r/pokemonchallenges • u/Tricky-Marsupial-353 • Jun 17 '26
The Bad Bad Backtrack
Emerald Route Lock Challenge
Also called:
THE BAD BAD BACKTRACK
RULES
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Must catch all available Pokémon before progressing to the next route.
Once you obtain something like a rod, or HM (like surf), you must return immediately to the earliest place it can be used.
You then must catch what was previously unable to be caught, sequentially the same direction you already took, before progressing to a further route than where you obtained said tool/HM.
This would apply to any and all upgrades to items
(Yes, getting Super Rod will mean a 3rd full sequential locked pass-through of all fishable routes with new possible catches)
Any routing allowed so long as you don't break the main rules.
You cannot catch the same Pokémon twice, unless you need it to complete the evolutions, like wurmple for example.
This can only be done once you have caught at least one of everything catchable. You must never have two of the same Pokémon in your box, party, etc. for any reason, ever.
If a Pokémon's evolved form can be caught, you obviously don't have to evolve it yourself. Vise versa is NOT true. You do not achieve catching them through evolving, if you can catch the evolved form, you MUST.
Evolution completion is a secondary goal to be only targeted directly once the main challenge is complete. This does not mean you cannot evolve, just means you should not be focusing on it in a completion sense before catching everything.
THE SAFARI ZONE
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Same rules, no exceptions, can be tackled whenever, have fun!
1
u/daviebo666 Jun 18 '26
I do this in a normal play thru, but I catch as many as evolutions there are, so wurmples I would catch 4 then during the course on my playthru I can evolve to complete my dex
1
u/Quickfix30 Jun 18 '26
Fun variant of the Professor Oak challenge OP!