anexcitableboy

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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.

Threaded | Top-Level Comments Only

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.

Edited 2015-06-18 15:56 (UTC)

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?

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.]

....eighteen?

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

I was thinking like...six...

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?

The whats?

Omi's a Cubone.

Hidden Machines. They teach your Pokémon unique moves that they can't learn in the wild. Fly, Surf, Rock Smash, Waterfall, Strength, and Whirlpoool.

Cubone are definitely ground types. You can usually tell by what their beginning move pool is.

Jesus... this sounds really complicated.

Yeah, I know. I just don't get why. He doesn't live in the ground. He doesn't do anything special with the ground. What makes him a ground type?

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.

Do you want to travel?

That I can't explain. It's just what they are. My Swablu will be an Altaria. She won't look like a dragon, but that will be one of her types.

Not really. I traveled my whole life, I can finally stay in one place.

It just doesn't make any sense, man. And how can some be more than one type?

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.

Then don't worry too much about badges. You don't need them if you don't want them. Training is still a good idea if you want your Pokémon to evolve and get stronger.

You'd have to ask someone who knows about that. I just worry about advantage and weakness in battle when it comes to types.

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.

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

...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.

What do they even do, besides let me travel easier?

I don't understand Pokemon at all.

Nine? Geeze, that seems like a lot. I'm still getting used to two...

Geeze, at least this stuff is easy to look up.

[Jimmy already looks completely lost.]

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

There's no need for you to catch them all in a single week. Once you've become used to training two, catch a third. Once you've adapted to its presence, find a fourth. Slowly but surely, you'll build up a full team.

Yeah, that's kinda how I been doing it. I mean, I had Omi for months before I got Lenore. She was a gift....

I don't really know anything about catching'em.

Between the ones we mysteriously receive and the regular egg sales, catching them yourself is almost necessary. But if you wish to try, I'd suggest fteaching your Pokémon moves that can paralyze others or put them to sleep. It eases the task greatly.

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.]}

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?

Threaded | Top-Level Comments Only

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