Pokémon Colosseum Ho-oh

[Talon87]

Q1. Can you get Ho-oh if you beat Mt. Battle's 100-battle challenge first and purify the 48 purification Pokémon second?

Q2. Can you get Ho-oh if you use imports from RuSaEm to beat Mt. Battle? Or do you *have* to use one of the forty-eight Colosseum disc Pokémon?

Q3. Do you have to beat Mt. Battle inside of Story Mode with your team and then, using that same team, beat Mt. Battle in Battle Mode's Colosseum Battle?

Q4. Do you even have to beat Mt. Battle inside of Story Mode period? Or can you simply beat it in Colosseum Battle all by itself?

Comments regarding each of these questions ...

Spoiler: show

C1. Most guides seem to stress that you must purify first and then do Mt. Battle second. However, I remember being told many years ago by a UPNer (I believe it was Muyo? ) that you could do them in the reverse order and it'd still be fine. I've also found similar claims online, but they're rare. Is it true that the order does not matter? Or are the majority correct in thinking that the order does matter?

C2. I had never heard before that you had to use Colosseum disc-only Pokémon until now. I've seen people online stressing that you must use "your Story Mode team" if you want to get the Ho-oh. Is this true? Can you really not use RuSaEm imports at all? I've seen YouTube videos online that would seem to directly contradict this, like this video here of someone using his SaEm-imported Kyogre to beat Mt. Battle and obtain Ho-oh.

C3. I beat Mt. Battle in Story Mode (or at least I'm pretty sure I did) ages and ages ago. But if I challenge Mt. Battle in Battle Mode this time, I think I'll be using a different team. Is that fine?

C4. See C3. I'm not 100% sure whether I ever beat it in Story Mode or not. I'd hate to start battling in Colosseum Battle only to find out, very deep into it (or hell, upon completing it!), that I messed up and was supposed to have beaten Story Mode's first.

Not sure if I'll bother since it's one huge timesink. (I'd estimate some, what, 5+ hours of lost to this if I attempt it?) But we'll see. *shrug* It would be nice to have the satisfaction of knowing that I 100% completed Colosseum.

Current status: pretty sure I beat Mt. Battle both in Story Mode and in Colosseum Battle mode; just now purified the 48th purification Pokémon; still no Ho-oh :\

[phoopes]

A1. You must purify, then beat Mt. Battle. So you'll have to do it all over again, I'm afraid.

A2. I really thought that you had to use Story Mode Pokemon, but according to that video you linked I guess you don't.

A3. It doesn't matter what team you use. As long as you have all Shadow Pokemon purified and beat Mt. Battle in Colosseum Mode, you can use whatever team you want.

A4. You don't have to beat Mt. Battle in Story Mode and in Colosseum Mode. That'd be horrifying, but it seems like you've done both! It's a shame that you beat Mt. Battle in Colosseum Mode before purifying all the Shadow Pokemon, because you'll have to beat it again now to get Ho-oh. Best of luck!

[Talon87]

Originally Posted by phoopes

A2. I really thought that you had to use Story Mode Pokemon, but according to that video you linked I guess you don't.

I had the opposite experience: I'd never heard that you could only use Story Mode Pokémon before today (when I discovered mountains upon mountains of such claims!). But like, here's another video of someone doing it (he uses both Kyogre and Latios to get his Ho-oh), so I definitely don't think it's true that you have to use Colosseum-snagged Pokémon to do it.

What might be true (haven't investigated it and don't plan on being a guinea pig ) is that you can't get Ho-oh if you register a team directly off of your Game Boy Advance gamepaks. During team registration, you have the two options: register from Colosseum or else register from a GBA game. I've never registered from a GBA game (so that's not what did me in; it's the purification thing, it seems :\), but what I have done is imported GBA Pokémon to Colosseum, thus making them temporary members of the Colosseum squad, and registered my hybrid Colosseum team. When I did the challenge before this way, I believe my team was in fact 100% Ruby Pokémon: a Blaziken, a Metagross, a Flygon, a Kingdra, a Starmie, and one other Pokémon (probably either Gardevoir or Aggron). Past Me apparently registered a newer team some time later, this time consisting of four Colosseummon and two GBAmon: Colo Misdreavus, Colo Flygon, Colo Houndoom, Colo Skarmory, GBA Gardevoir, and GBA Bellossum. The team isn't any more EV trained than the previous one (in fact, it's probably less so -.-) but this time the team is all between Level 48 and Level 50, whereas last time my team ranged from Level 53 to Level 89, which meant that my Blaziken (Level 89) was pretty much soloing the entire affair due to the opponents all being Level 89 themselves. IIRC I beat it though, so if a not-properly-EV-trained Blaziken could solo it, I'm hopeful + confident that a not-properly-EV-trained team of six Pokémon can do it. Regarding that scary Kyogre waiting for me at the end, I at least have got the following tools to choose from:

• Misdreavus: Thunderbolt
• Gardevoir: Calm Mind + Hypnosis + Dream Eater
• Bellossum: Sunny Day @ Chlorophyll + Sleep Powder + Petal Dance

So I think I can take him. We'll see. I've just gotta pray he doesn't use one of my Pokémon as setup bait for some CMs.

Here's another question:

Q5. Do you have to 1cc this? (Meaning, do you have to beat it without ever using any continues?) Or are you allowed to use continues should you ever die?

Shouldn't be an issue, I hope, but I figured I'd ask now so that if (say) I die at Battle #38 then I don't go on wasting my time with futile Battles 39 thru 100.

[phoopes]

Oh okay you're exactly right. You can't register a GBA team, but those that you've imported to your Story Mode are okay to use. That's why I was confused, I heard about the no GBA thing in this video. It explains the transferring situation perfectly, I just forgot about the second part to it.

As for Question 5... I have no clue.

[Yougirasu]

*Holds up his hand* I have a Mt. Battle Ho-oh.

For Q5, if you earn the continues during the Colosseum mode challenge, for a perfect victory (I think this is where you win without losing a Pokemon rather than taking damage, but it's been a long while) then you can use them to continue if you lose without losing your bid at Ho-oh. But if you don't have any and lose, then you'll be forced to start over.
I've only done the challenge once and I remember losing to a few of the people and using continues in the later battles, mostly because I was using Pokemon I'd raised in game and because there was a decent level difference between my Espeon and the rest of my team.

[Talon87]

Yeah, I have a lot of those continues right now. (Not sure of the exact number, but I've gotten an extra continue for every single match except one, I've done twenty matches, and I've exited twice total, so I'm guessing I have around 23 continues right now.) But what I was wondering was whether tapping in to even one of them because of a wipeout (not because of a scheduled break from the game in between fights) would invalidate your attempts to get a Ho-oh. But you're assuring me that the game isn't that cruel, that you got wiped out a couple of times at the higher levels and still managed to get your Ho-oh fine. That is reassuring, because if it weren't the case, then I probably would've reset now myself. ^^; Misdreavus is excellently powerful but she has the mediocre defenses you'd expect of a Gen II non-evolver and is already taking 50% HP damage from attacks by Lotads and the like. Houndoom's pretty powerful too. Gardevoir's decent but takes a while to rev up via Calm Mind (which she will have to start doing once we get to higher levels; already she's only 3HKOing certain foes like Lileep :\) ... and then that's sort of it power-wise. ^^; Bellossum's surprisingly weak, which doesn't bode too well for the challenge against Kyogre BUT WE'LL SEE! ^^; Flygon is even more astonishingly weak (DAMN YOU, SPECIAL CRUNCH, LACK OF OUTRAGE, AND LACK OF EARTHQUAKE! T_T Yeah, all I have is Crunch, Dragonbreath, Sandstorm, and I don't even remember it's so bad), and Skarmory has a pretty abysmal build (LET'S GO, STEEL WING AND DRILL PECK! No need for Spikes, Whirlwind, Toxic, or Taunt where we come from!). The team basically suffers from a huge lack of a reliable physical sweeper, and so I think I'm going to feel that pinch come time for enemy Blisseys and Gardevoirs to start showing up.

[Talon87]

After doing pretty well (always a 2-0 or a 3-0 win; usually 3-0; I have over 70 continues at this point), I just lost on Trainer #87. She led with a Shadow Ball Crobat while I led with Misdreavus. I stayed out to Psychic, but not only was I outsped, I was reduced to 35% HP too in just the first hit. Switched to Houndoom who absorbed the next Shadow Ball wonderfully (10% HP loss) ... but he had his SpDef lowered. And then Crobat Sludge Bombed. And got a fucking critical hit. -.-; Sent out Gardevoir to at least finish the bat off ... nope! Knocked out by Shadow Ball before I could kill him. Riiiiiiiiiiiidiculous.

Doing the rematch right now and it's 2-2. I killed a lead Hitmontop but he just crit hit OHKOd my Misdreavus with that fucking Crobat! Oh man, about to lose again ... CRITICAL FLAMETHROWER! 2-1 now, Houndoom vs. Mantine, with Gardevoir waiting in the wings. Ugh, that SpDef! -_-; 1-1 now. Mantine's confused Gardevoir and she's never hit as a result. And ... 4HKO'd by Surf. Fuck. Seriously? :\

Skarmory, you're coming this time. Houndoom vs. Crobat. Houndoom lowers to 50% but is at 35% himself. Switch to Skarmory. Beat Crobat. (Fucker. ) Out comes ... Metagross!? :o Switch to Houndoom on a Psychic, KO with Fire Blast. 3-1. Mantine's her final this time. Aaaand ... I end up winning 2-0.

Damn you, Lady Sanol. :\ My winning streak ended. Here's hoping this doesn't ruin my chances for that Ho-oh ...

[DaisyInari]

Isn't the poison type physical? Although crits suck anyway xd; Dragon's also special so even if Flygon had it it wouldn't do quite as much damage :<

Good luck on catching Ho-Oh though Talon \o/

[Talon87]

I didn't say it wasn't. I just reported to you what happened. I didn't say "Sludge Bonb killed me because of both the SpDef drop and the critical." I was saying that the SpDef drop happened ... and then he crit stabbed me and managed to OHKO. Confusing I realize b/c abbreviated info.

[Talon87]

Just lost three times to Athlete Nomol (Trainer #93). -_-; That brings the loss count up to five total. Stupid Raikou.

Aaaaand just lost to the Suicune bitch, Bodybuilder Eldora (Trainer #96). Yeah, the teams are starting to get too powerful for this UU squadron. :\ ^^; The one saving grace is that the A.I. almost never switches. But yeah, I'm really starting to push the limits of what my team can pull off. Anyway, just now beat her on the second try. Although ugh, friggin' Focus Band Flail ... NO! I just lost! Thought I had it but FUCKING FOCUS BAND DONPHAN! Grrararargh! Total losses seven, all to Johto cat-dog teams. TRY #3! Aaaand loss #3 due to double cheating. :\ (Game made a no-modifiers Shadow Ball miss and three turns later allowed one of its own to hang on by 1 HP, taking only 50 damage on a STABbed attack it was 2x weak to with base 70 power. [/yeah OKAY ]) Grah. TRY #4! .......... !?€}%~£~^?! -_-; FIFTH TIME'S THE CHARM.....? FINALLY! 3-0. -_-; Of course. When the game isn't fucking cheating it's easy. (I know, I know, it isn't really cheating. But seriously, man. Wth. -_-; )

Trainer 97 was a joke. 3-0.

Trainer 98 ... fucking lol, all Dragons but for Sceptile, and me without a single Ice Beam or Blizzard. Yeah, I'm fucked. ^_^; Wow, managed 0-1 on the first try. On to attempt #2! Did it, 1-0.

Trainer 99 looks easy enough. And sure enough, 2-0 on first try.

Time ... for the big one.

[Kindrindra]

Cheering for you, Talon!

[Talon87]

Attempt 1: lost 0-1. Gardevoir, Skarmory, Misdreavus. He chose Aggron, Altaria, and Kyogre.

Attempt 2: lost 0-3. X_x Fucking Crobat. I ran Houndoom, Gardevoir, and Bellossum.

Attempt 3: 3-0 CALM MIND SWEEP! ^_^ I led with Gardevoir ... and so did he. Thanks for the free meal~! Calm Mind, Hypnosis, Calm Mind, Calm Mind, Hypnosis, Dream Eater, Calm Mind, Psychic. Then he sent out Magneton. Hypnosis, Calm Mind, Dream Eater. Then finally came Kyogre. He Body Slams me. I'm scared. NO PARALYSIS NOR CRITICAL HIT! I Psychic him into oblivion ... or I would have but for the fact that he held on to dear life with his Focus Band. -_-; *shakes fist* A second Body Slam. A second nailbiter. SAAAAFE! I'm in the low yellow or red but it doesn't matter -- MIIIIIND CRUSH!

And now I have a Lax Ho-oh. ^^;

[phoopes]

\o/

I never had the patience to purify all 48 when I was younger so I got my Ho-oh from Soulsilver. You're a better man than I, Talon. Congratulations!

[Talon87]

Yeah, that's what makes it sort of silly:

1. I don't use legendaries.
2. I already have Ho-oh from HeartGold.
3. I could have just PokéSaved myself a Ho-oh.

But between my paranoia about hidden metadata, my not using PokéSav for my proper games, and a pseudo-OCD compulsion to 100% complete Gen 3 before importing my final Gen 3 boys to Gen 4, I decided to go for the legit Ho-oh. A shame he's lax though. ^^; Was hoping I'd luck out and get an Adamant one. Ohhhhh well.

Now ... back to Emerald where I have a 138-speed Linoone in the lead of my party inside Terra Cave. Time to get me a legit Adamant Groudon @ Speed >= 30. *in before I lose my patience and just get one of the Speed-boosting nature ones instead* Then Rayquaza. Then all three Regis. Then Latias. Fffffffffffff why didn't I do all this before D/P came out!? T_T

[Kindrindra]

I know the feeling. XFD

[Char]

I was entertained by this thread.

[Talon87]

Originally Posted by Char

I was entertained by this thread.

Hooray!

Originally Posted by Talon87

Now ... back to Emerald where I have a 138-speed Linoone in the lead of my party inside Terra Cave. Time to get me a legit Adamant Groudon @ Speed >= 30. *in before I lose my patience and just get one of the Speed-boosting nature ones instead*

Well, I didn't get you an Adamant one ...

Talon:

... but I did get you a Lonely one (+Atk, -Def) which honestly kinda works okay with Groudon. Given his usual builds and that lopsided Def vs. SpDef (140 vs. 90), most people will be aiming for his SpDef side anyway. And this one happens to have a natural 30 in SpDef, a natural 31 in Speed, and a natural 20-something in Atk. I'll take it. Lonely suits the idea too of poor Groudon, all alone, holed up in that subterranean cavern for millennia with no one to talk to.

Groudon:

Given what I found out about Latias (nature is set once she starts roaming), she's next on the list. I apparently imported my only Wobbuffet on this pak to Pearl and fuck if the Safari Zone's levels aren't disgracefully low (25!? ), so I'm thinking I'll try to import this one Wobbuffet I spied in my Ruby game. Maybe he can help. As for the order of attack ...

1. Reduce Latias's HP to 1. She then flees.
2. Put her to sleep. She then flees.
3. Wobbuffet trap. Any time she wakes up and flees, turn off the game and try again.

Apparently Past Me already did me a huge favor and accomplished #1 in that list. I don't have a Level 100 False Swiper on here anymore but I guess when I did I went ahead and False Swiped that Latias. So now all I've got to do is run into her, use Sleep Powder, put Wobbuffet in the lead after she flees, and save the game. Then just try and find her again and hope for the best.

Once I get her, I'll probably go for Rayquaza next (just because I anticipate he'll be an asshole) and then save the three Regis for last. And then, eight years this summer after I bought it, I'll have finally beaten Pokémon Emerald. Let's ignore the fact that I haven't cleared the Battle Frontier nor completed the PokéDex, thank you!