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Mission 5: Pidgeotto and the Switch Path

Check out WarriorGallade's post on this Mission for more specific tips.

Overview

• Difficulty: Half-star
• Recommended level: 5+
• Time limit: 6:30 min
• Goal: Capture two Pidgeotto

Rank Rewards

Wild Pokémon

Ivysaur is inaccessible when playing solo.

Pokémon		Quantity	Group	Friendship Gauge	AP	Slates
	Ivysaur	1 (2+ players)	Grass	600	2	Ivysaur (90%) Bulbasaur (10%)
	Pidgeotto	2	Flying	360	2	N/A
	Hoothoot	4 (Pattern 1)	Flying	108	1	Hoothoot (93%) Noctowl (7%)
	Torchic	3	Fire	168	1	N/A
	Shinx	4 (Pattern 2)	Electric	180	1	Shinx (97%) Luxio (3%)

Boss

Pokémon		Group	Friendship Gauge	Agitated Gauge	AP
	Sceptile	Grass	870	73	4

Strategy and Map

Text of this section & map image are taken from WarriorGallade's post on the subject, supplemented with information from the official Prima guide book, and condensed/reorganized slightly. Used with permission.

Map

This Mission contains two different patterns of wild Pokémon that can appear. The two possible Patterns are shown below.

Pattern 1:

Pattern 2:

Legend:

• Gray section: This area can only be accessed with two or more players.
• Blue tile: The player's start point.
• Red tile: Takes the player to the boss room, once the condition has been met.
• Green tile: Teleports the player to another specific location on the map.
• Yellow tile: Standing on this tile makes a bridge appear between separate platforms. Tiles that need multiple players are marked with red dots that indicate how many players are needed.
• Brown circle (around a Pokémon): This Pokémon is angry and will launch projectiles toward the player on sight.
• Icons like this (darker) give the player extra seconds, determined by the number.
• Icons like this (lighter) restore the player's Styler by the specified number of energy.
• Icons like this (POW) increase the player's Styler's power by 20%.
• Icons like this (PART) increase the player's Partner Pokémon's Poké Assist power by 20%.
• Icons like this (DEF) reduce the player's damage taken by 1 (to a minimum of 1).

This is the first mission to introduce patterns. As far as we know, all patterns are equally likely. This Mission has only two patterns, but later missions will get more complex. Neither Shinx nor Hoothoot is hard to capture; if you want to grind for Sceptile's Slate, aim for the Shinx variation since it drops Shinx and Luxio slates, and Electric-types are rare this early. Also, this is the first stage with multiplayer-only areas, which hide rare Pokémon or powerups but aren't required to complete the mission solo.
This Mission also introduces switches. Stand still on them for a few seconds to unlock connecting platforms. The layout is simple; find both Pidgeotto, but watch for angry Torchic using ranged Ember! Head to the red teleporter when done.

Boss

Despite its high speed, Sceptile often pauses for a few seconds at a time, giving good looping windows. Large loops let you mostly ignore the ! and !!! attacks; only worry about !! or sudden movements. Poké Assists help pin Sceptile down quickly to minimize risk, even though time isn't tight.

Sceptile's attacks are:

• Slice attack (!): Short-range in the direction Sceptile is facing. 2 damage per hit. Possible to loop around.
• White blade throw (!!): 5 slashes across the full screen. 2 damage per hit. Impossible to loop around until they travel far enough away from Sceptile.
• Slice attack (!!!): Large hit in the direction Sceptile is facing. 4 damage per hit. Possible to loop around.

S-Rank Tips

Difficult, but doable with a few levels and/or a good Poké Assist. You don't have a reliable Grass-type counter yet, so it may be worth returning later; that said, generous time limits mean an A-rank on the first try is likely.

Partner Choice

Both slowing and quick close-range Assists work well against Sceptile's speed and attack patterns. Piplup, despite the type disadvantage, is surprisingly effective at slowing Sceptile down for consecutive loops. Torchic, despite its good type matchup, is unusable here: Sceptile moves too fast and doesn't linger long enough for Torchic's close-range assist to stack damage. Pidgeot, obtainable in the next Mission, is a strong choice, but its Slate will likely take a while to obtain since that mission is notably harder.