wow this thread got to 60 pages..
anyways, back at 15 pages or so, I tried to beat the AP that kicks in every 2,3 events after you b eat Whitney.
My method worked, but afterwards I found something interesting:
which is, it's not Whitney, and it's not the 3rd Badge.
It's actually: when the player has 3 badges, the AP system will kick in at every 2 events.
After getting my 4th badge, I had 3 badges total (took off the third badge so the game wouldn't hang)
turns out it started freezing like crazy again.
So I took out the 1st two badges and just kept the 4th one for surfing.
I guess with what i'm doing, I can still play the game, but would only be able to carry 2 badges at all times.
The only problem is with the HM's
the 4th badge is most important, as it allows SURF
I think the 2nd is CUT?
5th is WATERFALL
So far, I can keep 2 badges and still advance my game. I'll see when i'll hit a point where i totally need 3 badges.