Before's Random Petsite Blog

[ladala99]

One Spyro Level a Month Until the Next Spyro Game Releases - May 2026 - Icy Flight

Intro/Rules

Previous Level

Next Level

It's time for the last Flight of the game!

Area 1: Lighthouses and Chests

This level is very compact. Ahead of you as you enter is a bunch of lighthouses to light, as well as a bunch of chests to flame along the bottom. There isn't a clear efficient path through these obstacles and I always need to turn around at least once, retreading ground to get them all.

Train Tracks

At the start and end of the first area, there's train tracks the lead through a tunnel. This leads to the other major areas.

Trains and Helicopters

Following the train tracks will lead to two smaller areas filled with helicopter Gnorcs. Get the trains and the Gnorcs and the level is complete!

Finishing this level gives us 10K treasure total if done now, and leaves us at 87% - only 1% more than last time.

Lore Talk

This Flight stands out in how disorganized it is. Particularly how busy and weird the lighthouses and the chests are in the beginning, versus the strangely clear sections where the Gnorcs are flying.

There's even a bunch of buildings in one of the Gnorc sections, but it looks very dragon-made, so I don't think this is necessarily a Gnorc outpost like Wild Flight. Gnorcs are definitely here with their trains and helicopters, but they didn't shape this place other than maybe cutting through the mountains.

I think this Flight wasn't ready yet. The dragons put in a bunch of obstacles, but hadn't gotten around to arranging them before Gnasty froze them. I've said before that the Flight world was probably a dragon world that got flooded so everyone left and it got repurposed, and I think the building area is the village equivalent for this world.

Next Stop

It'll be time for the boss of Dream Weavers: Jacques.

I like how all the other bosses are weird things that aren't names. And the one for the dream/nightmare world is just Jack but French.

[ladala99]

Pokemon FireRed Journey - Part 10

In this part, I completed the main Kanto story! All that's left for the comparisons is the Elite Four Round 2, but I'm taking a bit of a break before getting into that.

I finished Victory Road, took on the Elite Four and was stunned at how easy it was compared to Diamond, and then started exploring Sevii Islands 4-7. I'll only have the Sevii Island trainers to fight before going for Elite Four Round 2, so I'm hoping to get all the Exp I can.

Direct route and boss comparisons between FireRed and Let's Go, Pikachu under the cut!

Victory Road stats and comparisons FireRed Team Levels at start of route: 46, 46, 46, 46, 46, 46 NPCs: 12 with 45 total Pokemon NPC levels: Low of 40, High of 48, Median of 42 Low Health Heals: 5 Team Levels at end of route: 48, 47, 47, 47, 48, 48

Let's Go, Pikachu Team Levels at start of route: 54, 54, 54, 52, 54, 52 NPCs: 11 with 28 total Pokemon NPC levels: Low of 46, High of 48, Median of 47 Low health heals: 7 Team Levels at end of route: 56, 56, 55, 54, 55, 54

LGP also had two Coach trainers in Victory Road, so it doesn't have fewer trainers. Still, despite the opposing trainers sometimes being higher than me in FR when that's not the case in LGP, I had to heal more in LGP.

Lorelei stats and comparisons FireRed Team Levels: 48, 47, 47, 47, 48, 48 Opponent Levels: 52, 51, 52, 54, 54 Healing items used: 1

Let's Go, Pikachu Team Levels: 56, 56, 55, 54, 55, 54 Opponent Levels: 51, 51, 51, 51, 52 Healing items used: 1

Was under the levels in FR, over them in LGP, same amount of heals.

We don't talk about Bruno stats and comparisons FireRed Team Levels: 48, 47, 47, 47, 49, 48 Opponent Levels: 51, 54, 53, 53, 56 Healing items used: 0

Let's Go, Pikachu Team Levels: 57, 56, 56, 55, 55, 55 Opponent Levels: 52, 53, 52, 52, 52 Healing items used: 2

Bruno was a complete pushover in FR. Not so much in LGP. You know, I think the fact that you have to have Surf and thus a Water-type really skews the perception of Blaine and Bruno in the older games.

Agatha stats and comparisons FireRed Team Levels: 48, 48, 48, 47, 50, 48 Opponent Levels: 54, 54, 56, 58, 53 Healing items used: 3

Let's Go, Pikachu Team Levels: 57, 56, 56, 55, 56, 55 Opponent Levels: 53, 53, 53, 53, 54 Healing items used: 3

Despite the level difference, I had the same amount of trouble with Agatha between the two games. I also didn't count Pokeflute uses in FR - not sure whether that was the case in LGP (or if she even got anything to sleep in that game).

Lance stats and comparisons FireRed Team Levels: 48, 48, 48, 47, 50, 49 Opponent Levels: 56, 54, 58, 54, 60 Healing items used: 1

Let's Go, Pikachu Team Levels: 57, 56, 56, 55, 56, 55 Opponent Levels: 54, 54, 54, 54, 55 Healing items used: 0

I was pretty prepared for Lance, not that he didn't take out a lot of my team. The healing item count does not always tell a good story.

Champion stats and comparisons FireRed Team Levels: 48, 48, 48, 47, 50, 49 Opponent Levels: 59, 59, 60, 68, 57, 59 Healing items used: 2

Let's Go, Pikachu Team Levels: 57, 57, 56, 56, 56, 56 Opponent Levels: 56, 56, 56, 56, 57, 56 Healing items used: 0

The champion fight was tough enough that even though I loosened up my Switch rules, I still needed more healing items than in LGP where I was playing on Set. (Normally I can only Switch to the front of the party; here I switched to type advantage because I was not sure I could do it with taking an extra hit)

And none of these did I have nearly as much trouble with as the Diamond Elite Four when I played with this same ruleset. Is Kanto just that easy?

[ladala99]

One Spyro Level a Month Until the Next Spyro Game Releases - April 2026 - Haunted Towers

Intro/Rules

Previous Level

Next Level

Spring is upon us - the time of the year for new life. Or in this case, reanimated life. We're not picky.

Entrance

We're dropped down in front of a building with a closed wooden door. A suit of armor is nearby, that can neither be flamed nor charged. The door can be broken down by either, though, so in we go. Just a wellness check, you see.

Yeah, right inside we have a Gnorc that throws grenades, a small wizard, and the wizard reanimates the suit of armor sitting inside. While the Gnorc and wizard can be taken out fairly easily, the suit of armor still can't be defeated.

What's more, to either side there's other animated suits of armor blocking our way, and a metal door as well. We can only go forwards.

Fairy 1

At the end there's another door, where a fairy is being harassed by a Gnorc. Defeat the Gnorc and the fairy will reward us with a kiss.

A kiss that enhances our flame breath into Superflame! It's time to take out some haunted armor and get some treasure!

The Main Island

Once we defeat the two suits of armor and collect all that there is on this small island, we can take a whirlwind over to the bigger island. It has more suits of armor, and even a strong chest, but our Superflame quickly runs out. We can only head past them, taking out wizards and Gnorcs as we see them.

Kosoko

Our first dragon of the level, Kosoko, is along the way. He gives us a hint that magical fairy kisses might do something to our power of flame. I really don't think we could have gotten here without figuring this out.

Fairy 2

Finally, across a bridge there's another fairy, cornered, being harassed by a Gnorc. Rescue her to regain Superflame.

Into the Tower

Past a wall we need to Superflame, there's that annoying wizard that animated everything and then a whirlwind that takes us up to an entrance to the tower. Inside is a Supercharge ramp!

The Grand Hall

Past a wall we need to Supercharge, there's an entire room of doors. Going from left to right:

The first wooden door leads to a fairy being harassed by a Gnorc. Defeat it and we can get Superflame again. But wait, what's the point of the Supercharge, then?

The second wooden door leads to a treasure room guarded by a suit of armor. We can get Superflame and it's very satisfying to destroy the metal chests with fire alone.

The wooden door at the end of the hall has a dragon!

Lutalo

Lutalo tells us what we want to hear: we'll soon be able to face Gnasty Gnorc. After two and almost a half years, he's so close!

The final two doors that need to be Superflamed or Supercharged lead outside - one to a little ramp with a strong chest and the other to a staircase.

If you're as smart as the developers give you credit for, you'll figure out that the Supercharge is there for a reason and you'll run around out the flat entrance to find that reason. The little circular ramp is a red herring - you can Superflame that chest no problem.

No, what you have to realize is that 1) you can jump down to the earlier area where you took the whirlwind up to the Supercharge ramp in the first place and 2) the fact that it's a ramp, not a staircase, to the whirlwind is important because you have to USE it like a ramp while Supercharging. Jump and glide around and you'll find a secret area!

Or you can use a guide. I certainly did the first time I played.

Secret Area

This secret area is a platform, with some fodder, and a whirlwind that leads to a strong chest. And a dragon!

Copano

Copano congratulates us on becoming a master of the Supercharge. Spyro's not even sassy to him this time.

The Haunted Staircase

Past him, there's a room with a ton of armor pieces on a long staircase. Quickly, a wizard starts enchanting them, and if you're not fast enough, you'll be blocked and have to leave and try again. (Luckily not the whole level iirc)

If you are fast enough, you can platform your way past them in time, take out the wizard, and meet a very special fairy.

Infinite Superflame

Be kissed by this fairy, and we get infinite Superflame for the duration of our stay in the level. Now we can take out the remaining suits of armor at our leisure.

Hop down this hole in the floor and we're back in the grand hall. Time to take the final staircase.

The Final Stronghold

All that's left in the level is a small little square with the final wizard, a final fairy for if you don't find the secret with a Gnorc harassing her, and some last treasure.

After the last treasure is collected, the level is 100% complete. Our new game total is 86% - 4% more than last time.

Lore Talk

Those suits of armor aren't actually haunted - they're enchanted. Where's the haunted portion? Where's the ghosts?

Well, I think the answer lies in the fact that this place is clearly occupied by Gnasty's army. The Gnorcs have discovered/invented grenades. They did not find them in Dream Weavers. They are invading, trying to capture the fairies as we've seen in Lofty Castle. They're working with the wizards from Magic Crafters as well, using the wizard powers to turn the normally-haunted armor against the dragons.

By the placements of the dragons and the fairies, we have a land that both Dream Weaver dragons and fairies live. Each have their own types of houses, with the smaller enclosed ones belonging to the fairies and bigger connected ones belonging to the dragons. It's weirdly-shaped because it's Dream Weavers.

Spyro is getting here to an occupation in progress, and he's just in time to stop it. The ghosts have already fled, but he manages to rescue the fairies and of course the dragons.

Next Stop:

One more break from the platforming in Icy Flight.

[ladala99]

Pokemon FireRed Journey - Part 9

Since last time, it's been an island adventure. I successfully navigated the Seafoam Islands, reached Cinnabar Island, explored the mansion, revived some fossils in the lab (which I'm not using) and beat Blaine, went on a trip to the Sevii Islands, and then headed back across the ocean to Pallet Town, beat the final Gym, and headed to Victory Road. Kanto's end draws near.

Route comparisons along the way:

Route 20 stats and comparisons FireRed Team Levels at start of route: 41, 42, 41, 41, 41, 42 NPCs: 10 with 24 total Pokemon NPC levels: Low of 28, High of 35, Median of 30 Low Health Heals: 0 Status Heals: 1 Team Levels at end of route: 42, 42, 43, 42, 42, 42

Let's Go, Pikachu Team Levels at start of route: 50, 49, 48, 48, 49, 48 NPCs: 11 with 21 total Pokemon NPC levels: Low of 41, High of 46, Median of 43 Low health heals: 1 In-battle heals: 4 Team Levels at end of route: 51, 51, 50, 49, 51, 49

Despite both games having a big level difference, I had a significantly tougher time in LGP, needing to heal in-battle several times. Wheras FireRed was a simple float with only the minor annoyance of a status condition.

There was also a Coach Trainer in the Seafoam Islands in LGP. They did not stand a chance.

Pokemon Mansion stats and comparisons FireRed Team Levels at start of route: 42, 42, 43, 42, 42, 42 NPCs: 7 with 15 total Pokemon NPC levels: Low of 29, High of 38, Median of 34 Low Health Heals: 0 Team Levels at end of route: 42, 43, 43, 42, 42, 43

Let's Go, Pikachu Team Levels at start of route: 51, 51, 50, 49, 51, 49 NPCs: 7 with 15 total Pokemon NPC levels: Low of 44, High of 46, Median of 45 Low health heals: 3 Team Levels at end of route: 52, 52, 51, 50, 51, 50

Similar to the route before, the Pokemon Mansion posed no threat in FR, but I had to heal a few times in LGP.

There was also a Coach Trainer in the mansion in LGP. They also did not pose a threat.

Cinnabar Gym stats and comparisons FireRed Team Levels at start of route: 42, 43, 43, 42, 42, 43 NPCs: 7 with 16 total Pokemon NPC levels: Low of 34, High of 41, Median of 36 Low Health Heals: 0 Team Levels at end of route: 43, 43, 43, 42, 43, 43

Let's Go, Pikachu Team Levels at start of route: 52, 52, 51, 50, 51, 50 NPCs: 4 with 5 total Pokemon NPC levels: Low of 44, High of 45, Median of 44 Low health heals: 0 Team Levels at end of route: 53, 52, 51, 51, 52, 50

The gym itself was an easy romp both times. LGP doesn't actually give you a chance to heal in between fights - it just allows you to skip them by answering the questions correctly. You can skip the trainers in FR, too, but you don't have to fight them all in a row, either.

Blaine stats and comparisons FireRed Team Levels: 43, 43, 43, 42, 43, 43 Opponent Levels: 42, 40, 42, 47 Healing items used: 0

Let's Go, Pikachu Team Levels: 52, 52, 51, 50, 52, 50 Opponent Levels: 47, 47, 48, 47 Healing items used: 2

Blaine's levels in FR told me that I was exactly where I wanted to be in level. My team had no problem wiping the floor with him, though. I had significantly more of an issue in LGP, where I needed to use healing items, despite being higher level than him. This is the difference between having a Water-type with Surf and not.

Sevii Islands

The Sevii Islands only exist in FRLG, so no comparisons are possible here. I went and cleared the three islands that are available at this point in the game.

The Kanto Federation fight gave me a little trouble (but not too much), and Mt. Ember I had to heal a few times, more to status than to health, though. And then I went back to Kanto to head north back towards Viridian.

Route 21 stats and comparisons FireRed Team Levels at start of route: 44, 44, 45, 45, 45, 44 NPCs: 9 with 22 total Pokemon NPC levels: Low of 27, High of 37, Median of 31.5 Low Health Heals: 0 Status Heals: 1 Team Levels at end of route: 45, 45, 45, 45, 45, 45

Let's Go, Pikachu Team Levels at start of route: 53, 52, 51, 51, 52, 50 NPCs: 9 with 22 total Pokemon NPC levels: Low of 42, High of 42, Median of 42 Low health heals: 0 Team Levels at end of route: 54, 53, 52, 52, 53, 51

Got a status condition in FR (entirely because of Poison Point, and Abilities don't exist in LGP), but otherwise was an easy route for both games. It can be done before Cinnabar, but I wanted something in-between Gyms.

Interesting that the water routes seem more copy-paste than others, with the same total Pokemon counts.

There's also a Coach Trainer here in LGP. They did not require healing.

Viridian Gym stats and comparisons FireRed Team Levels at start of route: 45, 45, 45, 45, 45, 45 NPCs: 8 with 24 total Pokemon NPC levels: Low of 37, High of 43, Median of 38 Low Health Heals: 2 Team Levels at end of route: 45, 46, 46, 46, 46, 46

Let's Go, Pikachu Team Levels at start of route: 54, 53, 52, 52, 53, 51 NPCs: 6 with 8 total Pokemon NPC levels: Low of 47, High of 48, Median of 47 Low health heals: 1 Team Levels at end of route: 54, 54, 53, 52, 53, 52

One more heal in FR than in LGP, but also more trainers so I can't fully commit to saying it's on average more difficult. The levels are convincing me that I am not overleveled in FR, since there's a much bigger gap between regular trainers and bosses in this game.

Giovanni stats and comparisons FireRed Team Levels: 45, 46, 46, 46, 46, 45 Opponent Levels: 45, 50, 44, 45, 42 Healing items used: 0

Let's Go, Pikachu Team Levels: 52, 54, 53, 52, 53, 52 Opponent Levels: 49, 49, 50, 49 Healing items used: 0

I am on average equal to Giovanni in FR, levels-wise, while I am well above him in LGP. In neither case does this final Gym give me much trouble. Somewhat anticlimactic, but I had great counters to his team in both games so it's not unexpected.

Rival stats and comparisons FireRed Team Levels: 45, 46, 46, 46, 46, 46 Opponent Levels: 47, 53, 45, 45, 45, 47 Healing items used: 0

Let's Go, Pikachu Team Levels: 54, 54, 53, 52, 53, 52 Opponent Levels: 50, 50, 50, 51 Healing items used: 0

And with nothing else inbetween, we have the next Rival fight. Again, I'm about equal in level to him in FR, and a bit over him in LGP, but neither gave me enough trouble to need to heal. Definitely was a pretty satisfying fight at least in FR (been a while since LGP) where more of my team got to do some damage.

[ladala99]

Pokemon FireRed Journey - Part 8

Since last time, I traveled through the second half of the Fuchsia loop, training my Lapras against the trainers on the Silence Bridge half. Then I finished training in the Fighting Dojo, where he finally reached the level that the rest had. They all fought Sabrina, and afterwards I headed down into the ocean routes via Fuchsia.

Route comparisons along the way:

Route 12 stats and comparisons FireRed Team Levels at start of route: 40, 40, 40, 40, 40, 25 NPCs: 8 with 18 total Pokemon NPC levels: Low of 21, High of 29, Median of 24 Low-health heals: 1 Team Levels at end of route: 40, 40, 40, 40, 40, 27

Let's Go, Pikachu Team Levels at start of route: 45, 44, 43, 43, 44, 43 NPCs: 3 with 5 total Pokemon NPC levels: Low of 35, High of 36, Median of 36 Heals: 0 Team Levels at end of route: 45, 45, 43, 43, 44, 43

Not quite a fair comparison since I did the first half of Route 12 earlier in LGP whereas I did the whole thing at once in FR. I wouldn't describe either of these as hard. In fact I'll probably be repeating myself a lot if I commentate each route so I may not.

I also did this section in opposite directions per game, starting in Route 12 in FR while starting in Route 15 in LGP. Whoops.

There's also a coach trainer here in LGP.

Route 13 stats and comparisons FireRed Team Levels at start of route: 40, 40, 40, 40, 40, 27 NPCs: 10 with 33 total Pokemon NPC levels: Low of 24, High of 30, Median of 27 Low-health heals: 1 Team Levels at end of route: 40, 40, 40, 40, 40, 32

Let's Go, Pikachu Team Levels at start of route: 44, 43, 42, 42, 43, 42 NPCs: 10 with 19 total Pokemon NPC levels: Low of 36, High of 40, Median of 37 Low Health Heals: 0 Status Heals: 1 Team Levels at end of route: 45, 44, 43, 43, 44, 43

Easy route in both.

Route 14 stats and comparisons FireRed Team Levels at start of route: 40, 40, 40, 40, 40, 32 NPCs: 11 with 28 total Pokemon NPC levels: Low of 26, High of 33, Median of 28 Low-health heals: 1 Team Levels at end of route: 40, 40, 40, 40, 40, 35

Let's Go, Pikachu Team Levels at start of route: 43, 42, 41, 41, 42, 41 NPCs: 10 with 14 total Pokemon NPC levels: Low of 37, High of 40, Median of 38 Low Health Heals: 2 Status Heals: 1 Team Levels at end of route: 44, 43, 42, 42, 43, 42

Seems I had a little more trouble in this route in LGP than in FR. Makes sense, since the opposing levels were a lot closer to mine than in FR. Doing this really makes me appreciate the effort put into LGP's level curve.

Route 15 stats and comparisons FireRed Team Levels at start of route: 40, 40, 40, 40, 40, 35 NPCs: 11 with 30 total Pokemon NPC levels: Low of 25, High of 33, Median of 28 Low-health heals: 0 Status heals: 1 Team Levels at end of route: 40, 40, 40, 40, 40, 39

Let's Go, Pikachu Team Levels at start of route: 42, 42, 40, 40, 41, 40 NPCs: 5 with 9 total Pokemon NPC levels: Low of 37, High of 39, Median of 37 Low Health Heals: 3 Team Levels at end of route: 43, 42, 41, 41, 42, 41

Again, a bit more trouble in this route in LGP than in FR. Also less than half the trainers. Where did everybody go?

Fighting Dojo stats and comparisons FireRed Team Levels at start of route: 40, 40, 40, 40, 40, 39 NPCs: 4 with 9 total Pokemon NPC levels: Low of 31, High of 36, Median of 31 Heals: 0 Team Levels at end of route: 40, 40, 40, 40, 40, 40

Let's Go, Pikachu Team Levels at start of route: 45, 45, 43, 43, 44, 43 NPCs: 4 with 4 total Pokemon NPC levels: Low of 31, High of 31, Median of 31 Heals: 0 Team Levels at end of route: 46, 45, 44, 43, 45, 44

Complete pushovers in both games. Going by levels, it seems the intended place to fight them is here in FR, but when you first get to Saffron in LGP.

Karate Master stats and comparisons FireRed Team Levels: 40, 40, 40, 40, 40, 40 Opponent Levels: 37, 37 Healing items used: 0

Let's Go, Pikachu Team Levels: 45, 45, 43, 43, 45, 43 Opponent Levels: 34 Healing items used: 0

Why does he just have a Poliwrath in LGP? Anime reference? It wasn't that way in Yellow. He was actually close to my level in FR, but not so much in LGP.

There's also a coach trainer here in LGP, which I also had no trouble with.

Saffron Gym stats and comparisons FireRed Team Levels at start of route: 40, 40, 40, 40, 40, 40 NPCs: 7 with 16 total Pokemon NPC levels: Low of 31, High of 38, Median of 33 Heals: 0 Team Levels at end of route: 41, 40, 40, 41, 41, 41

Let's Go, Pikachu Team Levels at start of route: 48, 47, 47, 46, 48, 46 NPCs: 6 with 11 total Pokemon NPC levels: Low of 40, High of 42, Median of 41 Low health heals: 2 In-battle heals: 2 Team Levels at end of route: 49, 48, 47, 47, 49, 47

I had so much trouble in LGP I needed in-battle heals. Despite being about the same level difference. I think the biggest reason is I had a lot of Psychic counters on my FR team and did not on my LGP team. Kangaskhan was an MVP.

Sabrina stats and comparisons FireRed Team Levels: 41, 40, 40, 41, 41, 41 Opponent Levels: 38, 37, 38, 43 Healing items used: 0

Let's Go, Pikachu Team Levels: 49, 48, 47, 47, 48, 47 Opponent Levels: 43, 43, 44, 43 Healing items used: 2

As in the gym itself, I had more trouble with Sabrina in LGP than in FR. Kangaskhan continued to be MVP.

Route 19 stats and comparisons FireRed Team Levels at start of route: 41, 40, 40, 41, 41, 41 NPCs: 11 with 33 total Pokemon NPC levels: Low of 27, High of 30, Median of 29 Heals: 0 Team Levels at end of route: 41, 42, 41, 41, 41, 42

Let's Go, Pikachu Team Levels at start of route: 49, 49, 48, 47, 49, 47 NPCs: 7 with 11 total Pokemon NPC levels: Low of 38, High of 42, Median of 41 Low health heals: 0 Team Levels at end of route: 50, 49, 48, 48, 48, 48

And we end anticlimactically in the middle of the ocean with both games traveling with ease. LGP hits level 50 - can FR catch up?

[ladala99]

My current team in Pokemon Champions is complete trash while I wait to shift to copying/modifying something someone who knows what they're doing has made.

But I cannot describe the joy I feel seeing the all-star team I cobbled together.

We have Brwn the Mega Kangaskhan who helped climb the ranks of the Battle Maison and Battle Tree. Blu4 the Greninja also came from this era as well as Gren the Meganium, but iirc they were on the Rotation Battle team that didn't actually make it to the top. Gren might actually get some real spotlight if I build a team around his new Mega form, though!

We have Whisp the ridiculously lucky Shiny Dragapult - I was only breeding for stats/Nature and a Shiny popped out with the final stats/Nature I was looking for. She got me through the ranks of the Galar Battle Tower, just so I could unlock whatever it was that unlocked. Maybe I was grinding for something, I don't remember.

We have Willie the Pelipper who ran support on my first actual VGC team copied from the internet, who got me up the ranks so Mina could get the Master Rank ribbon in Scarlet/Violet.

And then we have newcomers Whimsicott and Aggron from the default box, and Incineroar who was apparently summoned to the recruit ranch by my thoughts since I went through my boxes, realized I did not have a single Incineroar on any game on my main Switch, and then checked the ranch only for one to be in the lineup.

I also have Blu3 the Garchomp who has seen some use in most games since Gen IV Battle Tower in the box just in case I have some use for her. Garchomp is good.

[ladala99]

Item: The Welcome Mat Rarity: ⏶ Common

What game feels like "home" to you no matter when you come back to it?

Feed your dashboard by answering my question, blogger.

Let's see if this does anything. My answer is Spyro the Dragon.

[ladala99]

Uploading some favorites from my lair:

And he looks quite proud of it!

Indeed. Very good.

Given he doesn't have wings, I guess he jumped really far?

I could see it.

Just the imagery of the evil world-destroying dragon doing somethings so mischievous yet pointless.

He's specifically the Enter the Dragonfly version, which is a very glitchy game.

I agree. Girl who ships herself with Spyro indeed matches the smutty fanfiction sprite.

Luck or is binary locked to Circuit gene?

Very specific.

[ladala99]

One Spyro Level a Month Until the Next Spyro Game Releases - March 2026 - Lofty Castle

Intro/Rules

Previous Level

Next Level

When you think of Spyro 1, what level do you think of? I tend to think of Lofty Castle. It's the most Spyro 1-y of the Spyro 1 levels. Which is weird because it's pretty unique.

Entrance

There's not really a portal shape here. I guess that bridge might count if you squint?

Anyway, you have basically what you see all level in view - floating platforms, pools of water that escape off these small sky islands, and whirlwinds.

Look around or jump up and you see the two unique enemies of this level: a Gnorc with a balloon, and fat. . . bird things. The birds are slow, make a lot of noise, and can be defeated by both of your attacks. The Gnorcs can't be directly attacked, but their balloons can.

There are potentially two ways to go from here. There's a little area with a bridge and a locked chest, or there's another platform with a bunch of devil cupids and faeries in cages.

The most straightforward way is to go to the other island, so let's go there.

Island 2

The devil cupids return from Dark Passage, and act exactly as before. For the most part, they aren't positioned very threateningly, though. The fairy cages can be destroyed with either a flame or a charge (but charge them. You don't want to hurt the fairies, do you?). Three fairies are scatted in this small area, free them, and they create a whirlwind for you to the next area.

Mudada

This set of fairies take you directly to a dragon: Mudada. He tell Spyro that "fairies are always on your side." A sentiment that stays correct throughout the entire series. There hasn't been an evil or otherwise antagonistic fairy yet.

Also, Mudada is dragon #67 if you've been following along. Do with that information as you will.

The other option

From here, you can drop down into an area with a bunch of clustered devil cupids. This is the other area we could have gone to from the beginning, with the lock box. There's also three fairies to rescue here that open a whirlwind back up to Mudada.

Fun fact: down here is the only Red Gem Chest in the game. I always think it's special because I haven't seen one before, and then it gives me 1 Gem and I'm like "oh yeah, it's that one." Also fun fact: these were more common in the beta.

The Bird Trail to the Tower

Back on top, there's another split path ahead. Go to the left following the bird trail first if you don't want to backtrack, and watch out of the devil cupid.

Up top is a tower with a whirlwind inside, that takes you down a cool glide to attack some Gnorcs and free three fairies.

Useni

The fairies create a whirlwind that takes us to our second dragon. He tells us that Supercharge can take us to new places in Lofty Castle, too. I really feel like they were running out of dialogue ideas for this level.

There's a key behind him, so don't forget that, and then glide across for the Supercharge ramp that he talked about.

Supercharge

This is a very straightforward Supercharge, although the timing might be a bit difficult. Jump off this ramp onto the circular path ahead (jumping onto the right side), then jump off that and glide to the platform.

Which has some gems! It's also by where the locked chest, so you can use the key now and head back up to take the other path.

More Islands, More Fairies

On the right branch, it's more islands with more fairies. And a dragon.

Baruti

Baruti doesn't even try to say anything interesting, instead opting to thank us for releasing him.

He is also Dragon #69. Do what you will with that information.

Is This the Lofty Castle?

For a level called "Lofty Castle," you spend very little time actually inside the castle. Here we have a little interior section where a devil cupid will be shooting at you the entire time.

At least if you look at him. Fun fact: enemies in Spyro don't actually attack if they're not on-screen. So focus your eyes away and he doesn't pose a threat at all. Which is unfortunate given that this area is one of the few areas where ranged enemies are a threat before you get to them.

The Final Fairies

More whirlwinds, more balloon Gnorcs, more fairies in cages. You get it by now. I neglected to take a picture of the exit portal. The last gems are here. You're actually done when you reach the end this time - yay!

We end with 82%, 3% more than last time.

Lore Talk

While Dark Passage was completely Gnorc-free, Lofty Castle is not. I can only conclude that Gnorcs are afraid of the beasts in Dark Passage.

And they're actually doing something significant here: capturing fairies. The fairies help you along so often during the game, and the Gnorcs have noticed. They're trying to keep them from helping any further.

Either this area is where fairies come from, or it's where the Gnorcs decided to put them. This seems like a pretty appropriate place for the fairies to be from, though. Makes me wonder: are the fairies dreamed up by the dragons, or do they assist the Dream Weavers in creating good dreams?

Those bird things and the devil cupids might be there because the Dream Weavers have been captured, so the nightmares are bleeding in to the places where the good dreams should be.

Next Stop

The final regular level of Dream Weavers: Haunted Towers.

[ladala99]

Pokemon FireRed Journey - Part 7

Since last time, I took down Erika and Koga, explored the Power Plant, rescued Saffron, and got the rest of my team. I'm holding off on Saffron's Fighting Dojo and Gym, instead going down the east side of the Fuchsia loop to get my newest Pokemon up to speed.

Route comparisons along the way:

Celadon Gym stats and comparisons FireRed Team Levels at start of route: 38, 38, 38, 25 NPCs: 7 with 18 total Pokemon NPC levels: Low of 21, High of 24, Median of 22.5 Low-health heals: 1 Status heals: 2 Team Levels at end of route: 38, 38, 38, 29

Let's Go, Pikachu Team Levels at start of route: 35, 35, 33, 32, 36, 35 NPCs: 7 with 11 total Pokemon NPC levels: Low of 28, High of 32, Median of 29 Low-health heals: 1 Team Levels at end of route: 36, 35, 33, 33, 37, 35

There was a little bit of a difference in timing between fighting this Gym in each game. I did it before going on Pokemon Road in LGP, while I did it afterwards in FR.

I was above the level curve in both cases, and had about the same amount of trouble, just with some more statusing in FR. I was largely training my new Kangaskhan this time.

Erika stats and comparisons FireRed Team Levels: 38, 38, 38, 29 Opponent Levels: 29, 24, 29 Healing items used: 0

Let's Go, Pikachu Team Levels: 35, 35, 33, 33, 37, 35 Opponent Levels: 33, 34, 33 Healing items used: 0

Erika was a bit closer to my level in LGP, but I was overleveled for this fight in both games. No healing items used in either.

Fuchsia Gym stats and comparisons FireRed Team Levels at start of route: 38, 38, 38, 30 NPCs: 6 with 14 total Pokemon NPC levels: Low of 31, High of 38, Median of 33.5 Low-health heals: 1 Team Levels at end of route: 38, 38, 39, 33

Let's Go, Pikachu Team Levels at start of route: 41, 41, 38, 38, 40, 39 NPCs: 6 with 13 total Pokemon NPC levels: Low of 40, High of 42, Median of 41 Low-health heals: 4 Team Levels at end of route: 42, 42, 40, 40, 41, 40

A bit of a level spike in both games, largely because Koga is the gatekeeper to Surf. Well, he is in FR. The HM equivalent does not require badges in LGP. But you do need to complete a large part of the Pokedex before you are allowed in.

Had more trouble in LGP than in FR. Which is interesting, since I had a Psychic type in LGP. Though I think the movepools were just better in LGP in general.

Koga stats and comparisons FireRed Team Levels: 38, 38, 39, 33 Opponent Levels: 37, 39, 37, 43 Healing items used: 0

Let's Go, Pikachu Team Levels: 42, 41, 40, 39, 41, 40 Opponent Levels: 43, 44, 43, 43 Healing items used: 3

I had a significantly more difficult time with Koga in LGP than I did in FR. In FR, I mostly just walled with Nidoking. Don't remember what happened in LGP.

Route 10 Power Plant stats and comparisons FireRed Team Levels at start of route: 38, 38, 39, 34 NPCs: 1 with 2 total Pokemon NPC levels: Low of 29, High of 29, Median of 29 Low-health heals: 0 Team Levels at end of route: 38, 38, 39, 35

Let's Go, Pikachu Team Levels at start of route: 49, 48, 47, 47, 49, 47 NPCs: 1 with 2 total Pokemon NPC levels: Low of 42, High of 42, Median of 42 Low-health heals: 0 Team Levels at end of route: 49, 48, 47, 47, 49, 47

In FR, I stopped by here now to add Nobel the Electabuzz to my team. I also caught Zapdos because why not?

In LGP, I only stopped here after clearing Saffron completely, significantly later in the game.

In both cases, it's one guy who was a bit of a pushover.

There's also a coach trainer in the Power Plant in LGP. Higher levels, but not as high as mine.

Silph Co. stats and comparisons FireRed Team Levels at start of route: 38, 38, 39, 35, 35 NPCs: 30 with 82 total Pokemon NPC levels: Low of 25, High of 33, Median of 28 Low-health heals: 6 Status heals: 2 Team Levels at end of route: 40, 40, 40, 40, 40, 25

Let's Go, Pikachu Team Levels at start of route: 46, 45, 44, 44, 44, 44 NPCs: 28 with 57 total Pokemon NPC levels: Low of 33, High of 35, Median of 33 Low-health heals: 2 Status heals: 2 Team Levels at end of route: 48, 47, 47, 46, 48, 46

In FR, this was my next stop so I could add Lapras to my team, my sixth and final Pokemon.

In LGP, I did this after clearing the east part of the Fuchsia loop, so I had a lot more levels.

I was much closer to on-level in FR, and I thus had more trouble. Same number of status heals, though. Poison is annoying.

Rival 6/Silph Blue stats and comparisons FireRed Team Levels: 39, 39, 40, 39, 39 Opponent Levels: 37, 38, 35, 40, 35 Healing items used: 0

Let's Go, Pikachu Team Levels: 46, 45, 44, 43, 45, 44 Opponent Levels: 38, 40 Healing items used: 0

I'm actually not entirely sure which fight to consider the equivalent in LGPE. You never fight your rival here, instead fighting Blue at the start, Archer in a double battle alongside your rival, and then Jessie and James right afterwards. I picked the Blue fight since he is actually the same character as your FRLG rival rather than some Rocket boss.

Regardless, none of them required healing and I was significantly overleveled for all of them.

In FR, I was right on par with my rival here. He really could have taken on Giovanni himself if he wanted to, but he just decided to be a jerk instead. Why is he even here?

Giovanni 2 stats and comparisons FireRed Team Levels: 39, 40, 40, 40, 40, 25 Opponent Levels: 37, 37, 35, 41 Healing items used: 0

Let's Go, Pikachu Team Levels: 48, 47, 47, 46, 47, 46 Opponent Levels: 39, 39, 39 Healing items used: 0

Again, about where I should be in FR, maybe a bit above. Vs being way overleveled in LGP. Neither needed healing, though.

[ladala99]

Pokemon FireRed Journey - Part 6

There's a reason I said "part" instead of "day." I knew I'd have a bit of a break since I had a lot going on IRL coming up. This part covers from the arrival in Lavender Town until the arrival in Fuchsia City - where I am right now, I've just obtained a Kangaskhan for my team. Before that, I cleared my way through the routes and Rocket events until I got the Poke Flute, cheated at slots until I had enough for a Shadow Ball TM, forgot about Erika (I'll fight her next), and headed down Cycling Road so I can get Kangaskhan.

Next I'll be taking on Erika and then Koga before making a detour to the Power Plant for my next team member.

This part's stats and comparisons:

Route 10 South stats and comparisons FireRed Team Levels at start of route: 30, 29, 30 NPCs: 4 with 8 total Pokemon NPC levels: Low of 19, High of 21, Median of 20.5 Low-health heals: 1 Team Levels at end of route: 30, 30, 30

Let's Go, Pikachu Team Levels at start of route: 26, 27, 24, 22 NPCs: 4 with 7 total Pokemon NPC levels: Low of 24, High of 25, Median of 24 Low-health heals: 0 Team Levels at end of route: 27, 28, 25, 23

Despite the FireRed team's towering in power over the opponents vs the Let's Go, Pikachu team, I actually needed to heal in FireRed and didn't in Let's Go, Pikachu.

In LGP I also did Route 10 South at this stage, but I did not in FR. I think I wanted to take on the routes as much of in order as possible in LGP, while in FR I'm trying to minimize the routes entered before I have my full team. I also fought my Pokemon Tower Rival here since I needed to do so for the plot to advance, but I'll report on that when I get to my Rival in FR.

Route 8 stats and comparisons FireRed Team Levels at start of route: 30, 30, 30 NPCs: 12 with 32 total Pokemon NPC levels: Low of 19, High of 26, Median of 22 Low-health heals: 1 Status heals: 1 Team Levels at end of route: 32, 32, 31

Let's Go, Pikachu Team Levels at start of route: 28, 29, 25, 24 NPCs: 9 with 12 total Pokemon NPC levels: Low of 25, High of 35, Median of 27 Low-health heals: 2 Team Levels at end of route: 29, 29, 26, 26

Healed twice both times, but between the fewer NPCs, higher NPC levels and my lower levels, and the fact that one of the FR heals was a status heal, I'm definitely giving the difficulty point to LGP. Also, gotta love those spikes in data that the Gamer class gives in LGP.

LGP also had one regular trainer and a coach on Route 7, while none exist in FR. I had to heal after the regular trainer, and heal in battle against the coach, so bonus points. (not that I'm keeping track of points. I haven't fully decided how difficulty is determined, but it's an aggregate of the entire game.)

Celadon Rocket Hideout stats and comparisons FireRed Team Levels at start of route: 32, 32, 31 NPCs: 12 with 33 total Pokemon NPC levels: Low of 17, High of 23, Median of 20 Low-health heals: 2 Status heals: 2 Team Levels at end of route: 33, 34, 33

Let's Go, Pikachu Team Levels at start of route: 30, 30, 27, 27 NPCs: 10 with 15 total Pokemon NPC levels: Low of 29, High of 29, Median of 29 Low-health heals: 6 Team Levels at end of route: 32, 32, 29, 29

What even is FR thinking, making hardened criminals have weaker Pokemon than a bunch of schoolkids that you need to get past to get here? I guess the schoolkids are battling for fun and the criminals aren't necessarily battling as much and you surprise them?

Also at this point in FR, I'm definitely having some moments where I'm running low on PP and needing to use weaker moves to preserve them, often ending up with a low-health heal just because I'm using weaker moves. The low-health heals in LGP on the other hand are all natural from the fights.

LGP also has a couple of extra bosses here: Jessie and James at the entrance (which is a regular grunt that I counted as part of the hideout in FR) and Archer guarding the elevator key. These are not fights to sneeze at, and I needed to heal three times fighting Jessie and James.

Giovanni 1 stats and comparisons FireRed Team Levels: 33, 34, 33 Opponent Levels: 25, 24, 29 Healing items used: 0

Let's Go, Pikachu Team Levels: 32, 32, 29, 29 Opponent Levels: 35, 35 Healing items used: 0

I didn't have too much trouble with Giovanni himself in either game. Though I outleveled him in FR and he outleveled me in LGP.

Rival 5 stats and comparisons FireRed Team Levels: 33, 34, 33 Opponent Levels: 25, 22, 25, 20, 23 Healing items used: 0

Let's Go, Pikachu Team Levels: 30, 30, 27, 26 Opponent Levels: 27, 27, 28 Healing items used: 0

Neither game had much problem with the Pokemon Tower rival, even with the difference in time of fighting him. As usual, though, the level discrepancy is a lot more in FR's favor.

Pokemon Tower stats and comparisons FireRed Team Levels at start of route: 33, 34, 33 NPCs: 17 with 26 total Pokemon NPC levels: Low of 22, High of 30, Median of 23 Low-health heals: 3 Team Levels at end of route: 35, 35, 35

Let's Go, Pikachu Team Levels at start of route: 32, 32, 29, 29 NPCs: 13 with 26 total Pokemon NPC levels: Low of 25, High of 32, Median of 25 Low-health heals: 2 Status heals: 1 Team Levels at end of route: 33, 33, 31, 31

Wow, same number of NPC Pokemon. That's rare!

Pokemon Tower can technically be cleared (aside from the Rockets up top) as soon as you get to Lavender Town, so it's a bit easier in general. LGPE actually has some unique gameplay if you decide to clear it early, since touching any of the ghosts will warp you back to start of the floor, making for an optional minigame with no reward since you can't get past Marowak of course.

Still had PP troubles in FR, especially since a lot of my team's moves can't hit Ghost-types.

LGP has two additional bosses with a coach and Jessie and James rematch. The coach I handled well, but J&J I needed an in-battle heal.

In LGP I fought Erika after this, but I'll be putting that comparison when I do it in FR.

Route 16 stats and comparisons FireRed Team Levels at start of route: 35, 35, 35 NPCs: 7 with 15 total Pokemon NPC levels: Low of 28, High of 33, Median of 29 Low-health heals: 1 Status heals: 1 Team Levels at end of route: 36, 36, 35

Let's Go, Pikachu Team Levels at start of route: 34, 34, 31, 32, 36, 35 NPCs: 4 with 9 total Pokemon NPC levels: Low of 35, High of 36, Median of 36 Low-health heals: 1 Status heals: 1 Team Levels at end of route: 35, 35, 33, 32, 36, 35

Got my last two team member in LGP. Still a little bit before I can say the same of FR. Seems I had the same amount of heals with fewer trainers, so LGP wins the difficulty point.

Route 17 stats and comparisons FireRed Team Levels at start of route: 36, 36, 35 NPCs: 10 with 24 total Pokemon NPC levels: Low of 25, High of 33, Median of 28.5 Low-health heals: 1 Team Levels at end of route: 38, 37, 38

Let's Go, Pikachu Team Levels at start of route: 36, 35, 33, 33, 37, 35 NPCs: 9 with 16 total Pokemon NPC levels: Low of 36, High of 40, Median of 38 Low-health heals: 5 In-battle heals: 2 Team Levels at end of route: 37, 37, 35, 35, 38, 37

Cycling Road! Or Pokemon Road in LGPE. I recall this section being very difficult in this LGP playthrough, and the numbers tell the same story. The route low was almost as high as the highest-leveled member of my team, and I had a pretty big gap in my team's levels due to the forced full-party Exp Share.

On top of that, I counted Snorlax as a boss in LGP since you get Exp for capturing it and you actually fight it/have to defeat it, but I only fought one Snorlax. There's also a coach trainer on Pokemon Road with high levels, but I beat them without healing.

But in FR, it's more of the same. Easy fights, a lot of them, PP management vital.

Route 18 stats and comparisons FireRed Team Levels at start of route: 38, 37, 38 NPCs: 3 with 7 total Pokemon NPC levels: Low of 26, High of 34, Median of 26 Low-health heals: 1 Team Levels at end of route: 38, 38, 38

Let's Go, Pikachu Team Levels at start of route: 37, 37, 35, 35, 38, 37 NPCs: 3 with 6 total Pokemon NPC levels: Low of 39, High of 39, Median of 39 Low-health heals: 1 Team Levels at end of route: 38, 38, 35, 35, 38, 37

My LGP levels have caught up to my FR levels at last! But the NPC levels keep increasing in LGP while they're kinda getting up there now in FR but not really. Still had the same amount of healing.

[ladala99]

Pokemon FireRed Journey - Part 5

Today's journey started in Lt. Surge's Gym. It took a few tries to get through the "puzzle," but ultimately the battling was a cinch because of Zilla (Nidoking).

I then went Pokemon hunting, got the Flash HM, and headed to and through Rock Tunnel, ending today's adventure right on the south side of it. Finally, we enter the bulk of the game.

Today's stats and comparisons

Vermilion Gym stats and comparisons FireRed Team Levels at start of route: 26, 25, 25 NPCs: 3 with 5 total Pokemon NPC levels: Low of 21, High of 23, Median of 21 Low-health heals: 0 Status heals: 1 Team Levels at end of route: 26, 25, 26

Let's Go, Pikachu Team Levels at start of route: 21, 21, 19, 17 NPCs: 3 with 4 total Pokemon NPC levels: Low of 22, High of 22, Median of 22 Low-health heals: 1 Team Levels at end of route: 21, 22, 19, 18

Flying high in the levels on FireRed and just barely keeping up with LGP. Also there's a big difference in power of my Ground-type here: Nidoking in FR and Sandshrew in LGP.

LGP also had Mina as a bonus boss in Vermilion City before this, who required a healing item so was evidently a bit of a challenge!

Lt. Surge stats and comparisons FireRed Team Levels: 26, 25, 26 Opponent Levels: 21, 18, 24 Healing items used: 0

Let's Go, Pikachu Team Levels: 21, 22, 19, 18 Opponent Levels: 25, 25, 26 Healing items used: 1

Surge is a lot harder in LGP than in FR. His levels are higher and my levels were lower. Having a Ground-type helped, and let me sweep in FR, but I needed to heal in LGP.

Route 9 stats and comparisons FireRed Team Levels at start of route: 26, 25, 27 NPCs: 9 with 23 total Pokemon NPC levels: Low of 18, High of 23, Median of 20 Low-health heals: 2 Status heals: 1 Team Levels at end of route: 28, 27, 27

Let's Go, Pikachu Team Levels at start of route: 22, 22, 20, 18 NPCs: 8 with 14 total Pokemon NPC levels: Low of 19, High of 22, Median of 21 Low-health heals: 2 Team Levels at end of route: 23, 24, 21, 19

Back to being a breeze for both. I'm still way higher level in comparison to opponents in FR compared to LGP, though.

Route 10 North stats and comparisons FireRed Team Levels at start of route: 28, 27, 27 NPCs: 1 with 2 total Pokemon NPC levels: Low of 20, High of 20, Median of 20 Low-health heals: 0 Team Levels at end of route: 29, 27, 27

Let's Go, Pikachu Team Levels at start of route: 23, 24, 21, 19 NPCs: 2 with 3 total Pokemon NPC levels: Low of 22, High of 22, Median of 22 Low-health heals: 1 Team Levels at end of route: 24, 24, 22, 20

A route with more trainers/Pokemon in LGP? Wow! This really is just the entrance to Rock Tunnel. Evidently one of the trainers was tough in LGP. Not so much in FR.

Rock Tunnel stats and comparisons FireRed Team Levels at start of route: 29, 27, 27 NPCs: 14 with 37 total Pokemon NPC levels: Low of 19, High of 25, Median of 20 Low-health heals: 2 Status heals: 2 Team Levels at end of route: 30, 29, 30

Let's Go, Pikachu Team Levels at start of route: 24, 24, 22, 20 NPCs: 15 with 26 total Pokemon NPC levels: Low of 22, High of 25, Median of 23 Low-health heals: 5 Team Levels at end of route: 27, 27, 24, 22

In FR, Rock Tunnel was more of a problem of not having enough PP to go around. One of the "low health heals" was actually because I was very inefficient with my moves since I was running out of them.

Vs LGP where it was much tougher. I was actually on-level after all.

[ladala99]

Pokemon FireRed Journey - Part 4

Today, I spent a lot of time in the areas around the port city of Vermilion. I battled all of the school kids and workers east of the city, saw the sprawling figure of the Snorlax past the gate, and checked out the S.S. Anne that Bill gave me a ticket for. Following that, I headed into the local Gym.

I also noted that I need 30 Pokemon in the Pokedex to get the Itemfinder. I might need to spend some time working on my Pokedex.

But here's the stats:

Route 11 stats and comparisons FireRed Team Levels at start of route: 21, 20, 22 NPCs: 10 with 20 total Pokemon NPC levels: Low of 17, High of 21, Median of 18 Low-health heals: 3 Status heals: 2 Team Levels at end of route: 23, 23, 23

Let's Go, Pikachu Team Levels at start of route: 18, 18, 15 NPCs: 8 with 11 total Pokemon NPC levels: Low of 16, High of 26, Median of 18 Low-health heals: 3 Team Levels at end of route: 19, 20, 17

I'd say it's about even here. There's a couple extra status heals in FR, bu there's also some extra trainers. LGP show the first Gamer (Gambler) trainer class with its inflated level. Since the gimmick for them is OHKO moves in LGP rather than it seems to be status conditions in FR.

LGP has a route coach here. I was lower-level than them but did not have any trouble.

S.S. Anne stats and comparisons FireRed Team Levels at start of route: 23, 23, 23 NPCs: 16 with 32 total Pokemon NPC levels: Low of 17, High of 23, Median of 17.5 Low-health heals: 3 Status heals: 0 Team Levels at end of route: 25, 25, 25

Let's Go, Pikachu Team Levels at start of route: 19, 20, 17, 16 NPCs: 12 with 17 total Pokemon NPC levels: Low of 16, High of 18, Median of 18 Low-health heals: 2 Team Levels at end of route: 21, 21, 19, 17

They're about even again. Opponent levels are about the same, but my levels are not, with FR still ahead of LGP. LGP has gained a Pokemon (the unplanned Shiny Drowzee) over FR at this point.

Rival 4 stats and comparisons FireRed Team Levels: 25, 25, 25 Opponent Levels: 19, 20, 18, 16 Healing items used: 1

Let's Go, Pikachu Team Levels: 21, 21, 18, 17 Opponent Levels: 20, 21, 20 Healing items used: 1

We really are completely even in healing item use here. Which means I'd say we're completely even in difficulty. Though I'm not sure that's the case since my levels in FR are higher than in LGP. I think FR might be easier at this point with this playstyle/team buildup rate.

[ladala99]

Pokemon FireRed Journey - Part 3

Today's journey began on Nugget Bridge, where I cleared out all the way to Cerulean Cape, saved Bill, backtracked to Cerulean and took on Misty, and then headed south to Vermilion where I stopped at Route 11. Could you always run/bike underground? Because you can now.

Here's the stats:

Route 24 stats and comparisons: FireRed Team Levels at start of route: 18, 16, 16 NPCs: 7 with 16 total Pokemon NPC levels: Low of 10, High of 18, Median of 14 Low-health heals: 2 Status heals: 1 Team Levels at end of route: 18, 17, 18

Let's Go, Pikachu Team Levels at start of route: 14, 14, 10 NPCs: 7 with 8 total Pokemon NPC levels: Low of 9, High of 11, Median of 10.5 Low-health heals: 3 Team Levels at end of route: 15, 14, 11

While I outleveled the opponents more in LGP, I healed just a little more often than in FR. Status heals are more of an annoyance indicator than a difficulty indicator. LGP gets the difficulty point this time.

Route 25 stats and comparisons: FireRed Team Levels at start of route: 18, 17, 18 NPCs: 9 with 19 total Pokemon NPC levels: Low of 13, High of 17, Median of 14 Low-health heals: 1 Status heals: 1 In-battle heals: 2 Team Levels at end of route: 19, 19, 20

Let's Go, Pikachu Team Levels at start of route: 15, 14, 11 NPCs: 9 with 13 total Pokemon NPC levels: Low of 12, High of 15, Median of 13 Low-health heals: 2 Team Levels at end of route: 16, 16, 14

The levels are catching up in LGP to what they are in FR! Though my team levels continue to have a huge discrepancy. Despite that, FR had much more trouble, mainly because I had no answer to a Slowpoke. Two of my three-Pokemon team were weak to Psychic and the other was weak to Water. My LGP team at this point was much more balanced.

There was also a coach on Route 25 in LGP that wasn't present in FR. A little above my team levels, but I handled it without needing to heal.

Cerulean Gym stats and comparisons: FireRed Team Levels at start of route: 19, 19, 20 NPCs: 2 with 3 total Pokemon NPC levels: Low of 16, High of 19, Median of 16 Low-health heals: 0 Team Levels at end of route: 19, 19, 21

Let's Go, Pikachu Team Levels at start of route: 16, 16, 14 NPCs: 3 with 3 total Pokemon NPC levels: Low of 16, High of 16, Median of 16 Low-health heals: 1 Team Levels at end of route: 17, 17, 14

Interestingly, this Gym is pretty equivalent! But my levels weren't, and thus my lower-level team in LGP had a little bit more trouble. Despite having a better type matchup.

Misty stats and comparisons FireRed Team Levels: 19, 19, 21 Opponent Levels: 18, 21 Healing items used: 3 Fails: 1

Let's Go, Pikachu Team Levels: 17, 17, 14 Opponent Levels: 18, 19 Healing items used: 0

Despite the level similarity, big difference in how well my team handled Misty. Pikachu+Oddish in LGP were able to get through her just fine, but I was relying on Nidorino alone in FR. Ultimately, I failed the fight once in FR and had to retry having taught Taunt this time. Difficulty point goes to FR.

Cerulean City stats and comparisons: FireRed Team Levels at start of route: 19, 19, 22 NPCs: 1 with 2 total Pokemon NPC levels: Low of 17, High of 17, Median of 17 Low-health heals: 0 Team Levels at end of route: 19, 19, 22

Let's Go, Pikachu Team Levels at start of route: 17, 17, 14 NPCs: 1 with 1 total Pokemon NPC levels: Low of 15, High of 15, Median of 15 Low-health heals: 1 Team Levels at end of route: 17, 17, 14

One pathetic Team Rocket member who seems silly to record as if he's a whole route. Despite the similarity in level difference, I had a tougher time with him in LGP. Probably because I had a Poison-type to counter his in FR.

Route 6 stats and comparisons: FireRed Team Levels at start of route: 19, 20, 22 NPCs: 6 with 12 total Pokemon NPC levels: Low of 16, High of 20, Median of 16 Low-health heals: 2 Status heals: 1 Team Levels at end of route: 21, 20, 22

Let's Go, Pikachu Team Levels at start of route: 17, 17, 14 NPCs: 6 with 8 total Pokemon NPC levels: Low of 15, High of 16, Median of 15 Low-health heals: 1 Team Levels at end of route: 18, 18, 15

The NPCs are back to being tougher in FR. Another whole heal and a status heal on top. I feel like you weren't able to run underground before? But now you can? Or maybe I'm just mixing it up with RBY.

[ladala99]

Pokemon FireRed Journey - Part 2

Today I finished up Route 3, catching the next team member in the process - a Hardy-natured Nidoran M named Zilla. My team is a sausage fest so far, but I don't think Attract is that common in this game. Cute Charm is, though.

Route 3 stats and comparisons: FireRed Team Levels at start of route: 10, 12 NPCs: 8 with 17 total Pokemon NPC levels: Low of 9, High of 14, Median of 10 Low-health heals: 3 Team Levels at end of route: 14, 14, 7

Let's Go, Pikachu Team Levels at start of route: 9, 9, 4 NPCs: 6 with 6 total Pokemon NPC levels: Low of 5, High of 7, Median of 6 Low-health heals: 1 Team Levels at end of route: 11, 10, 5

Conclusion As before, FireRed is more difficult. More healing, enemy Pokemon closer in level to me and higher level in general, with more Pokemon present.

Let's Go, Pikachu had a route boss here that was not present in FireRed, which was a little higher level than my team and required a healing item.

Mt Moon stats and comparisons: FireRed Team Levels at start of route: 14, 14, 7 NPCs: 12 with 28 total Pokemon NPC levels: Low of 10, High of 14, Median of 11 Low-health heals: 5 Team Levels at end of route: 16, 16, 16

Let's Go, Pikachu Team Levels at start of route: 11, 11, 5 NPCs: 11 with 13 total Pokemon NPC levels: Low of 7, High of 10, Median of 9 Low-health heals: 4 Team Levels at end of route: 13, 13, 9

I'll actually give the difficulty point to Let's Go, Pikachu here, since there were two fewer NPCs but only one fewer heal. I am starting to outlevel opponent Pokemon in FireRed more than I was in Let's Go, Pikachu, likely due to the Exp balance differences and the fact that I'm using three Pokemon when I could be using more.

Let's Go, Pikachu also has another two bosses: one coach on the otherwise-empty Route 4 and then Jessie and James at the end of Mt. Moon. Neither required healing and only the coach was higher-level than my team.

Exiting Mt. Moon, I headed through the mostly-empty Route 3, skipped the guys teaching Mega Punch and Mega Kick since I'm pretty happy with RAAGE's Karate Chop, and reached Cerulean City. Kindle also evolved into Charmeleon and Zilla into Nidorino in Mt. Moon.

Rival 3 stats and comparisons FireRed Team Levels: 16, 16, 16 Opponent Levels: 17, 18, 16, 15 Healing items used: 1

Let's Go, Pikachu Team Levels: 13, 13, 9 Opponent Levels: 12, 12, 13 Healing items used: 0

FireRed wins the difficulty comparison here, too. I was slightly lower level than his strongest and his average, he had more Pokemon, and I actually had to heal. Whereas aside from one Pokemon, I was higher-level than his team in Let's Go, Pikachu.

I have started on Nugget Bridge, but I will go over that once I'm done!

[ladala99]

One Spyro Level a Month Until the Next Spyro Game Releases - February 2026 - Dark Passage

Intro/Rules

Previous Level

Next Level

Before we exit the darkest months of the year, it's time to enter the nightmare realm of Dark Passage.

Entrance

Gotta love that portal motif. It's night, and you can see a fool inside the passageway ahead. Every few seconds, the fool turns on and extinguishes the light, and the creatures behind it cycle between a puppy and a turtle in the light, and a nightmare hound and a giant shielded beast at night.

If you attack the fool, it turns into a lantern itself, ensuring that it stays light for a bit longer than it would otherwise.

Progression

This entire level is just basically a series of rooms with enemies in different configurations. Sometimes you have to glide and avoid attacks. It's a very combat-heavy level and there isn't too much to say about it.

Kasiya

Along the way, you'll encounter Kasiya, who will hint that you should watch the fools - or flame the fools as Spyro wants to do. Past this point, some of the fools do not turn on their light on their own, so you have to flame them. Or charge them, if you prefer.

Devil Cupids

This level is also a possible introduction to the devil cupids, who will shoot arrows at you from a distance. Lots of ranged attackers in this level.

Azizi

Azizi is grateful to us for releasing him, and is found along the path.

Bakari

Bakari greets us at the end of the level. He suggests we might be the dragon to defeat Gnasty Gnorc!

While this level is pretty linear, there's still more to discover at this point. There's a strong chest we haven't been able to clear and a lot of gems left to collect.

Secret Passageway

Looking carefully, we can spot an uncollected gem at the entrance to a tunnel down below. Time to glide down!

Down there it's more of the same, but harder. More enemies, more platforming, in a few wider areas.

Apara

Apara says thanks, and he'd love to help catch Gnasty, but he doesn't want to be trapped in crystal again. Which somewhat sets up what we'll see later.

Obasi

After a bunch more enemies, we find Obasi, who thanks us for releasing him.

End of Level

After another room, we find the firework and set it off, unlocking the last few gems!

Completing this level puts us at 79% - 4% more than last time!

Lore Talk

If most of the Dream Weavers create good dreams, this is where nightmares are formed. Beasts who grow more fearsome in the dark, twisting passages, devils, and so on are created here to torment those who dream them.

It is likely that the dragons here are so separated from the other dragon clans and perhaps even their fellows that they don't realize what their dreams do. Or perhaps they just really like spinning up terrifying scenarios for the fun of it.

There are a lot of dragons here, which I think are mainly here for checkpoint reasons, but they could also be here because nightmare-creating dragons are all concentrated in this one land.

Next Stop

Let's go somewhere happier, like Lofty Castle.

[ladala99]

Pokemon FireRed Journey - Part 1

Today I started my Pokemon journey through Kanto. It's far from my first, of course, but it's always nice to go back.

I started at my house, where my mom pointed me towards my rival Green's place. I visited there, but he wasn't home, and his sister told me to visit the lab. Green was in the lab, but Oak nowhere to be seen, so I went the only place I could: north into the tall grass.

I don't know where Oak was hiding before, but this got him to run out and drag me away from the grass. It's too dangerous to go out without a Pokemon. He brought me back to the lab to pick one out. Green was jealous I got to pick first.

I picked Charmander. I had just used Blastoise in Lumiose, and Venusaur last in the Let's Go, Eevee version of Kanto, so it was Charmander's turn. It was a Gentle-natured boy that I named Kindle.

Green decided to take Squirtle and challenged me to a battle. One Leer and a series of Scratches had Kindle win the battle handily. I didn't even have to use the Potion I had retrieved from the PC earlier.

Now, with my own Pokemon, I headed north for real this time, traveling through Route 1 and to Viridian City. I couldn't pass through the city, though, due to a grumpy old man who hadn't had his coffee yet. But when I checked out the Poke Mart, the clerk had a package for Oak, so back to Pallet Town I went.

As I delivered the package to Oak, he remembered he was going to give Green and I Pokedexes. We also got a few Pokeballs while we were at it. Finally I could add to my team!

I went back to Viridian, noting that last time I was in Kanto, in the Let's Go version, there was a trainer in Route 1 and now there wasn't.

I went west to the grass patch on Route 22, but was very careful not to go farther into the route yet. I caught a Mankey who turned out to be Adamant-natured. I named him RAAGE.

The next place to head was Viridian Forest, and here started my first real data-collecting, while I trained my Pokemon.

Viridian Forest

Here in FireRed, I entered the forest with a Level 6 Charmander and a Level 4 Mankey. There were 5 trainers with 11 Pokemon between them. The lowest-leveled trainer Pokemon was 6 and the highest one was 9. The median level was 7. I had to heal 3 times. By the end of the forest, both Kindle and RAAGE were level 9, and I headed back to fight my Rival.

In comparison, in Let's Go, Pikachu, I entered the forest with a level 6 Pikachu and a level 3 Oddish. There were 7 trainers, but they only had 7 Pokemon between them. Their lowest level was 3 and highest was 4, making them a lot more of a pushover. I only had to heal 1 time. By the end of the forest, Pikachu was Level 7 and Oddish Level 6.

FireRed's Viridian Forest was much more difficult than Let's Go, Pikachu's!

Rival 2

I next went to fight Green on Route 22, and won easily enough. Kindle did faint during the fight, but RAAGE could handle the rest. I didn't fight Trace the second time when I played Let's Go, Pikachu, so there's nothing to compare to.

Pewter Gym

After making my way through the forest again and fully exploring Pewter City, everyone was pointing me at the Gym, so in I want.

I started out with Kindle at Level 10 and RAAGE at level 9. There was only 1 Gym Trainer with 2 Pokemon, levels 10 and 11. I had to heal after the fight.

Compared to Let's Go, Pikachu where I entered with a level 7 Pikachu and a level 6 Oddish. There were 2 Gym Trainers, but they only had 2 Pokemon between them, which were both Level 7. I did not have to heal before Brock.

The same level difference, but I only had to heal in FireRed, so it gets the higher difficulty score.

Brock

Onto the fight with Brock! RAAGE did the whole thing, but did use a Potion. I probably didn't actually need it because Onix wasn't doing as much damage as Geodude had been. That rock scored a crit!

Both my Pokemon were Level 10, and Brock had a Level 12 Geodude and Level 14 Onix. I used 1 Potion during the fight.

In Let's Go, Pikachu, my Pokemon were levels 8 (Pikachu) and 6 (Oddish). Brock's levels were at 11 and 12. I did not use any Potions. I suspect it went pretty quick because of the Oddish.

I was more outleveled in Let's Go, Pikachu, but had to use a healing item in FireRed. This almost entirely is because of my team difference, since using a Water- or Grass-type with Special moves cuts through Brock's Pokemon way easier than a Fighting-type using Physical moves.

Onward

I began the next route, but I'll write about it when I finish.