Mt. Moon strats (revised)

Updated 11/18/2014

In chart form: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1XMBns4mq4BRWbkeFlPc_DEzdfmtTS-c3lrv-z6k01J8/edit#gid=0

Several people have asked me about my strats for Mt. Moon -- when to skip Water Gun, fight the Hiker, etc. -- so I figured I'd make a paste on it.

First of all, I never use the old strat of getting Water Gun and then fighting two Mt. Moon encounters to get Thrash before Mankey on Nugget Bridge. This strat is slower on average than skipping Water Gun, but it still involves some risk, because Nidoking will only be Lv. 24 for Staryu and Lv. 29 for the Oddish in Rock Tunnel. It's usually best to skip Water Gun with a good attack DV, and being underleveled for Staryu and Oddish is quite dangerous with a bad attack DV. So bad attack DVs almost always mean fighting the optional Hiker in Mt. Moon.

Here's a list of the strats I use and the effects they have. Explanations are below the list.

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1) Skip Water Gun, then get 177 experience from encounters in Mt. Moon (138 with a Lv. 4 Nidoran). This gives me Lv. 18 for Cerulean Rival's Pidgeotto, Lv. 23/Thrash before Mankey on Nugget Bridge, Lv. 25 for Staryu and Lv. 30 for Oddish.
2) Skip Water Gun, and skip experience from encounters in Mt. Moon. This gives me Lv. 17 for Pidgeotto, Lv. 20 for Mankey, Lv. 24 for Staryu and Lv. 29 for Oddish.
3) Get Water Gun, then fight the optional Hiker in Mt. Moon. This gives me Lv. 18 for Cerulean Rival's Pidgeotto, Lv. 20 for the first Pidgey/Nidoran-F fight, Lv. 23/Thrash before the second Pidgey/Nidoran-F fight, Lv. 25 for Staryu and Lv. 30 for Oddish. I also get to fight the faster, safer Hiker on Route 25.
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By far the most important factor in deciding your Mt. Moon strat is your attack DV. Nidorans with 14-15 attack DV have a significant advantage from Mt. Moon to Rock Tunnel, because 14 DV is more likely to hit some crucial damage ranges. Here are the main three, which occur during fights that can easily end a run:

Cerulean Rival's Pidgeotto: If Nido is Lv. 17, ~90% chance to 3-shot with 14 DV attack, ~55% chance to 3-shot with 13 DV.
Hiker above Nugget Bridge: 100% chance to 1-shot Machop with 14 DV, 96% chance to 1-shot with 13 DV. Also, Nido does 10-12 damage to Geodude after a Defense Curl with 14 DV, 9-11 with 13 DV.
Rock Tunnel Oddish: If Nido is Lv. 29, 55% chance to 1-shot with 14 DV, 47% with 13 DV.

Because the above damage ranges are favorable for 14-15 DV Nidos, you can usually get away with skipping encounter experience in Mt. Moon.

However, you should avoid skipping experience with 14-15 DV if:
1) You caught a Lv. 4 Nidoran. This allows you to get early Thrash (and Lv. 18 for Pidgeotto) by killing two Lv. 9 Zubats, or a Lv. 8 and Lv. 10 Zubat, or a Paras and just about anything.
2) You caught a Lv. 3 Nidoran, you catch a Paras early in Mt. Moon, and you encounter another Paras that is Lv. 10 or Lv. 12. Killing a Lv. 10 Paras and a Lv. 10 Zubat (or a Lv. 12 Paras and a Lv. 9-10 Zubat) gives you early Thrash. Evolve to Nidoking after killing the Paras, because Nidorino can't reliably kill Lv. 10 Zubats.

Alternatively, with Lv. 3 Nidorans, you can kill three Zubats/Parases whose experience adds up to 177. This costs 16-17 seconds, but it's generally worth it. However, you should abandon this strat if you haven't found any Zubats or Parases on the first two floors. You're unlikely to get enough encounters on the last floor, and any less than 177 experience has minimal benefits.

Zubat combinations that add up to at least 177:
- Lv. 7, Lv. 7, Lv. 9
- Lv. 7, Lv. 7, Lv. 10
- Lv. 8, Lv. 8, Lv. 8

If you're going for 177 experience, pay attention to your level. As a Lv. 14 Nidoran, you shouldn't try to kill encounters. As a Lv. 15 Nidoran, try to kill only Lv. 7 Zubats (or Lv. 8 Parases if you already caught one). As a Lv. 16 Nidorino, kill Lv. 7-9 Zubats (and Lv. 8 and 10 Parases if you already caught one). As a Lv. 16 Nidoking, kill Lv. 7-10 Zubats (and any Parases if you already caught one).

If your DV is 13, you can still skip experience, and you'll save time if all goes well, but Pidgeotto, Geodude and Oddish are bigger threats. Staryu also becomes a damage range. If your DV is 11-12, the Koffing in Mt. Moon isn't likely to die to two hits, and the Lv. 14 Rattata on Nugget Bridge isn't likely to die to one. Thus, on 11-13 DV attack, you should try to kill encounters for experience.

If your DV is 10 or less, skipping experience is asking for trouble. As a Lv. 3 Nidoran, it's usually best to just fight the Hiker, but Lv. 4 Nidorans with 9-10 DV Attack should still try to kill two Zubats/Parases.

Besides Nidoran's attack DV and its level when caught, here are a few other factors I weigh when deciding my Mt. Moon strat.

1) Do I have a good time? If so, I'm more likely to get experience, because it's safer.
2) Will I be faster than Starmie? If so, I'm more likely to skip Water Gun and the Hiker, because I won't have to use as many Potions to heal off the extra damage I'll likely take on Nugget Bridge and Route 25.
3) Did I catch a Spearow or a Pidgey? If Pidgey, I'm more likely to skip Water Gun and the Hiker, because I need to keep Tackle for catching Paras in certain situations.
4) Do I have good HP, defense and special? If so, I'll take less damage on Nugget Bridge and against Misty. Thus, I'll be more likely to skip Water Gun and the Hiker.