Virtual Elite Four Karen with Chikorita

[FriarTruck]

I'm attempting the virtual elite four battles now, I chose the Chikorita team, and there's no consistent way to defeat Karen. (On intense mode... is it okay to say intense is too hard?)

 

Karen's Persian, Tyranitar, Mega Houndoom, and partly Honchkrow all punch giant holes through the whole team. Their large special stats are hard to maneuver around with the only physical attacker on the team being Skarmory, which gets 2hko'd coverage moves and outspeeds only Ttar. Two of the team's biggest hitters, Gengar and Espeon have Psychic as their strongest move, and faint quickly to dark moves. Ampharos struggles to take on Honchkrow, let alone anything else on the team.

 

So far it's fine. Very difficult, but doable if you avoid enemy crits, hit Hypnosis for a 2+ turn sleep, get a crit for yourself or get lucky with your damage rolls all in the one battle. Still the hardest fight I've had in the virtual battles (no way Lance can be this bad), but what really makes Karen unbearable is her ace, Umbreon.

 

It has Leftovers. It has Rest. Dark Pulse and Toxic makes short work of all six team members thanks to it's really high special stat. Every member bar Meganium takes 4 hits+ of their strongest attack to knock it out, where it has plenty of time to use Rest. The only way to stop it from using Rest it to flinch it to death with Skarmory (after Rock Tomb, otherwise Umbreon outspeeds), paralysis from Ampharos or send it to sleep yourself (although it does have Sleep Talk). By the time I reach Umbreon I'd be lucky to have one of these options still alive.

 

All in all the odds of defeating Umbreon with the full team aren't good, let alone when the team's on its last legs after somehow defeating the rest of Karen's formidable team. The chances of winning the battle are so close to zero it's unreasonable. I am playing set mode without using bag items in battle, and I know some will say that using these handicaps on intense is asking for an unwinnable fight, but I believe that all fights should be possible to win on an equal playing field. And they have been, until now.

 

I'm just frustrated and venting because I spent so much time finding to find consistent ways to defeat the first three of the e4 thank to the current bug only to be completely walled by Karen, who isn't even the final fight. A small buff to the Chikorita team would be nice, or nerf Karen a little for Chikorita only.