Tips for Character Playthroughs: A Personal Guide

Written By NatAttack862 .

Since character themed playthroughs have become one of my favorite ways to spice up a playthrough, I thought it would be fun to go over tips for anyone who’s interested. Because, while character based playthroughs are pretty straightforward regardless of the player, there are elements that can be considered. Thinks like what to do when a game doesn’t have all of the Pokémon a character uses (be it six Pokémon or less), when to get certain Pokémon, and move sets are all things to consider.

So, here are my personal tips for how to approach character playthroughs. I will be using my Diantha run, my Raihan run, and my Lysandre as my primary examples. I am working on something for the latter two, so if your reading this post before those come out, just know that I am working on posts for both.

What if the Game You Want to do the Run in Doesn’t Have All of the Pokémon They Use?

Raihan and Duraludon

This will typically, but not always, occur when your doing a playthrough outside of the character’s debut game. And example of this is when I did my Raihan run in Scarlet. There are three factors that will determine how you can go about it.

  • First, see if they appear in any of the other games. An example would be Lance in Black 2/White 2’s World Championship tournament. Lance uses a few more options outside of the Kanto Dragons, Johto Dragons, and their respected Dragon Egg Group Pokémon. So if you were doing a Lance run in Scarlet, you could replace Aerodactyl, which isn’t in the Dex with Haxerous, Flygon, Hydreigon, or Kingdra since they are in Scarlet. Another example could be a Cynthia playthrough in Legends Arceus. Since Milotic isn’t available in it, which also explains why Volo uses Hisuian Arcanine, it could be swapped out with Glaceon since Cynthia uses on in the Unova games.

  • The second option is looking outside of the main games. If the character appears in the manga (ex. Special) and/or spin offs like Pokémon Masters EX there is a chance that they use a Pokémon that they don’t normally use in any of the main games. An example of this would be Lysandre. I have a Lysandre run in Scarlet that’s currently on the Indigo Disc and am considering doing a Lysandre run in Sword/Shield. The former has all four Pokémon he uses in X/Y, the latter does not have Honchkrow or Pyroar. In the case of Sword/Shield, both could be replaced will include Xerneas and Yveltal since both can be found in the Crown Tundra as version exclusives. The reason both could be an option is due to the fact that he will use one or the other based on his Ultra Sun/Ultra Moon team as well as his base unit in Masters EX including Yveltal (Sycamore uses Xerneas). Lysandre also has a unit in Masters EX with Volcanion. So that can also be an option if you have one.

  • The last option would be to replace whatever Pokemon is missing with something that would fit the character’s specialty or character. My Raihan run in Scarlet would be an example of this. I was able to use five of the seven Pokémon he used in his gym battle, his champion cup team, and subsequent rematches. The only ones that weren’t available were Gigalith and Turtonator. What I ended up doing was using Dipplin. It fit his Dragon specialty as well as his weather specialty since it would work well with Torkoal’s Drought ability.

These are the three routes I would recommend. Of course, it will come down to what game you want to do the run in and what Pokémon are available. However, there are ways to approach alterations if/when it’s needed. But what if you want to do a character who doesn’t have six Pokémon?

What if the Character Doesn’t Have A Six Member Team?

The initial look for Lysandre

Not every character will have a full team of six. This is especially true for characters like gym leaders who may not have a full team in their original battles or subsequent rematches. I have three suggestions for this.

  • The first, look to spin offs and the manga. Similar to a character who may not have a certain Pokémon outside of their debut game, the manga and the spin offs are great places to find ideas. Scarlet and Violet do have his entire X/Y team. However, they don’t have Xerneas and Yveltal, which I would have added if they were. Volcanion could have also been an option if I had one.

  • The second route would be basing it on the character. My Lysandre run in Scarlet will, once again, be the example. I’ve rotated through a few options, some including, but not limited to Florgess, Hisuian Arcanine, Duraludon, and Hydregon. Hydreigon was a suggestion while I was compiling his inital team and was recommended since Lysandre would like strong Pokémon. I was thinking about using Florgess since it would reference the fact he is distantly related to AZ who has a Floette and would have provided coverage between it's Fairy typing and the fact I gave it the Grass Tera type to help with the team’s Water, Ground, and Rock weaknesses. Hisuian Arcanine is a pick for a loyal Pokémon that would fit along the Fire aesthetic of Team Flare. All the while Duraludon, who’s a recent addition, was added as a reference to Lumiose City, namely the Lumiose City Gym (a.k.a. Prism Tower) since Duraludon’s Gigantimax form looks like a tower.

  • The final option will be to build a team around a character’s role and Pokemon they or the region is associated with. This would be good for a character that either doesn’t have a team or uses very few Pokémon. An example of this would be the Sycamore playthrough I am working on in Violet. Since he doesn’t really have a team, I am basing it on Mega Evolution, the Fairy type, the anime, and two of his units in Masters. His team will consist of Greninja, Venasaur, Gogoat, Sylveon, Garchomp, and Talonflame. Talonflame is the reagional bird for Kalos. Sylveon was announced around the same time that the then new Fairy type was. Garchomp is based on the one he had in the anime. Gogoat and Venasaur are based on two of his units in Masters where his Lodge unit is Bulbasaur and his Holiday unit is Gogoat. Gogoat is also a nod to rideable Pokémon in X&Y. Bulbasaur, meanwhile, is also based on how Kalos gives you a Kalos and Kanto starter and seems to be the starter most associated with Sycamore. At least in my experience. Lastly, Greninja is the Kalos starter pick. The reason I went with Greninja over the other two is because I associate the Fenniken line with Serena and I didn’t want to give Sycamore two Grass starters. Especially since that would have meant his team was half of his team would have been weak to Fire.

These will be options for characters who don’t have a full team or may not have a team at all. My Sycamore run in Violet will probably be a fun one once it really gets going. I wanted to do it to coincide with my Lysandre run in Scarlet and in honor of Legends Z-A which is coming out in the near future. With tips on what to do with teams, it’s time to hop over to moves.

Move Sets

Despite doing a few character themed playthroughs, this isn’t something I put much thought into. At least, not until recently. When it comes to move sets, I feel like it can be done one of two ways depending on if you want to keep the team as canonical as possible or not.

If you want to keep it as canonical as possible, then that is totally fine. I would recommend checking out Serebii since its a generally good resource to check out. Each section is a generation and will include all of the games that fall under that generation. So if you were doing your own Raihan run, you could jump over to the generation eight section, click on Sword and Shield and pull up the pages on the Gym Challenges and the Champion Cup so that you can see what the options are and their moves. It’ll also let you select the moves and Pokemon to see what’s available in the generation you want to do the run in. Keeping Raihan as an example, I’m going to go with Flygon. In the Champion Cup, his Flygon knows Sandstorm, Dragon Claw, Earthquake, and Crunch. In Scarlet, Trapinch will learn Sandstorm at level 32 and Vibrava learns Earthquake at level 44. Breaking Swipe and Crunch are TMs you can get. You could also teach it Thunder Punch instead since his Flygon knows Thunder Punch in his Gym battle and it’s an available, learnable TM in Scarlet. That could be coverage for his team’s Water weakness.

On the flip side, if you don’t care to follow an exact move set, that’s okay too. I don’t typically and teach the team what I feel is necessary based on what the game calls for. So that could be a route you take as well. Using Raihan’s Flygon again, I believe I taught it Earthquake, Fly, and I believe Sandstorm and Dragon Claw. While Water and Ice are the main weaknesses of Raihan’s team, Fly is good for Grass and Fighting coverage.

In conclusion, the move sets come down to preference. If you want to do a character playthrough as purely canon as possible, you can. Serebii will come in handy more so here than if you don’t. If you don’t want to follow a canonical move set, that’s okay too. The Pokémon a character has will have an array of moves that can be learned to fit your playthrough. With the main pillars of the team reviewed, I’ll conclude with when Pokémon should be built.

When to Get Certain Pokémon

Diantha Meeting Peony

Since there are a number of ways to obtain the team, depending on the game, I’ve narrowed it down to three distinct ways to approach this that can be done at different points of the game. The main thing will be getting the team before beating the main game, so some methods may be better than others, and are as followed:

  • Catching them as early as possible,

  • Trading, and,

  • Transfering.

Additionally, there are things like Max Raids and Tera Raids. Though these methods are exclusive to Sword/Shield and Scarlet/Violet, I will still go over them in the event you’re doing the playthrough in either of them.

Catching Them as Soon as You Can

Assuming all of the Pokémon you need can be caught in the game and don’t require trading. You can capture them as soon as feasible possible. In my Lysandre run, for example, Magikarp can be caught in South Province Area 1 on your way to Los Platos after you meet Arven. Litleo can be caught as soon as you can get to East Province Area 1 between Artazon and Mela’s base. Murkrow can also be found in the same area as well as several areas in the South, West, and East Provinces. Mienfoo can be caught at Wistful Fields once you get through the introductory stuff in Kitakami (it can be caught in a few areas, Wistful Fields is just it’s fixed location), with Kitakami being unlocked once you start the game. So, excluding any additions, Lysandre’s team can be obtained as soon as the second gym (maybe even before if you don’t battle Brassius right as you get to Artazon).

Trading

Trading can be a great way to obtain a Pokémon if it’s not exclusive to your version. For instance, if you were doing a Leon run in Scarlet, you’ll need to trade for a Dragapult since it’s exclusive to Violet.

If you’re doing a character run in any of the newer games, there are a few ways to trade. The first is Surprise Trades or Friend Trades. If you have a friend who can trade with you, this will be pretty straightforward. You will just need to set up a room with a Link Code and go ahead with the trade. Surprise Trading can be done globally, you’ll just need to hook up to the internet and go from there. The only issue is that there isn’t a guarantee that you’ll get what you want on the first or second try. The second option is Pokémon Home, specifically the mobile app. It offers both Wonder Trades (random) and the Global Trading Service. The latter will let you search for and request specific Pokémon that you can transfer to you’re game through your Switch’s version of Home. It does have a premium subscription for things like more space, how many Pokémon you can put into Wonder Boxes and the Global Trading Boxes, as well as moving Pokémon from Bank to Home (assuming you have Bank), but has a few different prices depending on if you want a monthly, yearly, or three month subscription. I used Home pretty frequently. Mainly as a way to store Pokémon, but also to trade for specific Pokémon when needed. Another option can be Reddits allowing trades. Or even trading with a friend. So there are avenues for trading.

Trading gets difficult the further back you go. For the DS and 3DS being discontinued, this will be due to the fact that their internet/online services have been discontinued, so it would have to be done locally. So, if you or a friend had a second DS/3DS with a Pokémon you needed, trading locally is an option. One instance where this could be an option is if you were doing a Jasmine run in Diamond/Pearl/Platinum. Both Scizor and Steelix are trade evolutions that require trading a Scyther or Onix holding a Metal Coat. Technically, Steelix can be obtained on the Iron Island, but if you caught an Onix and wanted to evolve it, it will require a trade.

The most difficult trade route would be trading in any of the Gameboy or Gameboy Advanced games due to the systems and the link cables not circulating anymore. As such, it could get expensive depending on the seller if you don’t already have them. However, it is still doable. So if you wanted to do a Blaine run in Blue, for instance, and needed to trade for an Arcanine from Red, it is possible.

Trading is the way to go if you have the mean to, and is unlocked pretty early. In the earlier generations, from what I recall, this would be right after you get the first badge, while in Scarlet/Violet, it’s unlocked as soon as you get to the Pokémon Center in Los Platos. As such, you could get your team set up pretty early.

Transferring (Bank/Home)

Transferring is another option, which isn’t a new concept for the game in general since there was a way to send a Pokémon from a generation three game to a generation seven game. However, the kin of transferring for this point will involve apps.

Pokémon Bank, introduced in 2014, was a storage app introduced with the sixth generation. This eShop app allowed players to send Pokémon to a storage unit outside of the games, which would be beneficial for players who wanted to keep their teams and other Pokémon like shiny Pokémon. And while the eShop and online services were discontinued at the beginning of 2024, it is currently still running, so long as you still have it. Pokémon Home, which was launched in 2020, is essentially Bank’s spiritual successor. Similar to Bank, it’s an app that allows players to store Pokémon with the only real difference being Pokémon Home require a premium subscription for certain features, including transferring Pokémon from Bank to Home, whereas Bank became completely free in 2023.

This relates to character playthroughs and transfers in general due to the fact that both Bank and Home are ways to transfer Pokémon over regardless of whether or not trading is required. For instance, in my Raihan run, I ended up transferring a Trapinch and Duraludon over once I got the PokéDex. This way I could have both from the beginning without having to unlock the Indigo Disc/Blueberry Academy until I wanted to.

The only real issue, which isn’t that much of an issue in hindsight, is how traded Pokémon won’t obey their current trainer if they don’t have enough badges. So if you are transferring a Pokémon from say Sword to Scarlet, it may not listen to you until you get at least a badge or two since they tend tot level up quicker. But once you get the first badge or two, it isn’t really an issue. Another option could be sending over a Pokémon, breed it with Ditto, and use the egg(s). This way the Pokémon will belong to the trainer in the run and you wouldn’t have to worry about it disobeying you. I did that with Aurorus and Tyrantrum in my Diantha run in Sword. Once I was able to get to the Route Five Day Care, I just bred Aurorus and Tyrantrum for an Amaura and Tyrunt.

Transferring, much like trading, will give you the option to have a Pokémon as soon as feasibly possible. If you already have the Pokémon, or wanted to breed one for the playthrough, both are options you can go with.

Miscellaneous

This is for the Sword/Shield and Scarlet/Violet mechanics. Specifically, Dynamax and Tera Raids. With the right amount of progress, you can find a number of Pokémon through raids. This can be good for players who want to catch their own Pokémon, and since they can be done on or offline, gives players a chance to encounter version exclusives.

One of the main issue will be what Pokémon appear in certain star raids and when said raids appear. An example would be Duraludon, who can be found in five and six star raids, which are unlocked after beating the main game. So if you wanted to do a Raihan playthrough, you would either have to trade/transfer one over or catch one in the Polar Biome in the Terrarium. The only other main issue would be the predictability of finding the Pokémon you want. For instance, Trapinch will appear in two star raids, which you do get once you start the story. However, while this could make it easier to catch one early on and not having to worry about raising one from level one, there’s no way of determining when you’ll find a Trapinch raid. They do reset daily, multiple times a day if you beat all of the active raids in Sword/Shield. So it may take a few tries.

That said, raids are a good way to catch Pokémon. They will have good/great/amazing stats depending on the star. They’ll also give you items that you can use or sell like Nuggets, EXP Candies, and Berries. It’ll just require a little patience.

Final Thoughts

How you approach character playthroughs will come down to you. These are just my suggestion based on how I’ve approached them. I also wanted to make sure I included some options for different scenarios since each factor has a few venues.

If you have any additional inquire, feel free to include them.

Sources

NatAttack862 .
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