Pokemon Puzzle League Combo and Chain Guide v.0.2 - October 7th, 2000 By Quizmaster v.4.0 Well, after the overwhelming response from my slightly off-kilter, semi-useful Perfect Dark Munitions FAQ (22nd most popular author for one day, whoo-hoo!) I decided to write an encore FAQ to stroke my ego and help all of you out somewhat. Hurray! But seriously folks, I became smitten in the same way when I saw Pokemon Puzzle League as I did when I saw Perfect Dark - for some reason, I just had to write an FAQ about it. Of course, it could have something to do with the fact that I also became hopelessly entranced with Tetris Attack four years ago, since Pokemon Puzzle League is *cough* loosely based on it... Right, right, enough rambling, time for something useful! So what's this guide all about? This guide is designed to help you with every aspect of combos and chains - from how to spot them out of 'nowhere' to how to sucessfully complete them. As well, in an effort to add a bit of actual as opposed to theoritical usefulness to this guide, I'll put the puzzle solutions in here too. But, in an effort to keep your concience clear, I'll also put in puzzle *hints* - they may range from oblique to "Put the purple one there, dummy" - but rest assured that you'll come away with the satisfaction that you solved at least part of the puzzle by yourself. And isn't that what it's all about? --- --- I: Table of Contents --- --- "Contents of Table: 1: Wood 2: Glue 3: Nails or Screws " - Earthworm Jim 2 Instruction Manual I: Table of Contents II: The Basics of Combos III: The Basics of Chains IV: Basic Combo Formation V: Basic Chain Formation VI: Puzzle Hints VII: Puzzle Solutions VIII: Battle Tactics IX: Miscellany / Coming Soon / Copyright and Contact info --- --- II: The Basics of Combos --- --- "Kiiiiiiinnnnnggg Combo!" - Killer Instinct In Tet...erm...Pokemon Puzzle League (Right, it's PPL from now on), a Combo is when you clear more than three blocks at a time. This can range from 4 blocks to, theoretically, 216 blocks (if the screen is completely filled with the same block in 3-D mode.) In acutal practice, however, and not puzzle mode, combos generally hit an upper limit of about 14 blocks. Clearing more than three blocks at once gives you three different rewards: First, the screen stops scrolling upwards. This is obviously a big help if you're overwhelmed by blocks. The time that the screen stops scrolling ranges from 1 second to 5. (If you're a Tetris Attack veteran, note that the time the screen stops scrolling is significantly less than it was in Tetris Attack.) Also, if the blocks are so close to the top of the screen that they begin pulsing (less than one row away from the top), any combo will automatically trigger at least a three second pause - as long as at least one column of blocks is still less than one row away from the top. Secondly, you get bonus points for Combos in single player mode. In addition to the 10 points per block scored when you clear blocks, you'll also get the following amount of bonus points: 4-Block Combo: 30 points (30 + (10 * 4) = 70 points total) 5-Block Combo: 60 points (60 + (10 * 5) = 110 points total) 6-Block Combo: 150 points (150 + (10* 6) = 210 points total) 7-Block Combo: 190 points (190 + (10 * 7) = 260 points total) 8-Block Combo: 230 points (230 + (10 * 8) = 310 points total) 9-Block Combo: 270 points (270 + (10 * 9 ) = 360 points total) 10-Block Combo: 310 points (310 + (10 * 10) = 410 points total) ... (more as they become available) Finally, in multiplayer, combos will give your opponent garbage blocks to deal with. Garbage blocks are solely there to get in the way. They cannot be directly cleared off - however, they will break into regular blocks when a match that touches them occurs. The bigger the combo, the bigger the block (or blocks) your opponent recives: 4-Block Combo: 3x1 block: === 5-Block Combo: 4x1 block: ==== 6-Block Combo: 5x1 block: ===== 7-Block Combo: 6x1 block: ====== 8-Block Combo: 3x1 block & === 4x1 block: ==== 9-Block Combo: 4x1 block & ==== 4x1 block: ==== 10-Block Combo: 5x1 block & ===== 5x1 block: ===== ... (more as they become available) --- --- III: The Basics of Chains --- --- "Cha...cha...chaa-aa-aa-aa-aa-in, chain of fools!" - Aretha Franklin A chain in PPL happens when, after clearing three or more blocks, another set of three or more blocks are cleared as a direct result of the first clear. Sound a little confusing? Here's a crude ASCII example: O XXXOO - First, the row of flames (represented by X's) clears. O OO - After they disappear, the Yellow Circle (O) on top of the flames falls... x2 OOO - Causing another row to clear, creating a x2 chain! If you position the blocks correctly before you clear one particular row (or while that row is clearing, if you want to bend the rules a bit) then a chain can lead to another chain, which in turn leads to yet another chain, and so forth. Since chains rely on more blocks than combos, the rewards for forming chains are much greater. Like combos, there are three basic types of awards: First, completing a chain of any length will stop the screen from scrolling blocks upward for a period of time - the more chains you put together, the longer the pause. (Again, it's quite a bit shorter than the pause you get in Tetris Attack, so veterans beware!) Secondly, bonus points are awarded for Chains in the single-player mode - all of these awards are cummulative. This means that scoring a x3 chain will give you both the x2 and x3 chain bonus points. Also, each of the point totals assume that all the blocks are cleared in 3-block steps - no combo-ing chains with combos...yet! x2 Chain: 50 bonus points (50 + (10*3) + (10*3) = 110 points total) x3 Chain: 80 bonus points (80 + 110 + (10*3) = 220 points total) x4 Chain: 150 bonus points (150 + 220 + (10*3) = 400 points total) ... (more to come as I check the scores) Finally, in multiplayer, chains send garbage blocks to your opponent. Unlike the garbage blocks caused by combos, these garbage blocks can be more than one row thick. When they are, the opponent can only clear away the bottom row of each garbage block with each match. x2 chain: 6x1 block: ====== x3 chain: 6x2 block: ====== ====== x4 chain: 6x3 block: ====== ====== ====== ...etc. --- --- IV: Basic Combo Formations --- --- "Why doesn't Nintendo just make one large button labeled 'COMBO'?" - Gamestorm on Killer Instinct Gold Remember - in order to form a combo, you need at least four of the same color block in the same horizontal or vertical column. If you're just starting out, I recommend that you stick to combos in vertical rows - it's nearly impossible to get a combo in a horizontal row without major fiddling. So: The first step in forming a combo is to locate the same color/shape piece in four consecutive rows. In this example: OHLLDF H-Heart D-Diamond LFHDDW W-Water O-Circle WDDWWF F-Flame L-Leaf FDOOFL See if you can find 2 four block combos. Go on, I'll wait. Hmmmm...OK, done. Now, there are two possible combos here - the flames and the diamonds. See how there's a Flame in each row and a Diamond in each row? By flipping them over to the next rows carefully, you can make a combo of four instead of just a clear of three. A word of warning here - you have to put one of the two blocks that's supposed to be in the center of the four-block combo *last*. Let's say that you want to make a flame combo in this example. Don't do this! OHLLDF OHLLDF OHLLDF OHLLDF OHLLDF } LFHDDW LhfDDW LhdfDW LhddfW LhddwF } - cleared 3 blocks... WDDWWF WDDWWF WDDWWF WDDWWF WDDWWF } no combo! FDOOFL FDOOFL FDOOFL FDOOFL FDOOFL Do do this! OHLLDF OHLLDF OHLLDF OHLLDF OHLLDF } LFHDDW LhfDDW LhdfDW LhddfW LhddwF } - cleared 4 blocks... WDDWWF WDDWWF WDDWWF WDDWWF WDDWWF } Combo Bonus! FDOOlf FDOOlf FDOOlf FDOOlf FDOOlf } Once you're comfortable with four block combos, we'll take it up a notch and discuss five-block combos. To form a vertical five-block combo, you've only got to set your eyes on a four block combo, then look either below the first row of the combo or above the last row to determine if there's just one more of the type of block you need to complete the combo. Now, it's time to scroll the screen up one more row: can you find the five block combo in this example? OHLLDF H-Heart D-Diamond LFHDDW W-Water O-Circle WDDWWF F-Flame L-Leaf FDOOFL OOLHDW (Hint: Remember that a five-block combo is just a four-block combo with an additional block - so if you don't have a four block combo, you sure don't have a 5 block combo.) Got it? Of course! It was the row of diamonds that would net you a five-block combo. Another caveat awaits you here: You must complete a five-block combo by moving the middle block into the combo last. Otherwise you'll end up with just a 4-block combo, or worse, a 3-block ordinary match! Yikes! Don't do this! OHLLDF OHLLDF OHLLDF } LFHDDW LFHDDW LFHDDW } 3-block clear - WDDWWF WDwdWF WDwwdF } No bonus! FDOOFL FDOOFL FDOOFL OOLHDW OOLHDW OOLHDW Do do this! OHLLDF OHLLDF OHLLDF OHLLDF OHLLDF OHLLDF } LFHDDW LFHDDW LFHDDW LFHDDW LFHDDW LFHDDW } WDDWWF WDDWWF WDDWWF WDDWWF WDwdWF WDwwdF } - 5-block Combo - FDOOFL FodOFL FoodFL FoofdL FoofdL FoofdL } with large bonus! OOLHDW OOLHDW OOLHDW OOLHDW OOLHDW OOLHDW } All right! Now let's move on to the last of the basic combos - the six block combo. To get a vertical six block combo, you'll need to clear two rows of three blocks each simultaneously. The easiest way to do this is to find a set of three rows, each with at least one tile of both of the desired colors each. Let's take the top three rows of the previous example: OHLLDF H-Heart D-Diamond LFHDDW W-Water O-Circle WDDWWF F-Flame L-Leaf Now let's say that you're gonna go for a row of flames and a row of diamonds at the same time. So that I don't have to draw a billion ASCII switching diagrams, let's skip a few steps since you're getting the hang of following what I'm saying. (I hope - drawing them things is hard!) I'll put the action in the second and third rows - it's really a matter of personal prefrence where you waht to clear the combo, except for a few reasons that I'll get into later. So: First move the top row's diamond and flame to the 2nd and 3rd columns in the top row, respectively: Odfhll LFHDDW WDDWWF Then we'll perform just one switch in the second row, moving the diamond one space to the left: Odfhll LFdhDW WDDWWF Leaving the diamond and flame in a position NOT like the top diamond and flame? But why? Here's why - the 6-block combo, done vertically, is dependent on you switching the center pieces of the combo to finish the job (with a few variations). For that reason, you should swap the center last. Another thing to keep in mind is that it's very easy to unintentionally clear three blocks in the setup for this combo. Let's say that you wanted to start off by putting everything in the fifth and sixth column - if you started by switching the diamond in the bottom row over to the right - you'd be stopped in the fifth column with a paltry three block clear! Ouch! With that out of the way, we can finish perparing this combo. Now drag the bottom row's flame three spaces left and prepare for the coup de grace: Odfhll Odfhll } LFdhDW LdfhDW } 6-block combo - WDfdww WDfdww } with very big bonus! Ok! Now that you know a thing or two about combos, let's move into the other big area: Chains... --- --- V: Basic Chain Formations --- --- "Sticks and stones may break my bones; But whips and chains excite me." -Unknown Combos are nice, but the real meat of the game comes in chains. Since we're starting out, I think we'll start with what I consider the easiest sort of chain to learn - the 2x vertical chain. Now finding this chain in practice can be a bit tricky - you'll have to wait until your stack is at least six blocks high to find it. You're looking for a potental vertical match of three blocks in rows 2, 3, and 4 (or 3,4,5) - and you're looking for three like colored tiles (that are *not* the same color as the first match you looked for) in rows 1, 5, and 6 (or 1,2,6.) Confused yet? It looks bad to me, and I wrote it! Here, take a look at this: r6 O r5 O r4 F } Three block match 2x r3 F } in 2,3,4 sets off... O } 2x chain r2 F } O } with falling circles! r1 O O } Of course, your screen isn't a mere one column thick, so it's time to play find-the-chain! Can you find the hidden 2x vertical chain? OHLLDF H-Heart D-Diamond LFHDDW W-Water O-Circle WDDWWF F-Flame L-Leaf FDOOFL OOLHDW LFDHOW Found one yet? Heck, I'm having a time finding one, and I wrote this sucker. Perhaps having authorship will give me a liscence to make better examples, but I choose to think that selecting random blocks will give me a better chance of keping it real. Oh, wait, I found one! Did you find the one I was thinking of? The one that I found involves the diamonds in the middle and the leaves as the ends. So let's do a little swapping - I'll put this chain in the second column: OlhLDF LFHDDW WDDWWF FDOOFL OOLHDW LFDHOW OlhLDF flHDDW WDDWWF FDOOFL OOLHDW LFDHOW OlhLDF flHDDW WDDWWF FDOOFL OOLHDW flDHOW OlhLDF flHDDW WDDWWF } FDOOFL } 3-block clear... OdolhW } flDHOW O hLDF f HDDW W DWWF FlOOFL } OlolhW } Leading into 2x chain! flDHOW } While this chain is pretty easy, it has a couple of flaws - first, the set of blocks you use has to be at least six blocks tall, and second, it leaves a big hole in the center (or side) of your pile! So, let's move on to another sort of chain that doesn't involve a really tall stack - the horizontal drop chain. The horizontal drop chain is the one that I used at the beginning of Section III to show you how chains work. It has two variations: O OO XXXOO - Variation I XXXO - Variation II So, in order to complete a horizontal drop chain, you'll need a horizontal row with three like colored blocks - and for that row and the row above it to have at least three blocks of a different color. Note that without a little piece-dropping manipulation, this scenario isn't too likely. However, continuing my bizarre run of good luck with the randomly selected blocks I've been using, there's a horizontal drop chain in there! Can you find it? OHLLDF H-Heart D-Diamond LFHDDW W-Water O-Circle WDDWWF F-Flame L-Leaf FDOOFL OOLHDW LFDHOW I knew you could! It has to do with the three water droplets in the fourth row, and the four diamonds total in the fourth and fifth row! Be careful, though - if you switch the left water droplet to the right water droplets right away, you'll only get a 3-block clear! See, when you switched the water droplet over, the diamond was moved out of the way! Snaps! Let's do this the proper way, then - by moving the diamonds in the fifth row over a bit so that they'll touch the diamonds in the fourth row: OHLLDF LFdhDW } Switch one diamond to the left... WDDWWF FDOOFL OOLHDW LFDHOW OHLLDF LFdhDW ddwWWF } 3-block clear... FDOOFL OOLHDW LFDHOW OH F LFlldW dddhdF } Leading into 2x chain! FDOOFL OOLHDW LFDHOW But wait, there's more! You can also get a combo in this chain, for even more bonus points (and garbage in multiplayer!) OHLLDF LFddhW } Switch both diamonds to the left... WDDWWF FDOOFL OOLHDW LFDHOW OHLLDF LFddhW ddwWWF } 3-block clear... FDOOFL OOLHDW LFDHOW OH F LFlldW ddddhF } Leading into 2x chain - and 4 block combo! FDOOFL OOLHDW LFDHOW And still more! Remember that chains do not have to fall in the same row as the original clear, so long as they're cleared as a *result* of the first clear. So, let's take a look at the leaves in the fifth and sixth rows and see it we can't do something with that... OHLLDF fldhDW } Switch both diamonds to the left and a leaf to the right... WDDWWF FDOOFL OOLHDW LFDHOW OHLLDF flddhW ddwWWF } 3-block clear... FDOOFL OOLHDW LFDHOW OH F fllldW ddddhF } Leading into 2x chain - and *7* block combo! FDOOFL OOLHDW LFDHOW One more type of chain to go: the Horizontal/Vertical chain. This type of chain works by clearing a horizontal row, causing a vertical row to be cleared by chain reaction (heh heh heh, OK, I'll stop now) Like this: O O O } XXX } 3-block clear... O } Leads to 2x chain! O O } All right, now for this chain to work, you'll need a horizontal row and a like colored block in three surrounding rows - note that one must be above the horizontal match and two below the match, or vice versa. With that in mind, can you find a horizontal/vertical chain in my randomly selected six rows of everything? OHLLDF H-Heart D-Diamond LFHDDW W-Water O-Circle WDDWWF F-Flame L-Leaf FDOOFL OOLHDW LFDHOW OK, I've found a couple of possiblites here...have you found one? No? Well, just humor me, all right? Let's say that you wanted to go with the water horizontal clear and the leaf vertical clear. Now remember to set up the vertical clear before you get the horizontal clear. Otherwise (say it with me, folks) You'll only get a three-block clear. It's ASCII time! OHLLDF LFHDDW WDDWWF lfdoof } First, put the leaf over on the left side... OOLHDW LFDHOW lohLDF } Then, do it again in the top row... LFHDDW WDDWWF lfdoof OOLHDW LFDHOW lohLDF } Note the miscellaneous diamond clear too... LFHDDW WwwddF } The stage is set for the 3-block clear... lfdoof OOLHDW LFDHOW L F lohD W } lFHd F } And subsequent 2x chain! lfdoof } OOLHDW LFDHOW All right! You've now got a handle on the basic chain strategy! As a special treat, before we get into a more complicated section, we'll pull off a 3x chain, using a horizontal drop chain mixed with a horizontal vertical chain! OHLLDF H-Heart D-Diamond LFHDDW W-Water O-Circle WDDWWF F-Flame L-Leaf FDOOFL OOLHDW LFDHOW Remember the basic philosophies behind the chains, and concentrate on the horizontal drop first. Can you find a 3x chain? Here's one way... OHLLDF LFHDDW WDDWWF lfdoof } Let's move the leaf over to the left... OOLHDW LFDHOW lohLDF } And now this leaf - it helps to set up the chain from LFHDDW last thing cleared to first thing cleared. WDDWWF lfdoof OOLHDW LFDHOW lohLDF LFddhW } Next, we'll move the diamonds over here, like in the WDDWWF horizontal drop example... lfdoof OOLHDW LFDHOW lohLDF LFddhW ddwWWF } Now sit back and watch the fun! 3-block clear... lfdoof OOLHDW LFDHOW lo F LFhldW ddddhF } Followed by 2x chain and 4-block combo... lfdoof OOLHDW LFDHOW F lo dW lfhlhF } Leading into 3x chain! lfdoof OOLHDW LFDHOW One more tidbit before we move on...if you also swapped the flame in the sixth row to put it where the circle is now, it would be a 6x combo, since it's cleared at the same time as the leaves. Whoo-hoo! Coming soon...advanced combos and chains! --- --- VI: Puzzle Hints --- --- "A glass chessboard? You call that a clue? 'Look under the sofa.' Now that's a clue!" - Big Bird, Big Bird in China As I said before, these hints can reign from the useful to the unbelivably obilque. But, as I also said before, they're better than nothing, right? However, if you think you can do better (and given these hints, you probably almost certainly can) then send your hints to quizmaster@zianet.com - you'll get some time in the sun, everyone else gets better hints...a win-win situation all around! --- Class 1 Puzzle 1: Try starting on the left. Puzzle 2: Drop on by anytime! Puzzle 3: You shouldn't have to put up with being stuck in the middle, now, should you? (Don't worry folks, you'll appreciate these a lot more once we get farther on!) Puzzle 4: Bottoms up! Puzzle 5: Save the red for last. Puzzle 6: Get down to the heart of the matter! Puzzle 7: Right on red! Puzzle 8: Right on green! Puzzle 9: Eight-hit combo! Puzzle 10: You're too tense, dear heart, you need to lie down. (Hey, you think it's easy to come up with these? Well, actually, it kinda is.) Puzzle 11: Where did you start on the corporate ladder? Puzzle 12: Finish this one with a 5-Block combo. Puzzle 13: Simple traps are created by placing leaves over holes. Puzzle 14: What th' 'L? (Ah, if only there were flames in this one, then I could say 'Burn 'n' 'L!' - Nah, that's too mean.) Puzzle 15: Start this one with a four-ceful match. (OK, now that was pretty weak.) Puzzle 16: Nothing moved out of the pile of leaves until the very end... Puzzle 17: Save the hearts for last. Puzzle 18: Ever notice that fire always spreads out very quickly? Puzzle 19: You know it's Autumn with the first falling leaf. Puzzle 20: And 'lo, but a drop of water was all it took to douse the tower of flame... Puzzle 21: All right, all right, time for a useful hint: Start by flipping a heart and a circle. Puzzle 22: Well, all four circles have to go at once...what's left? Puzzle 23: Hhmph! All you can think of these days is six! Puzzle 24: Fire always tends to burn out pretty quickly... Puzzle 25: You already know one move...this should be a drop in the bucket! Puzzle 26: The first switch is with thin air - and it's probably not what you think... Puzzle 27: At the end of the day, you know someone's had the rug pulled out from under them. Puzzle 28: No way you'll get those four yellow ones vertically! Puzzle 29: Hey, check out my Grimshaw impression! "Welcome to...Haaaaacker Central." Puzzle 30: The yellow circles are the least of your worries here. ---Class 2 Puzzle 1: Pity th' foo! Man, I love Mr. T. Puzzle 2: There's a drop in here...but just one. Puzzle 3: The biggest combo in here is 6. Puzzle 4: No drops for you! Puzzle 5: Yet another one with no drops...and no chains either! Puzzle 6: The sword cuts right down the middle, slaying all in its path... Puzzle 7: It never pays to be stuck in the middle of a crowd. Puzzle 8: There're chains in them thar hills...but just one. Puzzle 9: Take the L-evator! Puzzle 10: You don't have to clear all the blocks at once, you know... Puzzle 11: I got the rug pulled out from under me...twice! Puzzle 12: So I pulled to rug out from under them...twice! Puzzle 13: Semi-useful hint time: The hearts are the first to go. Puzzle 14: (All right, I get to use this one at last!) Burn 'n' 'L'! Puzzle 15: There's a 6-block combo in here somewhere! (To be concluded!) ---Class 3 (To be continued!) --- --- VII: Puzzle Solutions: --- --- "Remember that the gaining of wisdom is no match for the thrill of the chase, and those that take the long road shall reap their reward!" - Graeme Base, The 11th Hour Does all that subtle obliqueness want to make you bash my head in with a crowbar? Then come here for the soon to be deemed obvious solutions to the puzzles! It'll make you want to bash your own skull in instead. Or perhaps result in just a short carpet pounding session followed by "Geez, I'm such an idiot." - that would be preferable all around. --- Class 1 Puzzle 1: Move 1: Swap the far right flame with the blank space to its left. Puzzle 2: Move 1: Swap the bottom left circle with the blank space to its left. Puzzle 3: Move 1: Swap the highest leaf with the blank space to its right. Puzzle 4: Move 1: Swap the bottom heart and water droplet. Puzzle 5: Move 1: Swap the bottom leaf with the flame to the leaf's left. Puzzle 6: Move 1: Swap the highest heart with the blank space to its right. Puzzle 7: Move 1: Swap the bottom water droplet with the flame to its right. Move 2: Swap the bottom water droplet with the blank space to its right. Puzzle 8: Move 1: Swap the highest leaf with the circle to its right. Move 2: Swap the highest leaf with the blank space to its right. Puzzle 9: Move 1: Swap the second row's droplet and circle. Move 2: Swap the bottom row's circle with the droplet to its right. Puzzle 10: Move 1: Swap the leftmost second row's heart with the blank space to its left. Move 2: Swap the rightmost bottom row's flame with the blank space to its right. Puzzle 11: Move 1: Swap the bottom row's circle and flame. Move 2: Swap the third row's circle and flame. Puzzle 12: Move 1: Swap the second row's droplet with the blank space to its left. Move 2: Swap the third row's droplet with the blank space to its right. Puzzle 13: Move 1: Swap the bottom row's leftmost leaf with the flame to its right. Move 2: Swap the bottom row's leftmost leaf with the blank space to its right. Puzzle 14: Move 1: Swap the second row's droplet with the blank space to its right. Move 2: Swap the bottom row's droplet with the heart to its right. Puzzle 15: Move 1: Swap the bottom row's leftmost droplet with the blank space to its left. Move 2: Swap the third row's droplet with the blank space to its left. Puzzle 16: Move 1: Swap the bottom row's rightmost leaf with the flame to its left. Move 2: Swap the bottom row's rightmost leaf with the flame to its left. Puzzle 17: Move 1: Swap the bottom row's droplet with the circle to its right. Move 2: Swap the second row's droplet with the heart to its right. Puzzle 18: Move 1: Swap the bottom row's droplet with the flame to its right. Move 2: Swap the bottom row's diamond with the flame to its left. Move 3: Swap the third row's droplet and diamond. Puzzle 19: Move 1: Swap the bottom row's rightmost leaf with the blank space to its right. Move 2: Swap the bottom row's leftmost leaf with the heart to its right. Puzzle 20: Move 1: Swap the bottom row's flame with the droplet on its right. Move 2: Swap the third row's droplet with the blank space to its right. Puzzle 21: Move 1: Swap the bottom row's leftmost heart with the circle to its right. Move 2: Swap the second row's leftmost heart with the circle to its right. Move 3: Swap the bottom row's leftmost circle with the blank space to its left. Puzzle 22: Move 1: Swap the fifth row's leaf with the blank space to its left. Move 2: Swap the third row's leaf with the blank space to its left. Puzzle 23: Move 1: Swap the bottom row's flame with the blank space to its right. Move 2: Swap the second row's heart and leaf. Puzzle 24: Move 1: Swap the second row's leaf with the blank space to its left. Move 2: Swap the fifth row's flame with the blank space to its right. Puzzle 25: Move 1: Swap the second row's heart with the blank space to its right. Move 2: Swap the second row's circle and droplet. Puzzle 26: Move 1: Swap the third row's leaf and blank space to its left. Move 2: Swap the bottom row's heart and leaf. Move 3: Swap the third row's heart and leaf. Puzzle 27: Move 1: Swap the bottom row's rightmost diamond and blank space to its right. Move 2: Swap the bottom row's leftmost diamond and blank space to its right. Puzzle 28: Move 1: Swap the bottom row's flame and circle. Move 2: Swap the bottom row's leftmost circle and blank space to its left. Move 3: Swap the third row's circle and blank space to its left. Puzzle 29: Move 1: Swap the third row's leaf and heart to its right. Move 2: Swap the bottom row's rightmost heart and leaf to its left. Puzzle 30: Move 1: Swap the bottom row's heart and circle to its left. Move 2: Swap the second row's heart and droplet to its left. Move 3: Swap the second row's heart and droplet to its left. Congratulations! You've just finished the first class via cheat sheet! --- Classes 2 and 3 - coming soon! --- --- VIII: Battle Tactics --- --- --- --- IX: Miscellany / Coming Soon / Copyright and Contact info --- --- "I hate quotations. Tell me what you know." - Ralph Waldo Emerson --- Got a question about something in this FAQ? Got a submission for something that isn't in this FAQ? Want to have a thought-provoking discussion about the 1920's political agendas? Then send me some e-mail! quizmaster@zianet.com Also, coming soon are some user-created puzzles! If you've created a real gem, send it on in and I'll put it up here for the world to see! (With your name, puzzle title, and comments, of course!) --- Useless info with little to middling possible use: The Pokemon Puzzle League Combo and Chain Guide, v.0.201 has 31,858 characters, 5,454 words, and is 1,081 lines long. --- Version History: v.0.1 - October 4th, 2000: Initial Release. Includes short Combo section, short Chain section, Puzzle hints from 1-1 to 2-15 and Puzzle solutions from 1-1 to 1-30. v.0.2 - October 7th, 2000: Added sections on how to form basic chains and combos, cleaned up the formatting a bit too. v.0.201 - Three hours after v.0.2 was submitted Yikes! I forgot to insert the line breaks and remove the tabs! I feel so silly. There we go, done! --- Copyright information, disclaimers, and so forth: The Pokemon Puzzle League Combo and Chain Guide is (c) Copyright 2000 T.C. Chavez (aka Quizmaster v.4.0). T.C. Chavez is in no way affiliated with Nintendo, Game Freak, or Intelligent Systems. All copyrighted characters and terms mentioned in this FAQ are (c) Copyright their original owners. This FAQ is intended for private, non-commercial use. --- Coming Soon to an FAQ near you: How to find combos and chains out of 'nothing'! How to effectively use combos and chains in multiplayer! More puzzle solutions and hints! Fiendishly difficult user-created puzzles! More self-serving, useless, ego-stroking banter! (Oops, I mean I'll edit that out.) --- Parting Shot: "If something should happen to me, all the world's women will grieve!" - Edgar Rene Figaro