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       Pokemon Platinum Any% (Glitched) FAQ
 
 Q: Is this a new route?
-A: Yes! Over 3 years after I confirmed it's faster, this is FINALLY the Golduck route.
+A: Yes! Starting since this year this is a newer route, quite a bit different from the older one. My route is also different to the current record.
 
-Q: What is the Golduck route?
+A: What is the new route?
-A: The Golduck route catches a Golduck. Specifically, it catches a Level 40 Golduck.
+A: It uses Golduck (L40 catch) to beat the whole game instead of just Fantina/Maylene, instead of using Tentacruel (L50 catch) afterwards.
-The old route caught a Level 40 Tentacruel after Gardenia, and then a Level 50 Tentacruel on the way to Pastoria. THis route catches a Level 40 Golduck after Gardenia, but still gets the Level 50 Tentacruel on the way to Pastoria.
+
 My route also now goes back to using Teleport (from an Abra) instead of Fly (from a Starly), meaning it does not beat Maylene at all, as you only defeat her to be able to use Fly, the badge is not required to beat the game with glitches.
-Q: So much much better is Golduck than Tentacruel?
+
-A: Actually, Golduck is worse than Tentacruel. The reason it's faster is that it's faster to obtain Golduck, but in the battles it has to complete, it performs worse (because it doesn't have Poison Jab for Rival 3).
+Q: Why is this faster?
-But L40 Golduck can be obtained on Route 205, just west of Eterna City, so right after the Bike. Whereas the old route backtracked all the way to Sandgem Town to get the L40 Tentacruel.
+A: The big comparative advantage Golduck has over Tentacruel is incredibly stupid - it has a much faster 'entry animation'. That is, it spend less time sliding between the screen when you send it out. Over the course of the run, Tentacruel would spend almost a full extra minute just wiggling across the screen.
 
-Q: Are there any other routing differences?
+That being said, Tentacruel still does the fights faster outside of that. Even taking that into account, and the additional almost 2 minutes to catch the Tentacruel, the routes are still very close together. To the point that in an 'optimal' run, Tentacruel would still be faster, but only just, and is far more inconsistent than Golduck because Tentacruel has to use inaccurate moves (Hydro Pump, and Fog route, whereas Golduck has Cloud Nine so it renders the Fog useless), along with being a very difficult execution mid run to catch the Tentacruel, making Golduck better on average.
-A: Yep. Quite a few incidental ones (because different route means different seeds, so slightly different stats, etc), but the biggest difference is probably that this route uses Fly instead of Teleport.
+
 Teleport vs Fly is always extremely close in time for this game. But in this route, Teleport is slightly more advantageous, because there is a Double Battle on Route 210 (the route before Solaceon), that you can skip by only having 1 Pokemon alive. In a route where you catch a L50 Tentacruel afterwards, you can't have only 1 Pokemon alive at that point without going further out of your way to kill the existing L40 Pokemon, so you just do this fight. But in the L40 Golduck solo route, you can skip this fight. It does mean you have to do Fog Route before going to Veilstone where you get X Items, making the fights there a bit more difficult for Golduck, but overall it's ever so slightly better.
-Q: Why does this route use Fly over Teleport?
+
-A: Simply because not getting the L40 Tentacruel means there's one less use for Teleport, so it's not quite as useful. So instead, getting Fly and beating Maylene's Gym ends up being the way to go.
+Abra is slightly harder to catch than Starly too in terms of it potentially breaking out of balls, but safer overall since you can't kill it accidently before getting a chance to throw a ball.
 Chance of catching Abra is (goes up as it weakens itself with Struggle):
-Q: How much faster is Fly than Teleport on this route?
+0 Struggles: ~28%
-A: It's about...less than 1 second. It's so little that the variance of timing it is actually bigger than the time difference itself (because of things like "How long do you have to wait for this spinner to pass if using Teleport?").
+1 Struggle: ~41%
 2 Struggles: ~62%
-The bigger advantage of Fly over Teleport is catching a Starly instead of an Abra, which is much more likely to get in the Poke Ball straight away (99.994% vs 27.973%)
+3 Struggles: ~78%
 
-Q: Any other new strats?
+Q: Is there anything else new about this route?
-A: My PB is quite old, there's actually a trainer on the way to Veilstone that can be skipped with a tweak that my run did not skip, so nice time save there.
+A: Yes, and it saves more time - doing a low EXP route at the start of the game, and doing a Save and Quit to manip the Roark battle. The older route would fight 5 trainers before Roark to evolve into Monferno as Chimchar basically can't win. This route skips all of those fights, and does a S+Q before Roark to manip the battle to win with Chimchar.
 
-Another big one is how I'm approaching the Level 50 Tentacruel - instead of saving on the water and manipping from there, I'm actually saving on land and doing the tweak during the manip. This makes the manip more difficult (as messing up the movement means I'll fail the manip), but it makes it more consistent IF I do it correctly, because it means I shouldn't get screwed by unseeable NPCs.
+This in part is also why the Golduck route works, because doing a mid run S+Q allows for getting a more optimal Golduck seed too.
 
-Q: So how much faster is this route?
+This saves a lot of time before Roark, but then loses a decent amount of that time between Roark and catching Golduck, as you have less experience and therefore the battles afterwards are a bit harder / slower.
-A: Very difficult to say! The biggest time save is the Golduck difference, and the main reason it's faster is that I don't Save & Quit to manip for it, which saves about a minute. This means it's far riskier though, as I have to catch it without manip, and also far harder, as I have to keep initial seed manip all the way to Golduck or the run can not continue.
+
 Overall the new route saves about 1.5 minutes over the older one.
-Ultimately though, I'm hoping to push this under 2:40 with all the new stuff in the run. But doing so will still be quite tough.
+
 Q: How do you know you've hit the manipulation for Roark?
 A: There are 2 workable battle seeds next to each other for Roark, and you can tell if you've hit them (and which one), by the first turn, and then do the rest of the fight different depending on which one is hit.
 On the really good one, Geodude misses Rock Throw.
 On the pretty good one, you burn Geodude with Ember.
 
 Note however the battle manip for Roark is separate to the Golduck seed, and I need to hit both.
-Q: Why do you choose Chimchar? I you used Piplup for Platinum?
+
 Q: How do you know you have hit the Golduck seed?
 A: After leaving the Gym, I check the NPCs in Oreburgh. If the lady to the right starts looking Down and then Turn Up and then Left (D>U>L), I've (almost certainly) hit the right Golduck seed.
 
 Q: What part is the hardest or most likely to reset in this run?
 A: The most likely break point is hitting the Roark + Golduck manip mid run. It isn't random, it's just tough execution.
 The most random part of the run to die to is to catch Golduck. A Net Ball has just over a 1/3 chance to catch (33.695%) and you have 2 of them. Poke Balls have just over 1/10 chance to catch (10.661%), you generally have 4 of these, but don't get to use them, as Golduck can kill you if you don't catch it.
 
 ----
 
-A: Some, but not a whole lot. The biggest skip comes after Candice, as you can go to Sunnyshore early (skipping huge Galatic sections & Distortion World). There are several other instances, such as skipping the Psyducks (Skipping cutscenes and fight with the grunt, and Cynthia) and going into Lake Valor early (which skips the cutscenes at the Library), and tweaking into Pastoria Gym early. There are 18 tweaks in total used in this run.
+
 A: No, I'm playing on a DS (phat) with a capture board installed allowing me to record game footage
 
 Q: Why do you choose Chimchar? I thought you used Piplup for Platinum?
-Once I can do this I switch my main to Golduck. Then after Maylene, I switch my main again to Tentacruel.
+
 
-Q: So...Tentacruel? Why, what can Tentacruel do that other Pokemon can't?
+
-A: By tweaking once you get the Bike, you can place yourself above water, and access one at level 50 after Maylene, and that level gap is huge. It is a water type, which is crucial (Surf + Specs ruins), and it's speed is excellent, outspeeding every Pokemon in the game without any X Speeds. It's offensives are pretty average, but it still manages very well throughout the game.
+
 
 Q: What is tweaking?
 A: Tweaking is a glitch in all gen 4 pokemon games. The games are loaded by 32x32 tile grid, and by moving quickly over various load lines where these grids intersect, you can cause the game to load/unload certain collisions and character sprites allowing you to get to areas before you're supposed to.
 
 Q: How much do you skip in this game?
 A: Some, but not a whole lot. The biggest skip comes after Candice, as you can go to Sunnyshore early (skipping huge Galatic sections & Distortion World). There are several other instances, such as skipping the Psyducks (Skipping cutscenes and fight with the grunt, and Cynthia) and going into Lake Valor early (which skips the cutscenes at the Library), and tweaking into Pastoria Gym early. There are 14 tweaks in total used in this run.
 
 Q: Do you use Chimchar the whole run, or catch something else?
 A: Chimchar/Monferno is used until just after Gardenia, more accurately until I get the Bike. With the Bike I can do impactful tweaks, which allow me to tweak into the water and catch higher level Pokemon there.
 Once I can do this I switch my main to Golduck.
 
-A: I missed the initial seed. There are 2 ways to check to see if I hit the right seed, one is to check my Trainer ID which should be 17996, and the other is to check to movements of the NPCs outside my house. Checking Trainer ID is faster for resets, but obviously takes a few seconds. The RNG for the seed advances every frame, so it is a frame perfect trick
+Q: So...Golduck? Why, what can Golduck do that other Pokemon can't?
 A: By tweaking once you get the Bike, you can place yourself above water, and access one at level 40 after the bike, and that level gap is huge. It is a water type, which is crucial (Surf + Specs ruins), and it's speed is excellent, outspeeding every Pokemon in the game without any X Speeds bar for Mars's Purugly. It's offensives are pretty average, but it still manages very well throughout the game.
 
 Q: Why do you keep resetting and changing the time?
-The Chimchars IVs are 26 HP, 31 Att, 21 Def, 29 Sp Att, 24 SP Def, 29 Speed with a Naughty nature.
+
-The Golducks IVs are 17 HP, 21 Att, 23 Def, 29 Sp Att, 8 Sp Def, 28 Speed with a Mild nature.
+
 Q: What is RNG?
 A: Random Number Generator, the thing that determines everything random within the game, such as stats, encounters and pokerus.
 
 Q: What is RNG Manipulation?
 A: RNG manipulation is used in this speedrun, which involves resetting on a specific second starting from a specific time, and hitting the correct frame for the correct seed after resetting. This allows for manipulating of the wild encounters, Pokerus, and Chimchar's starting stats, along with getting an instant Level 40 Golduck with great stats after Eterna.
-A: I will get only 1 encounter before Eterna City, a Level 2 Starly.
+
-No other HMs slaves are caught in this run (All other HMs are given to Monferno/Golduck/Tentacruel)
+
 A: I missed the initial seed. There are 2 ways to check to see if I hit the right seed, one is to check my Trainer ID which should be 5295, and the other is to check to movements of the NPCs outside my house. Checking Trainer ID is faster for resets, but obviously takes a few seconds. The RNG for the seed advances every frame, so it is a frame perfect trick.
-Q: How do you manipulate the L50 Tentacruel?
+
-A: After I position myself right at the corner of the first loadline, I save and quit in order to change the time again to manipulate for it.
+If done correctly, The first NPC (Man to the left) will be facing Up, and then turn Left, then Down, and the second NPC (Girl above and to the right) will be facing Left, and turn Up and then back Left.
-After hitting the seed, I then advance the RNG where I know the Tentacruel will be, and then use Honey to force him to show up.
+
-This manip is quite difficult as I am also attempt to manipulate the Battle RNG in order to catch the Tentacruel (if I fail this, it generally kills me)
+
 A: Chimchar's starting stats are the same every time RNG manipulation is used, and also quite decent using RNG manipulaton, but not perfect. The reason for this is because there are a limited amount of seeds you can RNG manipulate for, as you are manipulating so many things, it's literally a game limitation how good they can be.
 The Chimchars IVs are 31 HP, 31 Att, 24 Def, 26 Sp Att, 17 SP Def, 30 Speed with a Naive nature.
 The Golducks IVs are 21 HP, 18 Att, 10 Def, 31 Sp Att, 24 Sp Def, 30 Speed with a Modest nature.
-Battle RNG is computed the same way as regular RNG, but the thing that makes it harder is that it's reseeded for each battle, meaning in this case the seed for the L50 Tentacruel battle is made right before the battle starts. As one of the factors of the seed creation is the in-game frame count, and lag frames do NOT count towards that, it means you have to control the amount of lag that has passed to that point.
+
-In this case, that's quite difficult, as different areas of the map have different amount of lag. Additionally, every step you take on the beach creates lag as well. So every section of the movement is critical in order to get the manip to work, as well as having frame perfect timing on using the honey.
+
 A: This is to manipulate encounters. You can't just find a seed that gets no encounters with a perfect Chimchar by just running straight through (again, game limitation; there isn't one), so I need to do specific movement to manipulate the RNG so that I can avoid these encounters
-Q: What are the Level 50 Tentacruels stats?
+
-The Level 50 Tentacruels IVs are 9 HP, 30 Att, 21 Def, 30 Sp Att, 23 Sp Def, 25 Speed with a Mild Nature. It is level 50 (levels are 30-50), has a Poison Barb (5%), and has Clear Body (blocks Intimidate and Psychic Sp Def drops).
+
 A: I will get only 1 encounter before Eterna City, a Level 4 Abra.
 No other HMs slaves are caught in this run (All other HMs are given to Monferno/Golduck)
 
 Q: How do you manipulate the L40 Golduck?
 A: When I enter Roark's Gym, I save and quit, set the time and hit a new seed. From there, I manipulate the game to not get any encounters, and advance the RNG exactly 1663 times before using the Honey on the water after the first tweak, to always get the desired Golduck.
-A: Yup, I also manipulate Pokerus in this run. It's obtained off the second Rival fight on Route 203
+
 Q: What is Battle RNG?
 A: As it sounds, the Battle RNG is the RNG that impacts the battles (like what moves the opponent uses, how much damage it does, whether it crits, and most importantly, whether a Ball will catch or not).
 Battle RNG is computed the same way as regular RNG, but the thing that makes it harder is that it's reseeded for each battle, meaning in this case the seed for the Roark battle is made right before the battle starts.
 
-Q: Why do you name yourself and Chimchar 'I'?
+As one of the factors of the seed creation is the in-game frame count, and lag frames do NOT count towards that, it means you have to control the amount of lag that has passed to that point.
-A: Because it's faster to name them one character for text purposes, and the letter 'I' gives a nice spin as if the game was self-narrating
+This is doable for Roark, since you save inside the gym, you just have to control movement inside the Gym, and make sure an arrow appears on every textbox.
 However for catching the L40 Golduck (or anything else), this is impossible, you just have to throw Net Balls and hope for the best.
 
 Q: So why don't you just manipulate everything in the game?
 A: There are multiple RNGs at play, and not all of them can be controlled the same way. Battle RNG for example, advances just about every frame, including lag frames, making it totally unpredictable past the first fight (which is still frame perfect)
 
-A: Just to get WR back for now, but also want a sub 2:40.
+
 A: Yup, I also manipulate Pokerus in this run. It's obtained off the Burmy fight on Route 202.
 
 Q: Why do you play as the girl?
 A: The counterpart talks less to you if you are the girl
 
 Q: Why do you name yourself '-' and Chimchar 'J'?
 A: Because it's faster to name them one character for text purposes, and the letter 'J' is close to the OK selection. As for my name, I'm holding the DS sideways to optimise mashing through the intro cutscene, so I just pick whatever is doable in quick time.
 
 Q: Why DON'T you name the Rival a 1 character name?
 A: Because there isn't enough time to hit the initial seed if I spend the time to name him. This is ideal though, to have a seed that I don't have to spend extra time waiting on.
 
 Q: What is WR?
 A: http://www.speedrun.com/pkmnplat#Any
 
 Q: So what is your goal time?
 A: For now, to get the WR back. A good run will end up being sub 2:35
 
 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.