Using the Sanqui Randomizer for a Togetic Solo Run on Pokémon Red

by Arthur · November 22, 2022

Guide

Strategy for a race that only exists through randomize

The original Pokémon games, Red and Blue are perhaps the most played and dissected video games of all time. Its linear gameplay, hidden events and notorious bugs make it as fun a game as it was in the nineties. Although the graphics may have aged terribly, there is still a nostalgic charm about them. It’s also a broken game. In fact, it’s so broken that even Bob the Builder couldn’t fix it.

The game favors fast Pokemon that allow for higher critical hits. More types and match-ups and the category of special and physical types is a lot for some to take in. Using an X accuracy move makes 1HKO moves 100% accuracy. Some types had an uncanny choice of moves and Psychic was the king of the generation.

Those who know Pokémon will be the first to say that Toegtic was not in Pokémon Red. They wanted to be right. Togetic wasn’t introduced until gen 2. The red one I played was a ROM randomized through a site called Sanqui. I first discovered it on Youtube after watching a Scizor solo on Red.

All in all, this makes it so much fun to play Pokemon “off the beaten path” in a different way.

Table of Contents

But Togetic wasn’t in Pokémon Red

That is correct. But the first generation of Pokémon games have been discussed and analyzed, and some ROMs have even been modified or hacked to bring out a new experience of playing Pokémon Red and Blue unlike any before, and in a way that Nintendo doesn’t want you to play. It gives off a sense of being so wrong that it must be right. It is a well known fact that these games are buggy and many use this to their advantage. So how did I get to play as Togetic in a Gen 1 game? As mentioned earlier, the answer lies with a randomizer.

The venomous Ninja Koga really felt like the final boss of the game. Source: Bulbapedia

Sanqui randomize

The Togetic solo race was not planned. After discovering the randomizer, I fiddled with the options. Having no idea what I was doing before entering Oak’s lab, I noticed that the selection of Pokémon was different from the iconic Kanto starters. Instead of Bulbasaur, Charmander and Squirtle, I was given the choice between Weedle, Luvdisc and Togetic.

Togetic sounded like the best choice at the time since I love the Togepi line. I had a Togepi figure when I was little (which I still have) and I used Togekiss in Soul Silver and she was the strongest on my team. The game would have taken a different turn if I had picked the other two, but I like Togetic and I liked how it got the fairy type in this run, since Fairy is one of my favorite types. I decided on a whim that I wanted to do a solo challenge, thinking it would be easy. Little did I know what challenges would come.

No Fairy STAB moves

Togetic does not learn adventure moves. It starts with the grass-type Magical Leaf. This is fine at first, as it makes the fight against Brock and Misty a walk in the park, but it took longer than necessary to get past the Viridian forest. Togetic also doesn’t learn many flying moves with the exception of flying, but can’t use it due to its poor attack stat.

Many insect Pokémon are also partially venomous. Poison is a prevalent type in this game, and it is Togetic’s biggest threat. Don’t ask about my first attempt at fighting Koga without the psychic move. Everything after Misty was an uphill battle until I got to Saffron city to get the Psychic TM. I won’t lie, I lost a lot of battles due to poisoning, thunder and general bad luck. Instead of resetting, as many playthroughs do, I chose to accept the whiteout to keep the experience.

It was like playing Pokemon for the first time where I had no idea what I was doing. The items had been switched around, as had many tracks and sprites.

Screen from Sanqui randomizer. Source: Reddit.

Beat the game

When I finally got to elite four, Togetic was level 76, but I still felt underprepared. Grinding took too long so I just kept going through the Elite Four over and over again until I reached Blue and won. What confused me was that I couldn’t learn it Thunderbolt and yet I could learn it Surf. It doesn’t actually learn Thunderbolt anyway, but I realized when I was playing with the randomizer settings that I had set it so the Pokemon could learn all the HM moves. So Togetic’s final moveset was Cut, Fly, Surf and Psychic. Most of the time, the latter two moves were enough to get me by and I entered the Hall of Fame at level 85.

Lesson

Plan solo rides before you do them.
Get a HM slave – this would prevent me from wasting valuable move sets from my Pokemon soloing, as HM moves are harder to get rid of, and impossible to remove in generation one.
Keep some items nearby. Limiting the items I used slowed playthrough significantly.
Check your Pokémon’s move pool and stats against the moves available in the game.