Hey Scott, Stealth Rock is actually phenomenal for chip damage in longer fights like the elite 4. When you eventually get around to doing my favorite pokemon, Hippowdon, the permenant sand and rocks stack up really quickly and allow for KOs on mons you otherwise have zero business beating.

Life is good when Scott is involved

7:23 Another correction needed: Rock Tomb did not get improved until XY. Until then, Rock Tomb remains with 80 accuracy, 50 base power, and 10 base PP.

On the twenty-sixth day of December, Scott's Thoughts gave to me: The burning 'Ape Swords Dancing A dramatic entry into Sinnoh The Birds as a perfect ending Mewtwo totally sending! The first Dragon line slowly growing A kaiju rhino stomping A metal crab whose stats stay even A pseudo legend walled by Steven The egg tree with a garbage move pool A 'Bro "destined for greatness" Giovanni's aces finally winning The tapirs using hypnosis The 'King of emerald loafing A lively mid stage slashing The Johto trio roaming Surge's 'Chu with a competent trainer Classy Cat v Pig Monkey! A moonstone evolution The "Rhydon of gen three" A Pure Power powerhouse Wattson's ace in Hoenn 'Phan v Ursaring! A tiny turtle's bubble The fire starter digging A garden lizard's leech seed And those three weirdo mons punching

The starter triangle in Gen 4 is so interesting. The way the final evo typing and move coverage allows them all to counter each other. In the end it can be completely backwards with Empoleon dominating Torterra with Ice Beam, Torterra crushing Infernape with Earthquake and Infernape taking Empoleon down with close combat.

With regard to reordering moves: it also matters much less on the DS, since with the touch screen you can select all 4 moves equally quickly.

The research you put into starting these games really paid off. I'm really enjoying your more confident play and how you're already making observations like the rare candy distribution and the heightened emphasis on crucial movepool choices in Gen 4 onward.

14:05 Important to note here, you were in Blaze so the crit didn't matter at all

Thank you for your hard work this year, Scott! I've been thoroughly enjoying your videos, and this month has been a treat.

Scott, you'll find moves like Stealth Rock will be useful to set up on a trainer's first Pokemon to deal chip damage as they send out their Pokemon, bringing their health bar down within 1 hit range for weaker pokemon, and getting around abilities like Sturdy.

Hi Scott. This is going to be a fun series, I think. I notice your interface is having trouble with STAB moves on types that your pokemon didn’t start with. Mach punch is showing 40 power instead of 60 here at 11:26. Earthquake had a similar issue for at least part of yesterdays vid.

It’s nice to see my all time favorite poketuber doing my all time favorite pokemon line.

Infernape with the Goku pose in the thumbnail

I've loved seeing you get started on Gen 4. I recently started Brilliant Diamond. I've only finished one gym so far, and that is all of my experience with Gen 4. I completely missed it first time around. It's actually pretty cool to see you struggle through your first few play-throughs, not because I'm a sadist, but because it is nice to see someone as amazing as you are has the same struggles we all do. It's fantastic to watch you grow.

I know I didn't comment yesterday on Torterra's playthrough, but I swear, when I 1st received the notification that Scott was doing a gen 4 run I started stimming so hard in excitement, I'm so happy he's doing gen 4 now. We all know Infernape is the best of the 3. The Piplup line will probably be better than Turtwig, but ain't no way they can surpass the ape, especially with Gardenia being the 2nd gym leader. Tho, you can get Pluck, a flying type move from Floaroma Town, and teach it to Prinplup before facing her, which could give it a fighting chance. Volkner, I don't think he will be a problem, because, and correct me if I'm wrong, I think Empoleon also gets access to the swords dance+ earthquake combo. But other than Gardenia early on, I can't see much of anyone or anything else walling Empoleon, because the steel typing is just unfairly good with all the resistances it has. If Gardenia was later on in the game, or if it was possible to really skip her and go back to her later once you are over-leveled the same way you can do with Brawly in gen 3, then probably Empoleon's time could be comparable to Infernape's, but I don't think that's going to be the case. Also, he finished the game with 0 fire stab moves, which yeah, despite Infernape being the best starter, kinda proves fire types ain't all that necessary. Like, ofc you need them, but you can perfectly pass the game without a fire type, is what I'm saying. Also, I was expecting Cynthia to be harder or put up more of a fight, but I guess she's not going to be when there's so many rare candies, and you're that high of a level. Like, he was lvl 86 at the end. 26 levels higher than most of her team, so ofc she's going to be a sweep. Anyways, this was really good as always. Really excited for Gen 4 and the Empoleon run tomorrow, let's see if it's anywhere near as good as Infernape or not.

Monke! Sorry... couldn't help it. Infernape was always my starter in Gen4, so I am excited to see this.

Ladies and Gentlemen, it's time for Pokemon Sun Wukong to shine. I think something about Infernape that makes it just pop off is how flexible it is. You go for a full physical set and that's genuinely good but Mixed and Special also work really well. I don't think delaying to 23 for Nasty Plot is at all optimal but the fact the Infernape line just gets... every option it could want for taking Sinnoh by storm. I love the Fire monkey and he's by far my favourite starter pokemon.

2:03 „This engine feels like frozen molasses“ beautiful analogy! I can tell that you put even more effort into writing the script for newer videos.

Infernape is such a cool Mon! But I think it's kind of a glass cannon cause it hits very very hard. This run was even more interesting than yesterday's run. Thank you Scott! And I know you'll get better and better...!

The reason Flint's Magmortar looks so cool is because he's using pokeball seals, a new mechanic that lets you customize the animation when your pokemon comes out of its ball. There's a surprising amount of different seals and you can mix and match. I like putting an explosion of pink flower petals on my Roserade's ball 🙂 Also Stealth Rock is used in nuzlockes for breaking Sturdy but I'm not sure that's very useful in solo challenges. But bugs, flying, ice and fire types take a cool 25% hp damage if they come in on Stealth Rocks and a ridiculous 50% if they're a dual type with both types weak to rock.

Not sure if it gets pointed out in a later video but rock tomb doesn’t get its base power+accuracy buff until generation VI rather than generation IV.

25:39 the more Scott lore I receive the more I realize we could live in the exact same neighbourhood We are having an incredibly warm winter this year. It was a brown Christmas for sure. I am all for it as I work outside

In pokemon platinum you can teach tutor moves to pokemon in exchange of shards (red, blue, green and yellow) By example there's a tutor in the route at west of Pastoria city who can teach infernape thunder punch

I like watching Scott learn new generations but him going in with more knowledge and advice from other players at the start. There's a learning curve for sure and I don't mind it, in fact I do like the vibe that these first few Platinum videos have. Seeing him fix the mistakes from these beginning videos will also be good because I really like these nerdy pokemon optimization videos quite a lot.

On the screen with Roark i dont think its calculating the stab for mach punch it shows the power as 80 which of course means its showing the 2x 40 weakness against the rock types but not the stab

There's a few move tutors found throughout the game in platinum, and one of the early ones teaches the elemental punches!

When you started Gen 2 I was sooo happy to see it, for it was my nostalgia Gen. I learned a lot about how the gen actually works and made me curious what I could learn about the other generations. In Gen 3 was of course a major shift, but in an exciting way. My appreciation for the gen 3 games rose with every video. And now we arrived here at gen 4. I'm all in for it and excited about the journey ahead. Thank you Scott

One thing I think not enough people mention is Generation V didn't just have the level-scaled experience. It also revamped the experience yields of Pokémon so the majority of them just give more, and that was maintained in all games afterwards, so Generations I-IV really are much, much slower to level up because of this mix of lacking the extra experience as well as the updated systems.

Uk I don't usually comment on videos but I've been super down and Scott's videos have been a bright spot in my everyday so thank you Scott

I'm happy you're playing my favourite gen finally. Can't wait for the Empoleon run where mah boi is shown to be one of the goats

i really love the look of this new layout, especially the introductions of important trainers!

Been watching you since you did gen 1 and barely did gen 2 videos, you have grown so much, your quality has improved as well, but in the end it is YOU who makes the magic happen with your funny dialogue and your over the top stats and layout that l like so much. (Look at you all married now, l remember when she was your gf as well lol) This is my favorite generation and I cant wait to see you go through it and learn and improve your routes, runs and fights video by video! Another year down Scott! Let’s hit that like button!

You are mostly right about the fire types. A bit of trivia about gen 4. Depending on what GBA pokemon game is inserted, 5 additional pokemon get added in the tall grass/wild per game. From this method, you can get a Solrock, Growlithe and Vulpix.

My fav gen! Thanks so much for doing Gen 4 runs Scott, been waiting so long for this Gen and it’s finally here!

Hey Scott don't forget you can use Grass Knot against Barry's Prinplup. Also Flare Blitz is amazing, and using a fire move in general is good to take advantage of Blaze.

I loved the spinning middle of the grass gym instead of jumping all around. It was a great effect!

The slow zoom on the blissey loosing HP was gold lol

The sneasel moving in time with the music is so cute. I wish there was a big battle in the route before so that great snowy music could play longer

With optimization, I feel like infernape would have a crazy time. It’s built for solo runs.

Another great video, also I had 0 idea how many rare candies there were in Sinnoh thats insane

Not sure if someone else has pointed it out, but Rock Tomb doesn't get buffed to 60 power and 95 accuracy until Gen 6.

awesome videos Scott loving it as always can't wait for more platinum is my favorite game I love Empoleon my favorite gen 4 starter can't wait to see that one keep up your awesome work and thank you for all you do I appreciate your amazing pokemon challenges always makes my days better

29:25 the slow zoom on Blissey's HP going down got me

My favorite Pokémon!! Thank you Scott!!

I had never really thought to put rockslide on infernape, just didnt feel right not having a fire type move. Great video!

My favorite sinnoh starter! Time to see how it does!

Great video dude! Happy holidays. Make sure to take care of yourself and get plenty of rest!

I've grown so used to struggle bus fire runs from you. This was... a breath of fresh air for you, I'm sure. I'm curious how less stacked Fire types will do in this Gen. Imo, I think they'll have a much better time. I expect a slower but still good run for Empoleon's line.

At 29:40 the little “nice” got me 😂 another solid solo challenge!

Hey Scott! Love the videos, and how your rankings makes these stand out against a sea of pokemon videos on KZfaq. I know this is a new overlay, but I noticed that the moves power did not take into account the secondary typings STAB on Mach Punch. Keep up the great videos!

I don't think the gen- 6 EXP share was giving up on the problem, it was solving a different problem. It was recognizing that with over 720 Pokémon and still growing, players shouldn't be expected to use the same team the whole way through just to avoid grinding. Seriously, Kalos has the largest regional dex of any generation the player is tripping over multiple new Pokémon catch on every route. Sure, if the player uses the same team of six from start to finish, they will end up over leveled, but only in the same way a solo Pokémon also ends up over leveled in previous generations. The point of the EXP share is that it allows players to have a dynamically routing team which can be adjusted to face different challenges. I have such fond memories of gen-6 because for the first time I felt like an actual Pokémon master, who not only catches 'em all, but trains them too.

Honestly, I can see why Infernape triumphed over Torterra. It has an overall better typing (Torterra really struggles against the many trainers with Ice Type coverage) for a lot of the major battles in the game and better speed effectively make use of it's good attack and Swords Dance.

"It's better to attack than use Stealth rock." (Laughs in Sturdy)

The first half of this video is a crazy departure from the energy turtwig's video had. We went from "I'm fighting everything and everyone" to taking multiple key fights in a row at wildly unprepared levels lol

Bibarel. Pronounced Bee Barrel. You find a barrel, you think it contains rum, but it's actually full of bees! This is an accurate description of the disappointment experienced upon encountering a wild Bibarel.

Happy Boxing Day, Scott! It's great to see you playing gen 4, since that's the only gen I skipped over. All the stuff you find about Platinum is going to extra interesting

Not sure if someone's already mentioned this, but Natural Gift from the Veilstone Department Store turns Electric when holding a Pecha Berry, and Ice when holding an Aspear Berry. They're pretty neat ways to take out Wake's and Cyrus' Gyaradoses as well as Cynthia's Garchomp, and a lot of other threats in Platinum when your coverage is lacking (although obviously, thanks to Swords Dance, infernape didn't really need the help in the later stages of the run). I think Natural Gift's TM is cheap and able to be bought repeatedly which means you don't need to be precious about using and overwriting it, too.

Don't know why I forgot to comment this on the last video, but: I have been excited for the gen 4 Playthroughs since last year. It's very fun to see my beginning with the series represented here. (Well, it was pearl, but platinum was my first game I waited for)

Yay, Infernape! For more money you can get the Amulet Coin quite early in Amity Square north of Hearthome City. Also, have you looked into Shard locations? Most good tutor moves (and Gligar's fave Mud-Slap) are locked in the Survival Area postgame, but you can get things like the elemental punches and Zen Headbutt on Route 212 just west of Pastoria. It feels like ThunderPunch might've been helpful in a couple spots, especially against Wake. Maybe picking them up wastes more time than it's worth though.

A little tip Grass knot wrecks Bertha's team except for gilscor

Underestimating the power of stealth rock is a great travesty. Dealing 10-50% of health of any entering pokemon is very useful

I wonder about using grass knot over rock tomb/slide for a chunk of the game. It doesn't have perfect coverage with EQ and CC but the only thing you are likely to encounter that would matter is the Zubat line. Advantage is that it has the same effective power against Gyarados as Rock Tomb and ignores the intimidate drop. Could be useful on Wake specifically assuming you 2 shot the Gyarados.

You deserve a like and comment for that blissey health bar moment

I think the late game for a lot of pokemons is a bit boring since you pick-up like 28 rare candies. Yellow is still my favorite, but I aint complaining about any of your content!

Certainly very interesting to see pokemon sweep through the league so easily, especially when the lauded Cynthia is the finale. The rare candies making the endgame easy is funny especially in contrast to how Gen 5 will be, yikes for that. I'm sure some lower BST stat mons will struggle but with the huge increase in coverage move and set-up move distribution I wonder how few it will be.

Speaking from the perspective of someone having no experience with generation four, I think you do an excellent job in informing your audience on the new interactions that are important to know and have a better viewing experience. Now if only we could do something to turn you away from the allure of the false prophet and guide you back to our Lord Helix's embrace.

For Bibarel, combine 'Bib' and 'Barrel' and you're good to go.

Close combat is honestly just an insane move

Hell yeah, Infernape is my favorite poke, can't wait to watch this after work!

The NICE when the timer hit .69 during the Blissey 😂

So just my 2 cents, if I were running these games (which... I'm not haha). As far as HM users go, personally, I would use the Universal Pokemon Randomizer to set wild catch rates to 100% as well as allowing every pokemon to learn any HM. Now, that solves spending any time catching a bunch of extra HM users, but not the problem of "oh wow, I didn't know [insert titular pokemon's name here] could learn surf!" Again, totally your call, I'm going to watch and enjoy your vidoes probably no matter what you do.

For the goose pokemon, I think it ought to be a flying-fighting type.

Something that could help ya: bibarel, the evolution of bidoof, is like the ultimate hm friend. It learns all of them except for fly. No joke. It's great!

Loved the zoom in on blissey's hp as it took forever to go down

only played through platinum once or twice, will be fun to learn the game from your vids.

Yo it's my favorite starter line! Infernape has been a top mon for me ever since I first saw it in my old DP handbook and using it in playthroughs was always a blast

I love how one of the scariest champions isnt a big deal in this type of challenge because of how stupidly overpowered you are.

Nice! With its good mixed stats and coverage I’m thinking Infernape is lined up for a great run here!

Mach punch got replaced by conversion 2 pre gardenia as u mentioned a glitch with the oran Berry so not sure if u missed it or saw it too late but lovely work on a new gen as normal.

Ha, a Canada based region would be pretty cool actually. I'm on the opposite side as you but I think part of what would make it cool is how different different provinces are from each other (while still being kind of similar in other ways)

So, I love Torterra, but I think Infernape will always out perform it. However, I do think Torterra has more room to optimize. All in all, I love gen 4, it has so many of my favorite mons, and I'm super excited for more of this series.

In later generations, there is probably a use case for Stealth Rock to remove Sturdy on opposing Pokemon and ensuring more OHKOs. Not sure how often that would actually come up, though.

Hey Scott, you can actuallly find a bibarel in the wild in the grass just before hearthome city, so you would only need a bidoof, bibarel and flyer for all the HMs

My prefer the Turtwig line, Torterra being a world turtle was really neat. However, the fire monkey was amazing on my first time playing Diamond. Infernape is such an amazing lil shit AND could do well as a mixed attacker (on full teams, anyway).

Scott, Commander Mars' Purugly is one of the strongest early Ace Pokemon in the series, and is an easy wipeout for Nuzelock players.

Pro tip: Natural Gift is phenomenal for trainers like Crasher Wake and Candice and can be purchased in the department store. You don't have to spend time grinding. Also don't underestimate Candice just because you've swept her with an Infernape - she's possibly the hardest Gym Leader in DPPt because of her Froslass and its Snow Cloak. She will absolutely give resets to neutral matchups. Only other contender is Crasher Wake.

We cannot have a canadian goose pokemon, it would just one-shot everything - way too op :D

You could get Fire Punch and some other good moves with shard move tutors

I find it strange that this line doesn't learn fire punch naturally. Seems like a no-brainer. They even get Iron Fist as their Hidden Ability next gen! And you are correct, Bibarel is officially bee-barrel. Similarly, Bidoof is pronounced bee-doof. They are beavers after all, so it works. Oh, and Scizor is pronounced sizz-ore (not scissor) and the 'dra' in Drapion is pronounced like the 'dra' in dragon. The name seems to be a combination of dragon/Dracula and scorpion. Pretty cool!

Yesss just when I am starting to play Platinum for the first time myself!!!

I think, beyond having more levels for Fantina, an option was definitely to use Rock Tomb to lower her Mismagius's speed While the damage would have been less. I feel like the speed control could have made it slightly more consistent. Honestly though. I think the right choice is just to take the time for some earlier training, not just because you need to anyway for Barry, but because Infernape is such a huge jump in power from Monferno.

I really hope you do the Rapidash line as well. I know that you like to start off a new generation using that generation's new Pokémon but, the Rapidash like is so prevalent in Generation 4 and was used by the majority of players that didn't choose Chimchar. I really wamt to see how Rapidash stacks up to Infernape's performance. Let's treat Ponyta as an honorary Gen 4 Pokémon.

Elemental punch iron punch infernape is a chefs kiss

Other Canadian themed mon recommendations: Grass Psychic Maple leaf that evolves into a Maple tree with a middle evolution being a bottle of syrup Water Fairy Rainbow Trout

Do not sleep on stealth rock, if you for some reason have a lot of problems with flying or fire types, and they are not the first Pokémon, stealth rock may chunk 1/4 or 1/2 of if their HP , and it could be a replacement to curse if you want to keep the speed of swords dance is the pokemon can't learn it. Granted it's going to be rarely used. But it can help wonders of Pokemon who lack setup moves

14:36 I am surprised you didnt teach Monferno grass knot for coverage against the Prinplug. You could do it in place of Ember

I just want to comment this right now. Please do not dismiss stealth rock so easily. There are definitely going to be pokemon that will want it. By using just one turn to set up, you can cut all the next pokemons' HP from anywhere between 3% for wuad resists to 50% for quad effectives. This can help push damage ranges and possibly make for less training in certain areas of the game.

We finally did get a moose Pokémon, and Ting-Lu is even pretty good in the right circumstances

***3rd gym spoiler*** 14:12 I think blaze kicking in would have gotten you the KO on Mismagius regardless of the crit. These abilities are hard to remember, but I'm glad your interface shows when Blaze/Torrent/Overgrowth kick in.... so long as you have that type's move in your moveset.

Just an FYI, the crit on Fantina was actually a useless crit because Monferno has Blaze.