Pokemon White 2 Challenge Mode FAQ

 Pokemon White 2 Challenge Mode FAQ

Q: What are you playing on, it is emulator?
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 Tepig?
A: Because the Tepig evolution family is the best for the speedrun. He isn't used for the whole run, however.

Q: What do you use instead?
A: I catch a Drilbur before Burgh, and use Excadrill throughout the game. I still use Pignite for Burgh's Gym (giving Drilbur exp Share), but then switch to Drilbur straight after as my main Pokemon.

Q: Are Drilbur/Excadrill's stats manipulated?
A: Yes! I manipulate both the dust cloud appearance and Drilbur's stats at the same time.

Q: So what is Challenge Mode? What exactly is different?
A: It's essentially hard mode. It's a mode within the game that's unlocked when you beat Black 2 (and can be transfered to other games when unlocked, hence starting with it)
All enemy Pokemon levels are increased by between 1-4 based on how far you are through the game. Gym Leaders and elite four members see the biggest increase, with all of them getting 30 IVs in all stats, and all of them also get an extra Pokemon entirely, and much better moves (eg Elesa's Emolga gets Aerial Ace). In a lot of cases they also get additional held items, for the gym leaders these are mainly Oran/Sitrus berries, but the most notable is that Shauntal's Chandelure gets a Choice Scarf.

Q: So what are the really hard fights in this run?
A: Answer is pretty surprising. The hardest fight Tepig/Pignite does is Burgh. Hardest fight Drilbur/Excadrill does is Elesa. Other than that, Cheren is pretty annoying with Tepig, and Rood is a bit rough with Drilbur. Another threat later on is Undella Rival, pretty much the only fight Excadrill has trouble with, as Excadrill is a monster

Q: Why do you keep resetting and changing the time?
A: I need to use a specific time in order to use RNG manipulation, so I set the clock in such a way that I can use it. The timer counts down to when I need to start the game for the correct second.

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 the game at a specific time, a to hit a specific seed.

Q: What causes the resets?
A: I missed initial starting seed. There are 2 ways to check whether I hit the correct seed:
1) After setting my and my rivals name, the game sets up a save. At this point, there is a "clock hand" that rotates clockwise. Where it starts is determined by the seed. So I know that unless it starts by pointing diagonally Up-Right, I missed it
2) I check the movement of the NPCs in Aspertia City. Because their movement is derived from the RNG, I can tell I hit it based on their movements. This is used as a second check, most runs that get to this check will progress

Hitting the seed is only based off the second, not the frame in gen 5, so it's a lot easier to hit than it is in gen 4/3. However there is another mechanic at play, the "Timer0" fluctuates seemingly randomly, and is what causes the inconsistencies. If you want a rough estimate of the chance of it being the one I want, I can't give you one because it isn't actually a random chance (as far as we know, not actually entirely sure why it changes), but so far I've only hit 5 different Timer0s

For Manipulated Drilbur, the first thing I can use as a guide is whether the Dust Cloud shows up. If it doesn't show up when I know it should, then I know I missed the Timer0 I want. There's also a chance that one will show up but in a different spot, which also means I missed the Timer0 I want, and have to reset regardless.

Q: Why don't you check Tepigs stats? What are Tepigs stats like?
A: Tepigs starting stats are the same every time RNG manipulation is used, and due to the huge number of possible seeds, are almost perfect in this game (31/31/31/30/25/30). The nature however is decided independently to the IVs, and is based on the RNG Frame when I pick him. If I do movement correctly, so that the NPCs move around the right amount, it should be the target: Rash.

Q: What are Drilbur's stats like?
A: Drilbur has 31 IV is everything but Sp Att (which is 13). Drilbur only uses Sp Att in one fight, the first fight it does against Colress, but because it's ability is manipulated to be Sand Force, it's Sp Att does not matter much for that fight (it needs to be 7+ IV to 2HKO). It's also an Adamant nature, highest level (19 out of 16-19) and a Female, to avoid Attract from Skyla/Grimsley.

Q: What encounters will you get?
A: If I do the manipulation for encounters correctly, I should get both a Pidove, and a Psyduck before Cheren as HM Slaves (for Fly, and Surf/Strength)

Q: So why don't you just manipulate everything in the game?
A: Quite simply, nothing else is really worth it. There's no roamer/legendary worth getting, no Master Ball lottery, etc. There's also different types, while you are in battles certain RNGs advance making it impossible to control for any length of time. It's also currently impossible to manipulate Pokerus.

Q: Why White 2 and not Black 2?
A: Black 2 has an extra trainer in Reversal mountain, Charles is a Rotation battle instead of Triple, etc. Other stuff is different too but basically White 2 is better in every way.

Q: Why do you play as the boy/girl?
A: As far as I know they play exactly the same. I prefer the girl but usually I choose the boy because I don't mind the male design in this game.

Q: Why do you name yourself and NOT Tepig 'I'?
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. Tepig however isn't used enough to make nicknaming worth it, since text moves quite fast in this game. I name Drilbur '9' because it's really close to the OK button to finish nicknaming (and also a naming system I used to do where I'd name a Lvl 19 '9' so you know what Lvl I caught it at)

For my trainer name I just tap whatever button with my left index finger, so it varies a bit.

Q: Do you catch anything else?
A: No, just those 2. I leave Pignite in the box so it doesn't come out in the triple fights, or register in the Hall of Fame

Q: What is WR?
A: www.speedrun.com/pkmnbw2#Challenge_Mode | See: Splits

Q: What is your goal time?
A: To get the record back.

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.