Pokemon Stadium 2 GLC R1 FAQ

Pokemon Stadium 2 GLC FAQ:

Q: Why are you using <pokemon>? Why not <other pokemon>?
A: Because the restrictions in running this game involve only using rental Pokemon (as otherwise it would be incredibly easy and not at all challenging) Generally speaking, worse stat Pokemon have better moves, it's about finding the right combinations. So in a lot of cases you will see me use for example, Kadabra (Has Psychic/Thunder Punch), but never Alakazam (Has Psybeam/Theif)

Q: What is this category?
A: This is the Gym Leader Castle, specifically Round 1. So basically beat everyone in there. They can be done in any order (so long as Red is last), so I start with some of the better fights to get out of the way early. (GLC R1 stands for Gym Leader Castle, Round 1)

Q: Why is the order scrambled like that?
A: It's allowed because doing it from a fresh file would be really annoying to reset the save data for (given you'd have to remake the teams every reset as well), so it's stupid to not allow play on a completed save. And since that's allowed, no reason to restrict order either. Red still must be done last because timing ends during the cutscene after his battle (would be slower to not do him last because of that anyway).

I fight Misty and Brock first because fast fights on them saves a bunch of time, but relies on them picking teams that you can kill quickly, and resetting for a specific team is not something you want to do during the run. Afterwards, I head off to the more difficult fights (E4, rest of Kanto, then backwards through Johto so that Falkner is second last before Red)
Note: Sometimes I end up doing E4 last, because I get sick of resetting at the E4 all the time. So to just have more fun and play more of the game, shuffle them to the end. You generally see this at the end of a stream. It's also a bit faster menu wise to do it this way.

Misty is done before Brock because I use 11 teams (you can only register 10), but the team used against Misty is only used against her, but the one against Brock is also used vs Jasmine, meaning I don't have to make another team during the run doing Misty first.

Q: You've been running this for a while, are there any new strats?
A: Newest strats are:
As of 25th Feb 2019:
Changing team comp to Brock/Jasmine/Red, Clair/Sabrina, Surge/Blue (Old was Brock/Jasmine, Red/Clair/Blue, Surge/Sabrina)
This changes a hell of a lot. The main idea was for Blue to be better, which is much faster in optimal scenario now. But he is a bit riskier, so I'm doing him third at the moment (Also so I can see exactly how much time it saves).
A lot of the other fights change as well. Clair has a much lower risk of using Heabutt vs Wobbuffet, since it's never matched on 1v1. Abra for Gloria is better, but no Fearow means Vince is a bit riskier. Having Magmar for Red instead of Fearow is slightly safer in all but one scenario. Surge manip is slightly better, get triple electric more, but Jasmine manip is a bit worse.

As of 21st Feb 2019:
Using Zapdos on Misty instead of Pineco/Bella/Raichu. This is faster on optimal fight, but gets slightly less wins, as if you miss the damage range on Golduck (74%), you lose.

As of 31st Jan 2019:
Morty team made more optimal with double exploders. Also has benefit in manipulating Ty better, so that his Haunter uses Curse on Gastly. Also gets slightly more triple fire teams on Blaine (though still rare)

Q: Why does that gym leader have a Pokemon that isn't of their type??
A: Because if every leader had only their type, all these fights would be easy. It's not like in the games where you only have a small team, since you have access to every Pokemon, they need coverage in order to be a challenge at all.

Q: Can you manipulate the Pokemon the trainers use by using other Pokemon? Does it effect it at all?
A: Yes and no. The team of 6 Pokemon that you show -does- impact the Pokemon the trainer you fight use. However, it is both A) Never completely reliable, as they can always choose multiple teams, and B) Not as simple as you might think. For example, just having a team full of Fire types does not mean Misty won't choose Sunflora. They act differently seeing different Pokemon, but not in any coherent way. For example, one of my newer strats is to put a Poliwrath on the team that fights Sabrina, that I never use. This changes Sabrina from using the annoying Wiggly/Furret combo. To find good combinations is just a lot of trial and error. But most of the team, your focus is simply on being able to pick a team of 3 that can always win, very rarely do you have to space to try and manipulate like that anyway (but sometimes it's a tradeoff between the two)

Q: What is the record?
A: http://www.speedrun.com/pkmnstadium2

Q: So what's your goal?
A: Getting back the record would be nice. Any PB is an improvement I'd be happy with.

Q: What does "Round 2" or "Round 1" mean in this game?
A: This game repeats itself over, after you beat Round 1 of the game you unlock Round 2. Round 2 gives the opponent different pokes, with different moves, and better stats. It is in general, much much harder.

Q: What is with those split icons? What does A and B mean?
A: This is a grading system for all of my splits. I'm sure you are familiar with grades, A+ being the best then going down from there. So the idea is, if the split has an A+ next to it, my time there was really good and would be very difficult to beat. If it's a C though for example, it was quite poor, and I should be able to save time there pretty easily.

This way, everyone watching has more accurate information on where I can save time, and where I should be making up time. Also that all time loss is not equal, as losing time vs an A+ split isn't really that bad, whereas losing time vs a C split is really bad. It'll probably take a while for a lot of people watching to pick up the meaning so I will appreciate everyone who explains how this works (correctly) in chat to new people.