What level should Shuckle be to safely catch wild Pokemon with Constrict?

Question

No False Swipe for me this game. Trying to figure out the ideal level for shuckle to deal micro-damage to wild Pokemon of various levels without passing out. I've been using a level 12 tentacool with contrict and shuckle's attack stats are much lower than tentacool, so I guess I could raise shuckle to the 30s (using rare candies if necessary) so it grows its defense and even learns Rest. Or I could leave it at level 15 and chip away, one HP at a time, hoping that my shuckle doesn't pass out in the process. What's the ideal level - or, to be more specific, what are the ideal stats - for safely catching wild Pokemon with shuckle's constrict?

Comments

Why are you doing any of this? It sounds like a monumental waste of time.

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What game are you asking about? Why are you not using endeavor or final gambit?

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I'm in Gold, I dont have those moves

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If you're willing to go through all this effort to get a Pokemon helpful for catching wild mons, then you're better off getting a Parasect instead, which learns False Swipe as an egg move in Gold.

Scyther learns False Swipe at quite an early level, and both Paras and Scyther can be found at the Bug Catching Contest. Breed a male Scyther knowing the move with a female Paras, and it should hatch into a Paras that knows False Swipe, which can then learn Spore and other moves that'll help in catching Pokemon.

Answer 1

The lowest level wild Pokemon is 2. Of the Pokemon that can be found at level 2, the one with the least physical defense is Hoothoot.
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A Shuckle that does 1 damage to this Hoothoot with constrict must be at most level 7, even if the Shuckle has no IVs or EVs and the RNG always rolls as low as possible.
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If you don't want to use false swipe, the next fastest way to lower a wild Pokemon's HP is most likely direct damage. The most reliable direct damage moves are sonic boom, seismic toss, night shade, and maybe also super fang.
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Another thing you can use is sandstorm, or some other status that does fractional damage.

If you have too much free time and nothing to do with it, you can try playing other video games, joining a club or sports team, or getting a job. If you think there are too many games and you can't decide which ones to play, I personally recommend games from this list, this list, or part 2 of this list. If you want a job, it's often easier to get hired (at least in my country) if you know someone who works where you're applying. You can try asking around to see if any of your acquaintances' companies are hiring.

Comments

How did some serious job hunting advice get 4 upvotes on a Pokemon fan site?

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Because we all seriously need the advice, most of us are at that point in our lives where we are child-like enough to enjoy a masterfully-made Pokémon fan site, while also in high school, drivers ed, and actively job hunting. :)

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Thank you for your detailed answer and subtle advice. As you can imagine, it is not the level 2 hoothoot that I'm worried about. As it turns out, the level 15 shuckle is working just fine so far, I used it to catch hoho and various level 20s. According to your 3rd link, I can use it safely against any poke with defense >30 (or maybe even 23). I don't try new video games because one is more than enough, thanks. I do have a job.

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Okay but how is not using false swipe any more challenging or fun than using false swipe?