Should I grind Victory Road or duplicate Rare Candies for the Elite Four in Red/Blue?

Question

Hey, I am currently at the Elite Four in my Pokemon Red playthough and my team is at level 51-53.

I am considering two options to grind up my Pokemon to a higher level so they stand a much better chance against the E4

First, I want to grind in Victory Road, because I wanted my win to feel more rewarding and to keep the feel of actually training up my Pokemon rather than just feeding them rare candys and calling it a day.

Then there's the MissingNo Item Dupe method, which speeds the process up quite a lot, but kinda cheapens my Victory against the E4.

Comments

The choice boils down to taking more time to level up the "authentic" way, or using unintended game mechanics to achieve the same result. If that's the only hang-up you have, you're the only person who can decide what to do. The Pokemon you train are no less legitimate if you use item dupes.

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You can also just battle the Elite 4 over and over until you win.

Answer 1

It depends on what you think "Cheapens" your victory.

If you level grind on victory road, it will take a longer time. Pokémon levels there are in the 30s-40s, and you'll need to spend some hours grinding. The way I see it, this way is the least cheap way of grinding up to the level of the Elite 4, done with honest work and effort. (And many trips to the Pokémon Center.)

If you use the MissingNo. item duplication method, you can easily get to the level of, and beyond the Elite 4. However, using rare candies to grind is cheap (you said so yourself) and you'll miss out on some evs if your team isn't already maxed out. This doesn't seem like a good option to me, because it cheapens you victory, like you said. However, if you're fine with cheap, feel free! I wouldn't recommend to though.

Like sumwun suggested, you also have the option to grind on the Elite 4 themselves. This is the fastest method, and you may actually beat them while grinding. The Elite 4's levels are in the 50s and 60s, but your Pokémon have evs, so you probably stand a chance against them right now, just buy a lot of potions and revives.

However, I don't know your definition of cheap, so if you consider rematching the Elite 4 until you beat them to be cheap, just grind on victory road instead. I would recommend grinding on victory road, or the Elite 4 depending on what you want. Either way, it shouldn't take too long to get your team to level 55-60, and then you should be fine.

Good luck! I hope I helped!