#on one playthrough i just traded my shiny stone from platinum over because it was easier shhsjodbd

[natattack862]

A Wandering Merchant: Tips for A Volo Playthrough

Finally getting around to completing Legends Arceus, I wanted to do a Volo playthrough. While his team is a modified version of Cynthia's team (trading out Milotic/Gastrodon for Hisuian Arcanine), it's still a feasible playthrough.

A Volo playthrough with his entire team can be done pretty easily in SwSh. If Growlithe weren't unlocked until you get the National PokéDex, you could have done his team in a BDSP run. While in Scarlet and Violet, you won't have access to Togepi or Roserade, so replacements will need to me made.

I will be approaching this post a little bit differently from my other playthrough posts. Mainly due to the fact that I haven't started my own playthrough yet.

I think I know which game I'm going to do it in. However, since you can do a playthrough in more games than Raihan or Diantha, I wanted to address which games you can do a Volo playthrough in a separate post from what I plan to do. It will also give me the chance to go over what changes, if any will be needed. Especially when it comes to the Sinnoh games.

Are Any Changes Necessary?

Short answer: Yes and no.

Technically speaking, his team doesn't need any replacements until you get to SV. The only real difference is having to use Kantonian Arcanine instead of Hisuian. The reason for that being the fact that Hisuian Pokemon, despite debuting in the same generation, cannot be sent to SwSh or BDSP. That's the only major "change" needed.

In Sword and Shield, Growlithe is not version exclusive. It will show up in more areas in Shield over Sword, but it can be caught in either. It is even catchable in Shield's version of Kabu's Gym mission (with Vulpix replacing it in Sword).

Because you would be swapping out Hisuian Arcanine for its Kantonian counterpart, you can go this route everywhere that Kantonian Growlithe can be obtained (i.e. any game from generations 4 through 8, minus Black and White prior to getting the National Dex). The only exceptions will be the Sinnoh games, where, even after adding more to the Regional Dex (Platinum), Growlithe and Arcanine are only obtainable after you get the National Dex and either send one over or have a copy of FireRed in your DS.

What Could Be Swapped in for Growithe/Arcanine in the Sinnoh Games?

This will depend on which game your playing. Diamond, Pearl, Brilliant Diamond, and Shining Pearl do not have a lot of Fire options if you wanted to replace it with a Fire type. While in Platinum, there is one canonical choice you can use during the main game.

Platinum: Giratina. Platinum is the only Sinnoh game where you will get Giratina during the main game. As such, you can still do a Volo run with every Pokemon he's used canonically. It'll also be at level 47, so it will level up with the rest of your team at that point.

Diamond/Pearl/Brilliant Diamond/Shining Pearl: To avoid making his team identical to Cynthia's, some alternatives can include Dialga/Palkia, Rapidash, or Crobat. Dialga/Palkia could be a sort of alternative to Giratina, since you won't be able to catch one (and get the Griseous Orb) until after you get the National Dex. Rapidash is a Fire alternative. It may not be the most ideal choice, especially since Sinnoh doesn't have a lot of Fire types to chose from in DP/BDSP, but it is an alternative. I would suggest Crobat because half of his team involved friendship evolutions at one point (i.e. Togepi evolves into Togetic through friendship, Budew evolves into Roselia through friendship then Roserade via the Shiny Stone, and Riolu evolves into Lucario via leveling up with high friendship during the day). So giving him another friendship evolution could be the route to go. Plus, I felt that Crobat fit him more than over Lopunny, and the Togepi line already fit the whole cute vibe that Bunneary has.

These are just some suggestions for Arcanine replacements. If you feel like replacing it with something else that you feel fits (ex. Houndoom), that will be up to you.

The only other Pokemon you may have issues obtaining is Spiritomb. Namely during the DS era. So I do have a suggestion for an alternative if you aren't able to obtain it.

What if You Have to Swap Out Spiritomb?

Assuming you're trying this in DPPt (and by extent BDSP), you probably already know about Spiritomb's encounter method. For those who don't, you have to encounter 32 unique characters/NPCs in the Grand Underground and react with the Hollowed Tower on Route 209 after putting the Odd Keystone on it. The biggest issue is how you encounter those 32 unique characters. I've never obtained a Spiritomb in Platinum, so I'm not sure if it's possible to do this with just NPCs. It may also be difficult to encounter/interact with 32 people in the Grand Underground. Since some of the online features for the DS haven't been available since 2014 (2024 if you're playing them on the 3DS), I believe the only way to do this online is to do it locally.

So, assuming you a) are playing DPPt and b) can't do the 32 unique interactions, I do have a suggestion for replacing Spiritomb. Since his team mirrors Cynthia's, just with Milotic/Gastrodon being replaced by Hisuian Arcanine, you can replace Spiritomb with either Gastrodon or Milotic.

I would personally suggest Gastrodon since Shellos can be caught pretty early on and evolves at level 30. So you can have a full team with only one alteration (two if your playing Diamond or Pearl). Plus, if you wanted to, you can use an East Sea Gastrodon (blue and green). Cynthia uses the West Sea Gastrodon (pink and brown), so this could be a way to mirror her team with a distinct difference.

That's not to say that Milotic is a bad choice. It's Feebas's encounter rate that may make obtaining one tedious. Feebas can only be found in one area in Mt. Coronet (B1F with a Super Rod) and it will only be encounterable on a select few tiles at a certain percent. Which changes daily. However, if you would rather use Milotic, you can go that route. If you do, Feebas does keep it's original evolution method it had in DPPt in BDSP. That being maxing out it's beauty and leveling it up.

If you want to play through Diamond/Pearl/Platinum, I would suggest swapping out Spiritomb for Gastrodon due to some features being discontinued and potentially not being able to encounter 32 unique player characters in an area. If you're playing this in BDSP, I would recommend either sending a Spiritomb through Home or doing the 32 unique encounters online since that will be easier to do (You'll probably need a NSO subscription, but it will make it easier if you prefer obtaining Spiritomb in BDSP).

Do I Think There is a Preferred Game to do a Volo Run in?

It will really depend on how authentic of a Volo run you want to do. Sword/Shield, Legends Arceus, BDSP, and Platinum would be the most true to form Volo run.

Legends Arceus gives you what the other Sinnoh games won't by letting you use his team (minus Giratina unless you swap it in after you catch it) during the main game.

Sword/Shield would be the most accurate since the only main difference being the regional Growlithe you use.

Platinum gives you the option to use Giratina during the main game and, outside of Growlithe, the only Pokémon you might have to change is Spiritomb.

BDSP makes getting every Pokémon but Growlithe possible. Be it through trading, Home, or interacting with 32 players online in the Grand Underground. Filling that last slot will be necessary. A few alternatives could be transferring over Giratina from a different game that you've caught it in, Dialga/Palkia as either a Giratina alternative or a nod to whichever you caught second in Legends Arceus, Rapidash as a fire alternative for Arcanine, or Crobat to add another friendship evolution.

Black 2/White 2 could also be options as his team can be caught or traded for in game (According to Serebii). However, since I've never played through either, I'm not sure if the trades with Yancy/Curtis are in the post game. Nor am I certain as to when you get the gift (shiny) Gabite in Black 2. So I may not recommend it, unless you are able to get Gabite, Spiritomb, and Togepi during the main game.

Scarlet/Violet could be an option, but neither Roserade or Togekiss are obtainable. One could be replaced with Giratina, via Home, while the other could be replaced by Gastrodon or Milotic. I had considered doing my Volo playthrough here. However, while I could replace Roserade (even though it's one of my favorite Sinnoh Pokémon and my first ever shiny), I wanted to use Togekiss.

What Game Will I be Trying a Volo Run in?

I'll be trying mine in Sword/Shield. Probably Shield in place of my Saguaro run (wanted try that in SwSh, albeit with an alteration or two, but I'm not really feeling it now). This would be the most accurate Volo playthrough with Platinum coming in a close second. I may do a Volo Platinum run eventually (replacing Spiritomb with Gastrodon), but I started a Team Eeveelution run before my DS died a year or two ago, which was a playthrough I wanted to do in Platinum since I got it. So I'd rather complete that before starting a Volo run there.

In Summary

Volo is probably the first character I planned to do a run for that could be done as far back as generation four. Depending on the game and generation the most that may have to be changed is which version of Arcanine you can use, how easily accessible Spiritomb is, when/if Giratina can be used as an alternative, and when/if Gastrodon and/or Milotic will be needed as an alternative.

I have a feeling that this will be a fun playthrough once I get to it. I know I will in SwSh for sure, so you'll probably see a post when I've completed it. And when I get the motivation to pick Platinum up, I may give it a try there after my Team Eevee run. If I do, I will do a post on it, but I won't promise anything just yet.

Until next time ^^

[timegears-moved]

28, 75, 76 :3

28. overall least favorite generation of pokemon

gen 2 really does nothing for me lol. i like a lot of the pokemon introduced but it's hard to really appreciate them when a huge chunk of them are only available in either the late game or the post game. locking evolution items for new pokemon behind the post game is dumb enough but when there are entire families of johto pokemon that are exclusive to kanto that's when shit just starts getting plain bad.

it's also impossible to balance these games apparently because i know the remakes are gen 4 technically but the fact that they did absolutely nothing to fix these glaring issues and just makes them even worse for me.

75 and 76 have already been answered!