After exploring everywhere in my first randomized Leaf Green, I decided to try a new playthrough with a fresh randomization. This time I also changed up Pokémon’s typing, so that’s been interesting and at times difficult. (Fighting an Electrode with Wonder Guard is tough when you don’t know what’s super effective.) I’ve been playing on and off for a while, and using more cheats this time because who cares, but right now we have seven badges and the team is all level 50.

-Poliwaug: My starter, a Dragon/Ghost Poliwrath with Insomnia. I was pretty worried when he obtained Truant as a Poliwhirl, but thankfully he grew out of it, not to mention he kept his awesome typing through all evolutions!

-Steel Wool: A Steel/Poison Ampharos with Flash Fire (formerly Intimidate (Mareep) and Huge Power (Flaafy)). I caught him early on and he’s always been an essential part of my team! I wasn’t sure what to think of the Posion type he acquired in his final evolution, but Sludge Bomb is pretty nice.

-Wonder Egg: A Psychic/Steel Togetic with Wonder Guard. (Because you always need at least one when you’re randomizing.) Her typing is fantastic for this ability—only Fire and Ground can hurt her, and with Steel Wool being immune to Fire, I can block pretty much any type except Ground, which isn’t really a big deal. She leads a lot since I don’t know what type I’m going to be facing in most situations.

-Sparktile: An Electric/Fighting Sceptile with Hyper Cutter. Fantastic for early in the game, which was full of Normal/Grass Kirlia with Intimidate, and has remained excellent ever since. Wish he’d learn Thunder Punch or Thunderbolt, but Spark is doing the trick, and Brick Break and Earthquake certainly help too.

-Yamakawa: A Water Hariyama with Drizzle. Her Special Attack is really low, but that hasn’t actually been much of a problem—a Drizzle-boosted Surf can still take down plenty of enemies!

I’ll need to find something to fill that last slot. Once I finish the Sevii Islands interlude (which should lead me to Moltres), I’ll probably go after Articuno and Zapdos and see what they’ve been randomized into. My current team is probably enough for becoming Champion, but I like to fill all my available openings, you know?

Also, Cerulean Gym was still Water! It was the same in the last randomization, so I have to wonder if the randomizer has decided not to tamper with this particular Gym for some reason…

Oh, I never did provide my final team for the first one, did I? Well

-Nido Ran Gogh, starter, Nidoking with Volt Absorb

-Celebi with Wonder Guard

-Fire Fly, Ninjask with Flame Body

-Opal, (Defense Forme) Deoxys with Wonder Guard

-Quilavatar, Typhlosion with Illuminate

-Silver Wing, Zapdos with Intimidate

(Fun fact: Silver Wing is named so for having Aeroblast, Lugia’s signature move. Early in this new game I encountered a (Fire/Poison) Zapdos with Sacred Fire, Ho-Oh’s signature move! I called them Rainbow Wing but they didn’t really work out…though I might bring them back when I challenge the League, who knows.)