Pokemon Pinball RS 100% speedrun Notes

How the game work / How to optimize things

This run is highly base on luck and luck optimisation. Luck optimisation plays a huge factor in this run, as well as your speed to catch/evolve a pokemon. The 3 hardest pokemons to get are Pichu and both Lati@s.

Travel system :
The places order is this one :
Sapphire		Ruby
0-Cave			0-Cave
1-Forest		1-Forest
2-Lake			2-Volcan
3-Plains		3-Plains
4-Wilderness	4-Ocean
5-Ocean			5-Safari
The place you start determine the order of the places you can go later. The 2 places you'll have to choose betwwen will be the 2 next places in the order system.
For example, if you start in Wilderness on Sapphire field, your next choise will be between Ocean (left) and Cave (right). Next time will be between Forest (left) and Lake (right) etc.
You can change the choosen ramp until you enter into the hole.
the 6th time you travel, you'll get into the ruins. Next decision will be between the 2 places you would normally choose before.

Saving system :
You can save your game whenever you can pause (like 99% of the time).
Saving will make you quit your actual game and go back to the menu.
Choosing "Continue" make you come back to your save point and delete the save (you can't reset and choose continue again).
You can start a new game without erase your save. If you save again, the new save will erase the old save.

Rayquaza trigger :
You have to know there is a "rayquaza trigger" that the game keep in track and change slightly the odd for rare pokemons. When you start/hard reset your console, the trigger start as "off", and goes as "on" once you beat rayquaza first mini-game. It stays like this until you hard reset.
If you quit your game without hard reset (save and new game or soft reset), the "rayquaza trigger" stay as it is.
If you save with the "rayquaza trigger" as "on" and continue this game, the trigger get back to "on" until you hard reset again.

Pokemons odds :
Pichu odds are 2% with the "rayquaza trigger off" and 1% with the "rayquaza trigger on", so you don't want to trigger it until you get Pichu. Pichu can't appear if your pokemon score isn't 5 or more.
Lati@s odds are 1% with the "rayquaza trigger off" and 2% with the "rayquaza trigger on", so you want to trigger it before you start searching for them. Lati@s can't appear if your pokemon score isn't 5 or more and if you don't have 100 or more register in your pokedex. The main field must be reload after you get 100 pokemon register in the dex, before the lati@s can be encountered. You can do it by comming back from a mini-game, saving and continue, or starting a new game.

When you start a new game, the first pokemon you'll catch (from catch mode or hatch) is always a pokemon who can evolve and it can't be a rare pokemon (so you can't find feebas as your first pokemon for exemple).

Pokemon encounter odds are calculated by a weight system (except for Pichu and Lati@s).
A common pokemon you don't have all the evolutions register in the dex have a weight of 10.
A common pokemon you have all the evolutions register in the dex have a weight of 2.
A rare pokemon you don't have all the evolutions register in the dex have a weight of 1.
A rare pokemon you have all the evolutions register in the dex have a weight of 2. (yes, odds increase...)
Rare pokemons weight are double if "rayquaza trigger" is "on".
The last pokemon you caught have his weight down to 0.
All pokemon eggs except Pichu are considered as normal pokemon.
Pichu and Lati@s doesn't count into this system, the game check first if they appear, then choose and other pokemon depending on their weight. (You can find 2 pichu or Lati@s back to back)
Rare pokemons are Kecleon, Nosepass, Castform, Wobuffet, Skarmory, Absol, Feebas, Lileep and Anorith.
Tips : if you catch Feebas, Lileep or Anorith early, delay their evolution until you clear the area (if you're not afraid to game-over before).

Oddish is consider fully evolve if you register on ruby when once get Vileplume, and on sapphire once you get Bellossom.
Clamperl first evolution is random, second is always the other one.
If you have Silcoon and Beautifly register, Wurmple will evolve into Cascoon and vice versa.
When Nincada evolve, you get +1 pokemon score but register 2 pokemons at once in your dex (Shedinja is automatically register)

List of pokemon encounters :
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1QtCMLjK0Mj4kGv0YO7ofTBxYG5WRYo8xhmkK7U-vVcs/edit?usp=sharing


RNG Manipulation guide :
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1C_-PB6krh1hr-OlvNe7TJWTOw9ujUImcuyJ041OMV8k/edit?usp=sharing


Uncomplete infos :

Beating Rayquaza add a really bad extra spawn zone for the EXP during evolution on the sapphire filed (not sure if it adds something on ruby field too, but if it does, nothing terrible). Unlike the "rayquaza trigger", the extra "exp" spawn zone doesn't seem to stay if you start a new game without hardreset (to be confirm).
It seems like the johto starters and Aerodactyl share the same slot encounter as Latios and Latias if you have them register as "seen" at least, doesn't seem like you can found them without it, so 201 is the only possible target without interacting with an other console/using a e-reader.




My route summary

First part : Hatches focus

Start on the field you're better for hatching (mine is ruby), start in "forest" if possible.
Go in catch mode and evolve everything until you have 5 pokemon score. (try to get a cocoon pokemon if possible, not necessary but help later)
During all the run, evolve all your pokemons once you get them, you have all the evolutions of a pokemon, you have less chance to see it again. You can delay evolution of pokemons you won't see immeidatly (just don't game over).
Do mini-games until you catch Groudon/Kyogre, don't start Rayquaza mini-game (don't do any minigames if you're not confident enought to not get gameover)
Once your pokemon score is 5, avoid catch mode and only focus on hatch + evolve everything you didn't register in the dex. (maximum pokemon you can register with hatches + evolution only are 75, so don't worry if you start catch mode by mistake, just avoid it as possible)

Once you get Pichu, do the Rayquaza mini-game as soon as possible and continue the mini-games until you catch it (warning : doing the mini-game on sapphire field unlock a terrible "exp" spawn zone for evolution mode, consider switching on ruby field depending on your progression)

Once you caught and evolved all the exclusives hatches on the first field, SAVE and start on the second one. If you got early Pichu, start hatches right away, if not catch mode until 5 pokemon score like the beginning. (mini-games until you catch Groudon/Kyogre) If you're confident enough to not game over, you can delay one mini-game and do it once you hit 100 pokemon register in the dex (99 if you catch Groudon/Kyogre as your 100th).

Second part : Catches focus

Once you hit 100 pokemon register :
	-if you didn't get Pichu, do Rayquaza mini-game (continue the mini-games until you catch it)
	-if you get Pichu and delayed a mini-game, do a mini-game as soon as possible
	-if you get Pichu and did all mini-games required, soft reset (A+B+Start+Select if you want to continue your save from the previous field , but only once you evolved all pokemons you need ; Pause, Save and Continue to keep your actual play but you'll lose your old save)

If you miss some hatches (other than Pichu), try to do them when you have 4- pokemon score. Continue to evolve every pokemon you didn't register yet.
Focus on exclusives (choose exclusives zones first if possible), clear all pokemons in an area before moving.
If you find the Lati@s, avoid all non exclusives. Once you get Lati@s and evolved everything you need, soft reset and do the other field (A+B+Start+Select if you still have a save from the beginning, save + new game if not)
Once you found both Lati@s and all rares but not Pichu, hard reset once you can do it and start a new game to put back the "Rayquaza trigger" as "off". Then start in a zone you miss commons pokemons if you miss some of them and focus on hatching and possibles missing commons pokemons.