Topic: Pokemon Shuffle

@Klimbatize: I don't know. Mega Speedup can't be obtained thru any other means (only Escalation battles and the special challenges), so in the end is up to wether we need our Mega Pokemons to evolve faster (I know I can use a faster evolving Lucario and banette).

By the way, what team are you using? I'm at level 50 and trying to level up my Pokemon in order to pass it without using any Powerups (haven't used them yet). I used Mega Lucario, Xerneas and Heracross (and Scizor in two 3DS and Scyther in other). All off them at level 7 or better.

I was using a variety of under leveled teams early on, but my main team was a max Mega Lucario (bad for combos, but 720 damage and destroys those blocks), max Genesect, max Heracross (love crowd control for both), and max Xerneas.

I need help getting past stage 75. What did everyone use and did you have to use coins to do it. So far I've used one mega start and that didn't even come close and one Mega with a disruption and that was a big fail.

I've finally reached 150...and I'm out of money! By the early 140s, I was either losing or barely scraping by without items. It's strange, but I started to use Moves +5 and would always have over 5 Moves remaining, but when I'd try the stage without it, I'd fail. Gonna farm Meowth for awhile.

@Spoony_Tech: I can't remember 75 exactly, but for items, I know I used Attack x2, Disruption Delay, and Moves +5. I know I had Maxed Lucario, Genesect, Heracross, and Lv.8 Xerneas, but I can't remember who was my Mega evolution. Also, I had over 10 moves remaining when everything was said and done, but I'd still suggest using Moves +5 to be on the safe side.

I reached level 50 but can't beat it without items . Are all the remaining levels like it ? ( double block vertical disruption) ?

@Megapokepaul: No they're not. After that one It goes back to more normal block distribution till 75 again then 100 and so on. That's why I'm stuck on 75 and don't want to spend more coins till I can beat it for sure.

@sykotek Thanks for the advise.

Okay just beat it with a disruption delay and with 10 moves left LOL .
@Spoony_Tech thanks , and seriously just buy the disruption delay you don't need anything else .And just one more question : what do you get after lvl 50 ? Other than the speed up at 100??

@Megapokepaul: I've already done it with the distribution delay and a mega start and failed pretty bad. If you also look back a page or 2 it's outlined what you get and which levels are coin levels.

@Megapokepaul: No, they are not, like Spoony_tech explained. I maxed my Pokemons and was like 1-2 moves short off beating it with special items, so I decided to use a 5 Moves powerup and it worked perfectly.

@dizzy_boy: No need. Just a 5 extra moves powerup was what I needed. My basic rule is that if I need less than 3 extra move to defeat a Pokemon, I go for this powerup. I only use Disruption Delay when I have no strong Pokemons that cause disruptions or when the foe uses really obnoxious disruptions.

If you need a Double Damage powerup is that either your Pokemon are too weak or are using the wrong type. I try just to max those pokemons that start at level 70 or better, or at level 60, but that have very special abbilities, like Banette or Shayrmin (the one that makes the Pokemon sleep).

Vivillon is way too hard!!!!

I'm at level 145 on Darkrai. Once every 4 or 5 levels I'm losing, even with a max team. I am not going to get to a point where I have to buy +5 moves every level, so after I reach 150 I am definitely stopping. I'm not going to spend maybe 100 hearts and who knows how many coins to get to 200. Glad I'll get 3 Speed Ups out of this though.

I've been thinking about other potential contests they could run, but focussing on ways to incorporate the obsolete Pokemon. I'd love one where you had to make it through like 6-10 stages, but you couldn't use the same support Pokemon twice. Or, you could only use Level 1s. Or a challenge where you could only use base 30s. Another where you could only use base 40s, etc. Would add some variety to the mix.

@Klimbatize: It was during the 140s that I started buying items. I think if you're okay with waiting, you won't need to. I finished 150 with 0 moves left! M+5, Atk2, and MS with M-Aero, Genesect, Heracross, and Pinsir, but with the type of disruptions, Xerneas or Lucario for the 4th slot would've probably been a better choice.

I decided to go after Darkrai while on my lunch break, and........

go buy a lottery ticket

Blimey. Mega Blaziken really does annihilate Vivillion, but it escaped four balls at 60% chance... I couldn't reset either, else I'd lose my victory, and a Complexity -1 for an S rank...

I can't seem to get more than 130 coins in the meowth stage without risking a loss so where else can I farm coins ??

At the moment, Meowth is the only coin grinding stage in the game. There is the Special Meowth Coin Stage that comes around every Sunday and you can potentially get 5000 - 8000 coins with the right strategy (mainly involves using Mega Mewtwo or Mega Banette). Some stages had coins in them but they were either one escalation stage (Cresselia/Darkrai and probably Giratina but I never got that far with him) or a safari zone stage (Staryu). All of which are less effective than just grinding on Meowth's stage since these stages are there for a limited time, while Meowth's stage will always be there.

There's some tips for the Meowth stage, if you want them?

The team I use is all maxed, yet still pretty effective: Xerneas, Heatran (Or Regirock would work), Gengar (Non Mega) (Or another Ghost type with an ability that will not disrupt Meowth, or deal extra damage, or remove icons. Basically, Gengar is the best here...) and Genesect (Heracross would equally work.)

The first thing you want to do is to look at the board for any large combos that could happen, and then plan to avoid them. Don't make a move yet, though.

The next step is to look at the second icon down on the right hand side, and the second icon from the bottom on the same side, the ones directly above or below the coins. If you can instantly move the left coin into one of those positions, then go for it. If not, but there is one of those two icons within 2 spaces up or down of the left hand coin, then attempt to move another icon into the position next to it, so you could make a 3 match on the next turn. If you can't do anything, see if you can bring the top coin down one place, and see what is above it.

You should now have three spaces in between the coins on the right hand side, with either 7 or 6 turns left. Try and make matches that aren't any icon in the space above or below the single coin, as you will as need as many icons of that as you can, to maximize your chance of getting a match of that pokemon.

Try and make small matches until turn 5, when the coin should appear. re-evaluate the board, and see whether you can move the coin into the space immediately above or below the single coin. If you can't, then you have two options. Either move it into a position where you can move it into that space (but will still have 3 turns remaining, to then remove one of the two middle spaces, to get it all into position.), or the space that is one away from either coin (But only if you can remove the space above/below the single coin on the next turn. (Or this turn, if the coin is below where the match is, as you might ruin your chance of removing the other icon)). If Meowth's health bar is low, you may want to consider cutting your losses here, and going for the 130.

If you've followed this so far, you should have between 3 and 4 turns remaining, and have four coins on the right hand side, with a gap in the middle. Make single Gengar matches where possible, or 3-icon Xerneas matches, ensuring you don't have a skyfall. You can make 3-icon Genesect matches, but this is much riskier, especially given that Meowth should only have 1/4 to 1/3 health left, and Crowd Control's high activation rate. DO NOT make Heatran matches, as Last-Ditch
Effort has a much higher chance of activation on 3-icon matches, I find.

(Note: The reason why Gengar is non-mega'd is twofold. First, it's Mega ability is very annoying when playing this stage, and second, it'll delay the coin appearance by one turn, meaning that the last coin will only appear when you have one move left, meaning that you cannot easily get 530 coins.)

You should now be on 2 turns left, with a coin and a gap. If possible, pick up the icon in the gap to swap with the coin, to give any ability of a match a greater chance to activate.

You may now have beaten Meowth, or you may still have one turn left. In this case, a 4-icon Genesect match is better than a 4-icon Heatran match, which is better than a 3-icon Genesect, then a 3-icon Heatran, then a Xerneas match, then finally a Gengar match is the worst. Double matches should be activated, if at all possible (excepting a double Gengar match. If a single Gengar chain is matched, then the other icon should be picked up and moved, to ensure a useful ability activation.)

Enjoy your 530 coins.

I think that's about it. This works about 90% of the time, I find. If I've made any mistakes, or if you have a better strategy, please post.

EDIT: Just tidied it up a bit. I've tried to be as clear as possible. Also post if you would like clarification of anything.

That was very nice of you to type that all out. I use non max 'mon for the little experience though. I do like to bring along a non-effective in case Meowth is taking too much damage.

Mastering Meowth has been a key to my success with the game because it allows me to always have a big stockpile of coins. I manage 530 about 2 out of every 3 attempts. I'd say another 25% nets 330. The rest is mostly a mere 30 because of some inopportune combo that wipes Meowth out too fast. 130 or none is extremely rare for me at this point.

Looking ahead, the upcoming Venasaur competition is going to be tough. Only the top 2000 get the Speed Up this time, and there are a variety of teams that could do a lot of damage against grass types. Much planning will be required if you're going for the top tier.