Video

[anexcitableboy]

Okay, so battling's a big deal and everything here. I still think that's pretty messed up, but what do I know about Pokemon? Not much, I only been here so many months. I haven't really thrown myself into it, I just do friendly stuff to keep my Pokemon happy and healthy. But I'm starting to get into it.

[Jimmy's a competitive guy, and after drying out, the Battling Bug's starting to grip him hard. But he knows damn well that two Pokemon does not a sleek battling team make.]

So I'm wondering how you build up a solid team, you know? I've been going over my 'gear all day, but I don't even know where to start. How do you know what other kinds of Pokemon you ought to get? How tough is it taming a wild Pokemon? My two weren't wild. Do wild caught Pokemon do better in battles, or a Pokemon hatched and raised to be part of a specific team?

[He throws up his hands and shakes his head at the 'gear screen.]

I'm totally friggin' lost.

Comments

[Video]

[bylight]

It depends. Are you training for normal battles, or are you going for gym battles? Depending on what gym you're going against, I recommend a balanced team. Those who have type advantage, and those who can hold their own against the weaknesses the others have. Like with Falkner. He's a flying type trainer. You want an electric or ice type. Take a rock type as well, since they can be good against them. Avoid fighting and bug.

Simple enough?

[It's simple to her.]

As for the last question, Pokémon who are hatched do better. You can build them from the ground up, and have a higher level of friendship with them right off the bat. I'm not saying wild ones are bad. It's personal preference in the end.

[Video]

[anexcitableboy]

Uh.... both, I guess? I dunno. I don't really get the whole gym battles thing. I mean, I get it but I don't get it, you know?

Okay, types. I don't get that, either. Like Omi's a ground type. Why? He carries around a bashing club and loves to fight, all his abilities are hitting and punching, why isn't he a fighting type?

[Video]

[bylight]

Gym battles are good because you can then use abilities like Fly and Surf. They make traveling a lot easier. You have to get the HM's too. Certain gym leaders give those out.

What Pokémon is he?

[video]

[paladinlost]

Building a solid team is a complicated, time-consuming task, but there are a few tricks that help greatly.

[He'd better sit down, because Cecil is lying about the 'few' part.]

First of all, you should attempt to train at least one Pokémon of all eighteen types. If you do wish to train a large team, you can look for dual-typed species; in fact, that'll be necessary for Flying-types. Second, I would suggest looking at breeders' wares when they are advertised, even if you do not wish to purchase eggs at the time. It'll teach you about available species, their potential egg moves, and their average strength. Third, you might want to enlarge their movesets. You can do so by buying TMs, requesting the services of a move tutor, or buying an egg that was carefully bred.

[He stops to breathe, which might be a good opportunity to ask more questions. Or run away.]

[video]

[anexcitableboy]

....eighteen?

[That was a lot of information, but Jimmy's hung up on one point.]

I was thinking like...six...

[video]

[paladinlost]

...The minimum number of Pokémon you'd need to include all types is nine, with careful planning. But I suppose six Pokémon should cover most weaknesses and situations.

[Video]

[crouching_sin]

Hm... well. While I myself tend to specialize in a few types, that's not what's ideal for Trainers. Pokemon that are bred tend to start with a wider move pool, but there's nothing wrong with catching your own if you want to go that route.

You have to ask what you want to do with training. Do you want to travel, or are you aiming to go after the gym leaders? For the first one there are some Pokemon that you can fly on if you have the right badge, or ride on their backs. For the second, you have to look at what the gym leaders specialize in and build a team that's strong against them. Type diversity in your regular team is important, too.

[Video]

[anexcitableboy]

I dunno. I wasn't thinking of traveling.

I've got a ground type and a grass type. Well, grass and ghost. I don't know how that works.

This all sounds way more complicated than I thought.

[Video]

[crouching_sin]

It can be complicated. For many trainers, Falkner in Violet City seems to be their first stop. He specializes in Flying-types, and winning gets you a badge that lets you use the Fly HM, though that's all the way in Cianwood.

I don't know grass types very well, but I do know they have a weakness to fire, most notably. But fire types are weak to ground attacks, so you've go that covered. An easy way to think about it is "what are my Pokemon weak to? Do I have something I can switch to that's strong against that type?" It's unlikely that you can have perfect type coverage in a team, but that way you can cover most of your weaknesses.

[silentscales]

I haven't noticed a difference. None of them are as good as I am though, says Thomas.

[anexcitableboy]

Uh, okay. I'm just trying to figure out the best way to get more Pokemon.

[silentscales]

You can get special moves and more powerful pokèmon from breeding, but you can also catch pokèmon that are strong, says Thomas.

[rocketralph]

In my experience, the Pokemon you pick do better than the ones that were thrust upon you.

_{[He says this while wearing several large plasters on his hands thanks to Bossy and her Poison Sting.]}

[anexcitableboy]

Yeah? I've never picked one.

[rocketralph]

Alright, I'll give ya a step-by-step.

Step 1- go through the poke'dex until you find something you think you can tolerate. Do not pick a Swirlix.

Step 2- ask a buddy or use the guide to see where they live.

Step 3- get the monster you hate the least to beat up the monster you want, throw a poke'ball at it, and call it a day.

_{[Move over Prof. Oak.]}

text;

[doitrockapella]

There seem to be a lot of competitive battlers around here, so I expect you'll be in for plenty of advice — and a wide variety of perspectives, while you're at it.

What sort of Pokemon are you starting with, if you don't mind my asking?

text;

[anexcitableboy]

I've got a Cubone and a Pumpkaboo. The Cubone's my starter, the other was a gift.

[video]

[defyingfrigidity]

I suppose you should simply pick pokemon that appeal to you, when it comes to building your team. Some people like a balanced team that covers many types, some just pick types they like, or just pokemon they like, and work from there.

I've mostly been gathering ice-types, and I've been doing rather well for myself. I do have other types as well, though.

[video]

[anexcitableboy]

I don't even know what I like. I mean...a bunch of'em look neat. I'm thinking about one of those charmander guys right now. And fire's good to have on your team, right?

I never even paid attention to type 'till I was looking up Lenore and I started really reading about Pokemon.

Video

[the_pilgrim]

Well, from what I've read, it's good to have a variety of types so you can have a lot of advantage....

Video

[anexcitableboy]

That's what everybody's been telling me. There's so many types, too! I had no idea!

I'm gonna have to do a whole lot of reading.

video

[islandshore]

[And here comes captain competitive himself. Battle talk is always relevant to his interests, especially as a longtime trainer.

So hmm, where to start. He rubs his chin for a second. Well, sometimes the basics work best.]

I'm guessing I don't have to talk about type balance. Still, I'd say types are just half of the equation. You also want to go with Pokémon that have different skill sets.

[So for example....]

Let's say you've got something like a Jolteon. Fast, powerful special attacks. Problem is, they're glas cannons and can't take many hits. To balance that out, you'd want something a bit bulkier, like a Slowbro, Slowking, or Blastoise. Solid defenses, and they cover that ground weakness.

As for which Pokémon do best, it depends on how much you care about movesets. Bred Pokémon have the advantage of egg moves, but you can usually compensate with TM's for any Pokémon you've captured.

video

[anexcitableboy]

Jesus, there's a lot to think about. For some reason I thought it would be simpler. I mean...kids do this!

[Jimmy drags a gloved hand over his face and sighs.]

[Video]

[garbagechild]

_{[Here is Wrath with HELPFUL INPUT.]}

If you don't have a blue Pokemon yet, you should probably get one.

Blue is important.

<sub>[Someone, at some point, had pointed out to Wrath that Sleepy was a valuable acquisition for his team due to the fact that she stood out from the typings of all his OTHER Pokemon.]

[He proceeded to take entirely the wrong message from that.]</sub>

[Video]

[anexcitableboy]

I don't got a blue one. I got two orange ones. Orange-ish.

...and the next one I'm thinking of getting is orange, too. Damn, maybe I do need a blue one...

[Hey, it makes sense to Jimmy, he barely understands all this Pokemon stuff.]