Can I Beat Pokemon Red with ONLY 1st Form Bug Pokemon? 🔴 Pokemon Challenges ► NO ITEMS IN BATTLE 

"Swords Dance and Slash is a good combo" Gen 1: I'm about to end this man's whole career

"Would you look at how cool that Sprite is!" And then you have Scythers back-sprite that looks like a dinosaur holding a banana.

So amusingly, this might have been one situation where the bugged Focus Energy, which lowers your crit rate to 25% of normal rather than increase it, would be helpful. Since Scyther has such high base speed (Gen I crit chance is based on your base Speed) and crits a fair amount even without a move like Slash, Focus Energy could make it easier to "hope for no crits" when using Swords Dance strats. It's debatable whether it's worth wasting a moveslot for it during a solo run, but with other mons available (notably for Agatha, who Scyther needs Mimic to beat on its own), it's probably not a big deal to use it.

Commenting while I watch here. My prediction is that Venonat will become the surprise star of the team alongside Scyther. Venonat gets Psychic, which is insanely useful in this game. Update 1: Oh darn, I thought for sure you were going to take the Root Fossil ;) Update 2: I... may have forgotten just how weak Venonat is. Come to think of it, I think its Attack is higher than its Special.

A rough approximation of Crit Damage in Gen 1 is (2L + 5) / (L + 5), where L is the attacker's level. For the curious that means it starts at roughly 1.16x damage and approaches 1.95x damage as you approach Lvl 100. So a Level 3 Pokemon is only doing roughly 11/8 = 1.37 damage.

To support the RU-vid algorithm, yes you did a venonat run but in FireRed, not Red. Also amazing video as always. Nice to see an easy Rival Fival. For a future challenge: Try out Platinum with no healing!

Best of luck with all the things! By the way, fun Oblivion fact with draining attributes: If you reduce an NPC's speed to 0, it renders them effectively blind due to how stealth and detection work in that game. Have fun!

32:50 normal crit chance is Base Speed over 512. Increased Crit Chance moves are base speed over 64. Scyther's Speed is 100, so a move like Slash for him will crit every time aside from 1/256 misses.

"Slash and swords dance is a pretty strong combo" Yeah about that

Wait a second, Scyther trying NOT to crit the only situation in which you might have gotten a benefit from using the Glitched Focus Energy? Because it accidentally divides rather than multiplying your crit rate (in Gen 1 minus Pokemon stadium), it would on average INCREASE your damage, as long as you have a safe set up.

"I fear not the main who has spent his life training 1000 caterpies, but the man who has spent his life training 1 caterpie 1000 times," - Brock

While watching this, I had a galaxy brain moment. What if you use Focus Energy to lower your crit chance so you don't crit after using Swords Dance? I mean, it adds turns of set up, and you have to have the gall to click on Focus Energy, but I think Gen I Focus Energy might actually have an use.

Hope your health takes a turn for the better MDB!

“That video was an entire week late! Let’s hope this one isn’t!” How about half the way in the opposite direction?

I loved this whole run, Mr. Bread! A suggestion for 60 more seconds of content for your vids: why not fight mewtwo after you beat the champion when you do RBY challenges? I know it's only one pokemon, but it would add a little bit of a victory lap, like some of the other "secret bosses" like Red or Steven. Did you grab the dome fossil?

3:00 Gen 1 crit multipliers scale with your level instead of being a fix value, (2L+5)/(L+5) to be precise. Why they did it? Probably to compensate the high crit rate the game has which would be brutal on low level fights who have much more attacks per mon than the lategame. They might figured out it wasn't a big deal once the crit rate got standarized to the low 1/16.

Galaxy brain combo with Scyther : Focus energy + Swords dance to avoid crits with Slash.

The level 25 Caterpie had a nice amount of health.

Fun fact about the red and blue safari zones; if you go to the safari zone and time out, then immediately go do the missigno trick, you will receive encounters from whatever the last area of the safari zone you were in as regular encounters, on top of everything else.

To answer why Pidgey didn't do any more damage with a critical hit: in Gen 1, critical hits double your damage by doubling your Pokemon's level in damage calculation! This means a level 3 Pidgey will only do as much damage as a level 6 Pidgey with the same attack stat. If there wasn't any rounding, this would amount to a 37.5% raw increase in the move's base power, but because of how gen 1 does rounding, the level's effectiveness in damage calculation doesn't actually increase every level but every few levels instead! From looking at the online disassembly, I think it works kind of like this. The relevant bit of the damage formula where your level modifies the base power is when it does (2 x Level x Critical Hit Modifier / 5 + 2). At level 3, this equals 3.2x normally and 4.4x on a critical hit. If you round down, this is actually 3x normally and 4x on a critical hit, or only a 33.3% raw increase in base power. Because these Pokemon are so weak, though, you don't actually get even that! Because after calculating the power, multiplied by the ratio of your attack vs. defense, it divides by 50, thus rounding down again. If an average lv.5 Caterpie has 9 defense and an average lv.3 Pidgey has 8 attack and Gust only has 40 base power, this means the power of a critical hit is 142, where the power of a non-critical hit is 106. But if you divide both of these by 50 and round down, you get the same value of 2. Add 2 on top of that, then multiply by 1.5 for STAB, and you get 6 as the move's damage. But because this game has damage ranges (it generates a random number between 217 and 255, multiplies your damage by that, and divides by 255), it's actually 5 to 6 damage, with only a 1 in 39 chance of actually getting 6 damage.

Great video! One thing I noticed is that at at 17:30 you said that slash and swords dance is a good combo, but it is actually anything but. In gen 1, crits ignored ALL boosts, even your own. With how frequently scyther is critting, you will almost never benefit from swords dance. EDIT: you mentioned it later in the video 😅. Learned my lesson. Sorry for that!

Thanks for putting this challenge up early. This Saturday is going to be busy so I'm glad I could catch it early. Hope your health improves and you start feeling better soon

I hope you get well soon MDB! I don't comment all that often, but I watch quite a bit of your stuff. Obviously all of your challenges, but I watch a few let's plays when I have the time to as well. It's always a great time.

Love this. The gen 5 first form bugs is my all time favorite challenge you have done.

Been following you for 2yrs now, I hope you can recover! I love the stuff I've watched on your channel (on my 3rd watch of DBZ Team Training. A definite shining gem haha) Thank you, as always, for your videos! 😊

Genuinely the pick me up I needed for today. Thanks MDB

You should start doing the fossil "i knew if i didn't say what i picked, you'd all ask" meme in different languages every run

I was feeling pretty down today, so this video actually made my day better, thanks!!! I love theses challenges, it's such a good entertainment Btw hope you get well soon, take care man!

I’ve been waiting for the day when MDB would become a bug catcher

Hoping your health be better soon, MDB! You're amazing and deserve all the better!

I’m not a huge Oblivion fan but I cannot help but get excited for the next run with how giddy you sound about it. Thanks for another great video, keep up the work!

This video helped me because I was at work for what felt like an eternity today, so getting home and seeing this made my day. Thanks for that.

Quite the exciting Pokémon Red playthrough. Venonat being weak with Psychic was quite unexpected. MDB has only completed FireRed with Venonat, not Pokémon Red or Yellow. If you want to play through the original Kanto games I would suggest you use Venonat in Pokémon Yellow so you can fight Koga's 3 Venonats and his Venomoth.

I hope can find a healthy balance between work and rest with everything going on, MD! Get well soon!

Really minor optimization, but I do think you should have caught the weedle. It would have been useful in the Brock fight because you can toss 1 tackle at a Biding Onix (two if you're feeling like gambling), then swap to Weedle to take the return fire. This lets you sneak in 1 extra tackle than you otherwise would be able to. Whether that's worth catching a weedle as sack fodder, or more caterpies for that matter, for free damage against the Biding Onix is another matter. But the main time sink (leveling them) wouldn't be involved, because you're only using them as switch bait. Edit: It'd also let you cleanse your defense drop debuffs from Screech whenever you sack one as fodder, too.

I love how during the ad part of the video, you mentioned "now that summer is really starting" while school for some reason started on September 1st for me. It's funny lol. It's been starting earlier and earlier. If I wasn't a senior this year, Id have the worry that school starts in late August instead of early September next school year. It's dumb lol

Its probably going to be a mostly Scyther Solo run once the run reaches the Endgame. Maybe a bit of Paras aswell due to him having some useful Grass moves. Either way I wish you once again a speedy recovery!

I want an Emerald Beldum Run one day, I love Beldum and the evolution line! Also I was here and this was epic!

Hey mdb I love your content for so many years and I just want to say thank you for all the content you post bc it makes my day seeing a new video from you 😄

I loved it! Bug type is my favorite type, Amazing video as allways keep it up! :D

Also, I wonder if having a Caterpie and a Weedle to fight Brock would have been a touch easier? Brock wasting time/moves on full heals may have been a very slight advantage?

Hey MDB I know other people share my views in this, as they did on the poison run too, on long starting grinds like this you should just take the rare candies instead of wasting your time on a grind

Just a short comment, I really appreciate the endcard rant/speech/segment. Like, it honestly does feel like you're having a heart to heart with us, and I think I can speak for the audience who watches to the end to say that we really do enjoy it.

Love watching your videos when I play video games and when I went blind for a few weeks, keep up the good clean work love the videos

Hey bread! Plz remember that we all support you using rare candies for the whole challenge so you can better take care of yourself and decrease your grind

Crit damage is affected by level in Gen 1 only (which is hilarious but there you go). So at low levels, the damage boost to crits is so low that it rounds down to the same number.

I love the Pokémon challenges! I've watched every single one of them and am always looking forward to the next one. Anyway I have a Challenge suggestion for you: Pokémon Platinum with only one Buneary. I know it might be an easier run but I think you would appreciate some easier challenges after all the brutal ones you've been doing lately. Keep up the great videos!😄

Heck yeah, Paras. Get well soon, my friend

I am always hyped for your non-pokemon challenges! They're always so fun! Can't wait MDB, you're the best.

This was a fun one! As someone who--still, as an adult, rarely to never uses status moves, seeing the interaction between swords dance and critical hits was amusing. Hope you're well.

I'm super happy you're doing Oblivipn runs again. The Pokémon runs are great, but I like the variety. Are you considering do more Fallout challenges in New Vegas or 3 (or even 1 and 2)? Also, would you ever doing a KOTOR challenge (like only using a plaster pistol or a specific force power), or would that take too much time?

The "I know about that" Kangaroo joke was genuinely very funny to me for some reason. Great vid as always :D

I'm so excited for your next Oblivion run, it sounds awesome!!

i love the constant gag about the fossil, really makes me wanna comment about it to help with it being seen more due to the youtube algorithm

Thanks for another amazing video!! I really hope that your health takes a turn for the better soon 💕

Always love your Pokémon Challenges! Water Onix ftw lol. I hope your recovery is going well!!

Scyther is my favorite Pokemon and I have a whole collection centered around him - happy knowing he is going to get some love this video! lol

You're an absolute king. Wishing you well. Thank you so much.

I found it funny at the end of the chimera add you said "I gotta go get ready for the ghost gym" 😂 great video as always though MDB! Hope your health is doing better 🥺🥺🥺

i absoluetly love your show and inspired by you i started my own pokemon challenge. pokemon sword with only a grookey. i'm playing on my switch and i can't hack the game so i just decided that the grass starter will be the hardest to play and i'm having so much fun doing this. and also i can't use items in combat only held items.

In gen1 the critical hit modifier is based on the Pokemon's level. The formula for the critical hit modifier is: 2L + 5 / L + 5. At very low levels crits won't do very much damage. Around 28% more damage. However, this rises quickly until around level 20 where crits do around 80% more damage. Then the benefits from levelling up enter a state of diminishing returns. At level 100 the crit modifier maxes out at 1.95.

Unironically using string shot in battle. What a day to be alive

When I did a buglocke of Red myself recently, I gave scyther double edge as opposed to swift as if it crit, it mostly one shot the opponent and if it didn't, it got the sword dance boost to one shot. Meant I had to be sparse with it to avoid recoil, but slash could handle the easier to take down Pokémon.

Hey MDB! I love the videos! If you need any challenge suggestions I’d love to see a run where you can only use the first six Pokémon you come across (Including the starter). I really like platinum so maybe that game. And no evolutions.

I love these types of vids. Subbed

The next Oblivion-Run really sounds like fun! Fingers crossed everything works out as planned! And of course: GG to that Run!

Very nice indeed. Looked rough in patches. Cool you’re doing that with the unlisting of the videos for the Twitter audience

RU-vid algorithm helped me find that you've done a Venonat only run in Fire Red, however not in Red

I've actually always wanted to try it in this gen so I'm excited to see how you tackle this lol

Glad to see you are doing well. Hopefully everything goes well here on out.

That was a fun one to watch, good bit of planning went into it too! I'm glad you're using speed-up, honestly after you've proven that grinding in the area is possible, I wouldn't care if you just hacked in rare candies and stat XP based on the area you're grinding in. The videos take long enough to make, edit, etc, and we only get one lifetime worth of hours to spend, I'm here for the video, not to somehow absorb suffering through a laptop screen. Oh yeah, which fossil did you end up taking?

11:15 Damn those aggressive Sparrows! (Note - I worked a while in QA so I’ve learned to note these mishaps. Love the work MDB!)

Great video, Really nice for me playing Cities:Skylines in the background today, laying down some roads. I couldnt watch this video earlier, also RU-vid currently really does not want me to watch your stuff even though i want to get notified for everything .-. About the thing at the End: I like the idea, but honestly because of the timing I have in watching your videos (when I am about to go to bed, watch the video, then sleep) or while playing some games on my own, I don't really care for watching earlier, but the idea of having that core audience with you and maybe talk a bit in the comments sounds beautiful. Have a nice day o/

Was having an off day happy u released this early

...you are insane. And we _love_ it. Requesting Pokemon B2W2 With Only One Chinchou.

Hope you feel better soon MDB! Your community supports and cares about you, even if we do also revel in your suffering

(11:19) Which fossil did you take? I hear hot dogs and hamburgers are good for the Labor Day weekend algorithm. (27:16) Venonat's Psychic is a special attack, and Paras can learn Mega Drain. (32:05) And that's game! Nice job! (32:40) In Gen. 1, moves with a high crit chance like Slash are practically guaranteed to crit (with a 255/256 chance) if the user's base speed is at least 64. Of course, Scyther is way faster than that. But, Paras is super slow, so its Slash wouldn't always crit.

Writing this at 2 mins in and I've never doubted your talent but I don't even know how the undertaker your gonna finish this Best of Luck MDB!!!

So glad I got to see my favorite mon scyther to be made it into a run Would love to a see a pinsir only run eventually

Hope you get the health thing figured out! Thanks for the awesome run

I just thought of something while re-watching this, near the start, while you're talking about how it's better to train one caterpie rather than to catch and train multiple caterpies. Maybe it would have been slightly useful to catch five more caterpies, but not train them, for some extra 1 HP hits.

Mah dry bread, more than a RU-vidr or an entertainer, you are our friend. We love your awesome pokemon content, but we'll love even more to have you around for a very long time. Take a break, take care of your health first.

Love you videos! I would like to see a "Gen 5 only first form dark types". Make sure to start with Zorua as it is not available in normal gameplay. P.s.: you did use venonat in a firered run.

"I just sent in Caterpie, and overpowered them."

You can’t prove I stole that baby kangaroo. I was holding it for a friend.

Your intro reminds me of goku and its so fitting. Your grind and the challenges you do. Great video as always!

Wooh! Oblivion Restoration run!! :D Looking forward to it like mad! Edit: I stayed and listened. "Core audience"? It has a nice ring to it. I don't have Twitter so I'll support you by watching the entirety of your videos. Have an amazing week.

Hey, MDB, I know your health isn't the best right now, but I did want to say that I appreciate you still plugging along, and I hope you're diligent about keeping on top of your health. As for suggestions, imma keep suggesting the same one; *Pokémon Gold with only one Gligar.* I think it would be fun and challenging, but not impossible!

Can I just say? I actually enjoy your ad reads because they sound so genuine. A lot of other RU-vidr's ad reads sound so phoned in or over the top so you can tell they just want the money.

i, for one, appreciate your "Outro Explanation" (regarding the 'Unlisted Video links getting tweeted first' thing) because i dont have/use/ever even LOOK at twitter...

I don't use Twitter, but I love the end-of-video ramblings 💜

Super happy to see a run that isn’t a single mon run. Loved this vid dude

Hoping that you'll be better and heal up quickly MDB , Also I'll take the opportunity to see a new MDB Pokémon Challenge video on a Thursday instead of the usual Sunday morning (normally Saturday, but yeah timezones)

I have watched enough of these runs now to finally have pulled the trigger and acquire the Red and Silver roms myself. Legally, I might add, as I still own the - non-functional - cartridges. Haven't played those in probably twenty years.

For the speed boosted grinding I like to use Turbo Fire buttons because it can press "A" way faster than humanly possible

16:14 "ghost gym". i love that

Hey this was a really good one hope you feel better soon

I enjoy listening to the rambling in these videos. After watching them, I sometimes just fall asleep to all the fun things from these sorts of videos. Now, i need to go to twitter. We all know why

Love your Bethesda game runs, keep 'em coming!

such a happy surprise to see this early! thank you for thinking of us, and hope your health is improving