You called quagsire Quagmire
Did you notice that most of the trainers have more pokemon of their own gender than they do pokemon of the opposite?
I believe that's a running thing.
(before watching the video) this is gonna be rough
With that steel gym fight. I was getting flashbacks to Brian Myers last WWE run
I dont remember but couldnt you have picked the hidden power HM before the first gym and restart for a hidden power ice? That would had made the rock gym pretty easy
10:31 chuckled a bit at the quagmire quagsire