Crystal Battle Tower

Ironic. I'm making a guide to the Crystal Battle Tower, and I've still only managed to actually beat seven trainers in a row in it like twice.

Oh well. The first thing you need to know about the Battle Tower is that the Pokémon there are DAMN LUCKY. They always score a critical hit when it's their only chance of winning (especially with Hyper Beam) and miss very rarely. And what their presence alone can do to your Pokémon... they will suddenly miss like crazy, never critical hit, all at the worst possible moments. That's my experience, anyway.

The second thing you need to know, which unlike the first one is actually useful, is that they tend to know Hyper Beam and/or Earthquake. What does that mean? That Skarmory is a lifesaver, having sky-high Defense, a resistance to Hyper Beam and an altogether immunity to Earthquake.

Thirdly... well, it's time I actually tell you the rules of the Battle Tower, isn't it?

  1. Mewtwo, Ho-oh, Lugia, Celebi and Mew can't enter below level 70. There goes your last hope of turning the luck to your side.
  2. Only three Pokémon may enter, and they must all be different species. So basically, even when you know that Skarmory would do great, you can't just enter a team of three Skarmory. Of course, that wouldn't be a particularly good idea anyway.
  3. No eggs. Not that anybody would attempt that.
  4. No pack items; only held items, and the items held by your three Pokémon have to be three different items. I might add that there is no rule that says the Battle Tower Pokémon can't have three of the same item...
  5. No switching while the enemy is sending out a new Pokémon after one has fainted. This isn't actually listed as a rule, but it is - it's the rule of all linked battling too.

Fourthly, the Battle Tower is not fair. Why, you ask?

  • They can Perish trap you (the Mean Look/Whirlpool + Perish Song combo), but you can't Perish trap them - when you attempt it, they can switch out on the turn you switch out.
  • As mentioned earlier, they can hold the same items but you can't.
  • They have a neverending supply of rare items that will take you months of Mystery Gifting to obtain even one of.
  • Last but not least, their disgusting luck and your lack thereof can turn even the best of situations into a loss.

So obviously, you need quite a bit of skill to stand a chance.

Now, I should be fair and mention that my Battle Tower team is, to put it bluntly, horrible. This is because I have no level 100 Pokémon on my Crystal besides three that my cousin traded to me, and therefore I have to use them. They have horrid movesets that I have never felt I had the authority to change for some reason; therefore, it may well be that you'll have a much easier time with it than I did.

Finally, two specific tips:

Wobbuffet

If the enemy has a Wobbuffet, you're in luck, because it's pretty much a free Pokémon.

All you need is a Pokémon with both physical and special attacks. If you have to switch in, start out with a non-damaging attack and watch if it uses Counter or Mirror Coat. (If you don't need to switch in, it doesn't really matter that much because Wobbuffet normally starts battles with Safeguard, but you can do it just to be safe.) Next, if it used Counter, use a special attack, and if it used Mirror Coat, use a physical attack. Next turn, if you used a special attack, use a physical attack, and if you used a physical attack, use a special attack, and so on; basically, alternate special and physical attacks. This works because if you used a special attack last turn, it will always use Mirror Coat, and if you used a physical attack last turn, it will always use Counter.

Level 10

Dragon Rage rules everything at earlier levels as it automatically does 40 hit points of damage regardless of levels. Aerodactyl can get Dragon Rage by trading back to R/B/Y and using the TM; so can Lapras. Dump some other strong non-evolving Pokémon there too - you can try Skarmory as mentioned above. Just watch out for Blissey and Wobbuffet, since they have a bunch of HP and will not faint in one hit unlike most of the other level tens.

Page last modified August 13 2016 at 02:34 UTC