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Revision as of 18:37, 29 June 2006
Table of Contents
I. Preface
II. The Basics
III. Moves
IV. Items
V. Individual Values (IVs)
VI. Effort Values (EVs)
VII. Traits (Abilities)
VIII. Natures
IX. The Job System
X. Move Combinations
XI. Making a Team
XII. Credits
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
I. Preface
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
First, I would like to describe the work below. This section can be skipped,
but it might be interesting to read. This work is a compilation of my five
years of Pokémon knowledge, and I will try my best to convey this information
to the younger generations when I retire. I consider myself to be a good
Pokémon battler, but not in any case the best. Even chess engines creators
consider themselves mediocre chess players when they write programs that beat
grandmasters, and I shall use this case to justify my ability in writing this
guide. With the right knowledge, patience, and creativity, anyone who reads
this guide can greatly improve their battling abilities, and possibly even
beating me. I will however give you a fair warning. To many people, this
guide will be boring if you're not committed into learning the art of
battling Pokémon. I will admit that even I cannot consider every factor in
this guide when creating my team. The strategy is to use as much of the below
information as you can. The more you use, the better battler you will be.
Pokémon Competitive Battling is an art that many has discovered. This does
not include beating the game and become "the Pokémon master." This guide will
focus on player(s) vs. player(s) battles, for which this guide was designed
to do. It might be harsh to say this, but beating the game does not make you
a Pokémon master, because the game is truly programmed for eight years olds
to beat. When taking the skills you know to reach over battlers all over the
world, you will learn the wondrous and complex beauty of Pokémon battling and
you will recognize the many strategies it uses. If Nintendo were to make a
Pokémon game for the sole purpose of connecting to people online, then I
would truly think that its genre should be Strategy, not Role Playing.
This guide will cover all three generations, but it's best if you know what
they are. Red, Blue, Green, and Yellow versions consist of the First
Generation, also called RBY. Gold, Silver, and Crystal versions consist of
the Second Generation, usually called GSC. And finally, Ruby, Sapphire,
Emerald, Fire Red, and Leaf Green consists of the Third Generation, which are
called RSE and FRLG separately. When I refer to a ___ Generation, then you
should know which versions I am talking about.
Finally, I have decided to make this guide public. It would be nice to give
me credit for this guide, but you can put it on your websites or send it to
your friends without asking me for permission. Although I do not encourage
plagiarism, my goal is to have as many people read this guide as possible.
Therefore, I will be happier knowing that people will read this, not being
busy enforcing who has what on whose site(s). As a final note, I am happy to
say that I wrote this with the least amounts of typos possible and I use the
most correct English grammar that I know. I'm really tired to reading guides
that are full of errors, so consider this my gift to your eyes and brain.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
II. The Basics
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Without legal restrictions, Pokémon Battling is basically pitting 6 of your
own Pokémon against 6 of your opponent's Pokémon over a link cable. Level 100
is the highest you can go, so it's best to train your Pokémon to level 100.
Use your best Pokémon! It's recommended that two of the same type of Pokémon
is not a good idea, but if you think that it gives you an advantage, do so!
First, we will talk about the two commands to battle. If you have battled
many times before, you can skip this section.
Attack: This is where you attack the enemy. Choose one move from a movepool
of up to four moves, and you will attack your opponent with that move.
Depending on the move you have chosen, it could hit or miss, not attack right
away, or not have any obvious or immediate effect.
Change: If you want to exchange Pokémon, simply go to Change and choose a
Pokémon from your party of up to six Pokémon. Note that when you switch, your
opponent's selected move (this is turn-based, after all) will strike while
your action is switching, so make sure that you don't make a bad switch.
Now, we will talk about the stats of each Pokémon. There are six in total:
HP, Attack, Defense, Special Attack, Special Defense, and Speed. Pokémon
attacks are split into three types: Physical, Special, and ???. Seriously,
Nintendo classifies the third type as ???. For the sake of simplicity, we
will only focus on the first two types. The damage moves that deal Physical
damage, which are Normal, Fighting, Poison, Ground, Flying, Bug, Rock, Ghost,
and Steel, are determined by a) the power of the attack, and b) your Attack
stat. How much damage you take from a Physical move is determined by your
Defense stat. So far simple, right? If you have a low Attack, then you will
have trouble dealing a lot of damage with Physical moves; if you have a low
Defense, you will have trouble surviving Physical moves; and vice-versa. The
other type (besides Physical) is Special. The damage moves that deal Special
damage, which are Fire, Water, Electric, Grass, Ice, Psychic, Dragon, and
Dark, are determined by a) the power of the attack, and b) your Special
Attack stat. How much damage you take from Special move is determined by your
Special Defense stat. Again, very simple. We now take the Pokémon Alakzam as
an example. Alakazam has a very low Attack and very high Special Attack. With
the information that you were provided above, it is best to give Alakazam a
Special attack, such a Confusion (type: Psychic), rather than giving it a
Physical attack, such a Dig (type: Ground). Now, you know to find Special
Attacks for Alakazam and not Physical Attacks.
I mentioned "the power of the attack," so what is it? An attack has four
characteristics: a) power, b) accuracy, c) type, and d) special effects.
Let's take the move Ice Punch. Ice Punch's characteristics are a) 75 base
power, b) 100% accuracy, c) type: Ice, and d) has a 10% change of inflicting
the status Freeze to the opponent. Now, what does 75 base power mean? For a
rough explanation, base power shows the strength of an attack originally.
Once again, let's take Alazakam as an example. Mega Punch (type: Normal) has
a base power of 85. However, if you look at your Alakazam's stats, you will
once again see that its Special Attack is most likely more than double its
Attack. In this case, even though Mega Punch has a higher base power than Ice
Punch, it is a Physical Attack so it will deal less damage than Ice Punch if
Alakazam uses them.
I mentioned "base power," so what is it? Base power is the power that is
officially given to us. Several things can change this. First, there is
something called Same Type Attack Bonus, or in short, STAB. If the type of
the move you are uses matches (one of) the type of the Pokémon using it, then
the attack receives a 1.5x move bonus. Confusion's base power is 50, but if
used Alakazam (Confusion's type is Psychic, Alakazam's type is Psychic), then
Confusion's power will be: 50 x 1.5 = 75 power. Second, there are Type
Alignment Advantages. Third, there moves that temporarily raise a type's
power. Fourth, there are items that temporarily raise a type's power when
attached. And finally, there are Abilities that raises a type's power under
special conditions. We will attack about all of these later.
We have gone over Attack, Defense, Special Attack, and Special Defense. Now,
it's time for Speed. Speed is not complicated at all, since for most cases,
the Pokémon with the higher Speed moves first. In case of a tie, it will be a
coin flip. In Red, Blue, Green, and Yellow versions, Speed is a major
contribution to Critical Hits. A Critical Hit is simply a chance that your
attack will hit a gap in your opponent's defenses and deal double the damage
that it was supposed to do. The higher the Pokémon's Speed, the more chance
it has of dealing double damage. Note that this only applies to the First
Generation.
Finally, there is HP. HP stands for Hit Points, or Health Points. With either
interpretation, if your HP reaches 0, then your Pokémon will be fainted. This
means that you must switch out this Pokémon without the penality of you
opponent having an extra move, and that this Pokémon cannot fight in the same
battle again. Note that for player(s) vs. player(s) battles, item usage are
not allowed but attached items can be allowed. As you get hit, you lose HP,
but there are moves and items that can raise your HP back up again. We will
talk about this later. The point is, if you think that your almost-fainted
Pokémon will be of some use later, switch it out so that it won't faint.
While we keep talking about Pokémon stats, we need to remember that they are
quite random. If then, how do we compare Pokémon if your Zapdos' Attack is
more than mine? There is a system called Base Stats. Base Stats are values to
compare stats easier. For example, your level 10 Charmander might have a
higher Attack than a level 10 Bulbasaur, but a level 10 Charmander could in
theory have a lower Attack than Bulbasaur also. When we check base stats,
Charmander's Base Attack stat is 52, and Bulbasaur's Base Attack stat is 49.
This means that most of the time, Charmander will have a higher Attack than
Bulbasaur but not all of the time. Another use is to compare stats within a
Pokémon. Alakazam's Base Attack stat is 50, and its Base Special Attack stat
is 135. What this means is that even if Alakazam uses a Physical Attack that
has a power which doubles a Special Attack, the Special Attack would still
deal more damage because its Base Special Attack stat is more than twice its
Base Attack stat. Yes, Fire Punch (damage: 75) will deal more damage than
Hyper Beam (damage: 150) coming from Alakazam. I cannot list the system
because every Pokémon has 6 Base Stats for HP, Attack, Defense, Special
Attack, Special Defense, and Speed. Almost every Pokédex out there has base
stats for each Pokémon though.
While we're on the subject, it is important to keep an eye on your move's
Power Point (PP). Every move has PPs that determine how many times you can
use that move. When a move's PP reaches zero, you cannot use that move
anymore. When all four of your moves' PPs reach zero, then you will use a
move called Struggle, a low-damage move that will hit all Pokémon and you
will even take damage from this move.
Items cannot be used during a player(s) vs. player(s) battle, but one item
could be attached. The item can either be a one-time usage (or two, but we
will get to this later) or permanent. After the battle, your one-time usage
item will reappear. Beware that in the Third Generation, there are moves that
can steal or knock away your item.
For all battles, these rules should (and sometimes set by your console) be
applied: 1) No Pokémon shall be over level 100. 2) No moves or combinations
of moves can be on a Pokémon that isn't legal. 3) No items can be used. 4) No
unofficial Pokémon. 5) No unofficial moves or items.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
III. Moves
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
This whole section is devoted to the different effects of Pokémon moves. So
far, I've only introduced moves that do damage. However, there are also moves
that do not do damage, or is said to deal indirect damage. A moveset is
defined as the four moves that your Pokémon have. This will be a long
section, but there are lots of information that needs to be known. After
reading this section, you will hopefully become better at selecting the moves
to go in your Pokémon's movesets. Note that we are now getting to the
analysis study of Pokémon.
1. Type Alignment Advantages
Don't be scares about the terminology, it merely means "which types have the
advantage over which types." For every type that your move is "super-
effective" against, the power of the attack is increased by 2x. If a move is
super-effective against a type, then the move's type is stronger than the
Pokémon's type that is taking the hit. For example, Ember is a Fire type.
Charmander (type: Fire) uses Ember against a Bulbasaur (type: Grass/Poison).
Ember's base power if 40. When used, Ember's power will become: 40 (base
power) x 1.5 (STAB) x 2 (Fire is strong against Grass) = 120 power. See how
chosing the right attacks can deal more damage to certain Pokémon? If your
move is "not very effective" against a Pokémon, then that means your move's
type is weak against the Pokémon's type that is taking the hit. In this
situation, the move's power is halved, or is multiplied by 0.5x. For example,
Charmander uses Ember against a Squirtle. When used, Ember's power will be:
40 (base power) x 1.5 (STAB) x 0.5 (Fire is weak against Water) = 30 power. x
0.5 is the same as ÷ 2. Be careful, as there are some moves that do no damage
(x 0) to a type. For example, Normal attacks are useless against a Ghost
Pokémon, such as Gengar. See how using the same move (Ember) deals different
amounts of damage to different Pokémon? Type Alignment Advantages must be
memorized, as they are very important when fighting a Pokémon. How do you
know which type is strong or weak against which? You would have to memorize
it. I will list them:
a) Normal:
-2x: None
-0.5x: Rock, Steel
-0x: Ghost
b) Fire:
-2x: Grass, Ice, Bug, Steel
-0.5x: Fire, Water, Rock, Dragon
c) Water:
-2x: Fire, Ground, Rock
-0.5x: Water, Grass, Dragon
d) Electric:
-2x: Water, Flying
-0.5x: Electric, Grass, Dragon
-0x: Ground
e) Grass:
-2x: Water, Ground, Rock
-0.5x: Fire, Grass, Poison, Flying, Bug, Dragon, Steel
f) Ice:
-2x: Grass, Ground, Flying, Dragon
-0.5x: Fire, Water, Ice, Steel
g) Fighting:
-2x: Normal, Ice, Rock, Dark, Steel
-0.5x: Poison, Flying, Psychic, Bug
-0x: Ghost
h) Poison:
-2x: Grass, (Bug RBY)
-0.5x: Poison, Ground, Rock, Ghost
-0x: Steel
i) Ground:
-2x: Fire, Electric, Poison, Rock, Steel
-0.5x: Grass, Bug
-0x: Flying
j) Flying:
-2x: Grass, Fighting, Bug
-0.5x: Electric, Rock, Steel
k) Psychic:
-2x: Fighting, Poison
-0.5x: Psychic, Steel
-0x: Dark
l) Bug:
-2x: Grass, Psychic, Dark, (Poison RBY)
-0.5x: Fire, Fighting, (Poison GSC/RSE/FRLG), Flying, Ghost, Steel
m) Rock:
-2x: Fire, Ice, Flying, Bug
-0.5x: Fighting, Ground, Steel.
n) Ghost:
-2x: (Psychic GSC/RSE/FRLG), Ghost
-0.5x: Dark, Steel
-0x: Normal, (Psychic RBY)
o) Dragon:
-2x: Dragon
-0.5x: Steel
p) Dark:
-2x: Psychic, Ghost
-0.5x: Fighting, Dark, Steel
q) Steel:
-2x: Ice, Rock
-0.5x: Fire, Water, Electric, Steel
It's a pain to memorize this chart if you're a starter, but if you know which
moves beats which types, then you will deal a lot more damage! Before we move
on, don't forget that some Pokémon have two types, and Type Alignment
Advantages can be stacked with each other and other damage multipliers. Let's
say Charmander uses Ember on a Paras (type: Bug/Grass) and scores a Critical
Hit. Ember's power will be: 40 (base power) x 1.5 (STAB) x 2 (Fire is strong
against Bug) x 2 (Fire is strong against Grass) x 2 (Critical Hit) = 480
damage. Wow, that's a lot of damage! If you encounter a Charmander with your
Paras, switch right away to a Fire, Water, Rock, or Dragon type immediately!
These types resist Fire, and Paras falls. Now that you know the basics are
Type Alignment Advantages, let's try to organize four moves that best fit
your Pokémon.
2. Move Variety
It is recommended that you vary your moves. If you do this, you will get more
coverage, meaning you will hit more Pokémon with super-effective attacks and
less Pokémon with not very effective attacks. If your Charmander was fighting
a Dratini (type: Dragon) and all Charmander have are Fire attacks, then they
will be very weak against Dratini! Let's say your teach your Charmander Body
Slam (type: Normal). This way, you have an attack that deals normal damage
against Dratini instead of not very effective damage. The point is, one Fire
move is enough. If you meet a Grass Pokémon, you only need one Fire attack,
not four. The more variable your moves are, the more cumulative damage output
it has. Although this section is very brief, the remaining sections of this
guide will constantly refer back to Move Variety.
3. Area Effects
It is important to talk about this before anything else. Area Effects affect
the game greatly. They can increase the power of certain types of moves,
decrease it, power up healing moves, prevent certain situations to happen, or
even do damage. There are six moves that inflict Area Effects. They are a)
Sunny Day, b) Rain Dance, c) Sandstorm, d) Hail, e) Mist, and f) Spikes.
a) Sunny Day
Using Sunny Day will:
-Give a 1.5x boost to all Fire Attacks
-Decrease all Water Attacks by half
-Solarbeam requires no charge (more on this later)
-Thunder’s accuracy is reduced to 60%
-The Status Effect "Freeze" cannot be inflicted (more on this later)
-The power of Moonlight, Morning Sun, and Synthesis is doubled (more on this
later)
-Pokémon with the Ability "Chlorophyll" has doubled Speed (more on this
later)
-The type of the attack "Weatherball" changes to Fire (more on this later)
-The last Area Effect is overridden
b) Rain Dance
Using Rain Dance will:
-Give a 1.5 boost to all Water Attacks
-Decrease all Fire Attacks by half
-Solarbeam's power is reduced in half (more on this later)
-Thunder will always hit
-The power of Moonlight, Morning Sun, and Synthesis is halved (more on this
later)
-Pokémon with the Ability "Swift Swim" has doubled Speed (more on this later)
-Pokémon with the Ability "Rain Dish" recovers some HP every turn (more on
this later)
-The type of the attack "Weatherball" changes to Water (more on this later)
-The last Area Effect is overridden
c) Sandstorm
Using Sandstorm will:
-Hurt all Pokémon on the field that are not Rock, Ground, and/or Steel
-The type of the attack "Weatherball" changes to Rock (more on this later)
-The last Area Effect is overridden
d) Hail
Using Hail will:
-Hurt all Pokémon on the field that are not Ice
-The type of the attack "Weatherball" changes to Ice (more on this later)
-The last Area Effect is overridden
e) Mist
Using Mist will:
-Prevent all Status Changes (more on this later)
-The last Area Effect is overridden
f) Spikes
Using Spikes will
-Hurt your opponent on switch-ins.
-Can be used up to three times, will not change current Area Effect
-One spikes will take away 1/12 of the opponent's HP on switch-ins, two will
take away 1/8, and three will take away 1/4
-Will stay indefinately unless "Rapid Spin" is used
Remember, if your Pokémon uses one of those moves listed above, then you
should be more careful about what the Area Effect is. Just as above, as more
information is revealed, these Area Effects will play a larger role.
4. Status Effects
Remember how Ice Punch's special effect was a 10% of inflicting the Freeze
status to your opponent? Besides Faint, there are five Status Effects:
Freeze, Burn, Sleep, Paralyze, and Poison. Status Effects stays with that
Pokémon even if it switches out, so beware of these effects. Note that while
you are inflicted with one Status Effect, your opponent cannot inflict
another Status Effect on you.
a) Freeze
When you have the Freeze status, you cannot attack at all and you have to
wait until you defrost or use certain moves to defrost yourself. Other
Pokémon (opponent or friendly) can also defrost you, and certain items when
attached can defrost you. If Sunny Day is in play, you cannot get Freeze
inflicted upon you. Also, switching to a Pokémon, use Sunny Day, then swithc
back to the frozen Pokémon, you will become defrosted. If Fire Spin, Flame
Wheel, or Sacred Fire is used by the frozen Pokémon or its opponent, then the
frozen Pokémon will be defrosted. If you have another Pokémon in your party
that knows Heal Bell or Aromatherapy, then you can switch to that Pokémon,
use that move, and your frozen Pokémon will be defrosted. This is the worse
Status Effect since there is little you can do to become defrosted. Having a
Burnt Berry, Miracleberry, Aspear Berry, or Lum Berry attached will cure this
Status Effect. More about Items Attachment later.
b) Burn
When you have the Burn status, your Attack halves and you lose HP every
round. This is a bad thing, since Pokémon that rely heavily on Physical
Attacks will not perform well at all. However, curing the Burn status is much
easier. As with the above, Heal Bell and Aromatherapy will work, but the
burned Pokémon can use it too since unlike the Freeze status, burned Pokémon
can still use moves. The move Refresh rids the user of Burn, Paralyze, and
Sleep (in special conditions). Also, using Rest would change you Status
Effect to Sleep and you no longer be burned. Information on the move "Rest"
will be provided later on. Note that you cannot use Refresh or Rest with the
Freeze status because you cannot move. Burn does not have a duration, so you
cannot wait it out. Having an Ice Berry, Miracleberry, Rawst Berry, or Lum
Berry attached will cure this Status Effect.
c) Sleep
Note: You can use the move "Rest" to inflict the Sleep Status Effect upon
yourself.
When you have the Sleep status, you go to sleep and cannot use most moves.
Just like the Freeze status, it is random how long you will be sleeping for,
but you'll be asleep for at least 2 turns and the most 5 turns. There are two
moves that you can use while sleeping. They are: Sleep Talk and Snore. Sleep
Talk randomnly uses a move in your moveset besdies Sleep Talk and you will
use it while being asleep. Snore (type: Normal) has a base power of 60. By
using Sleep Talk, you can Sleep Talk Heal Bell and Aromatherapy to get rid of
the Sleep Status Effect, but you cannot use those moves directly. More about
self-inflicted Sleep and the move "Rest" later on. Having a Mint Berry,
Miracleberry, Chesto Berry, or Lum Berry attached will cure this Status
Effect.
d) Paralyze
When you have the Paralyze status, you have a one in four chances of being
"fully paralyzed" and not attack. Paralysis cuts your Pokémon's speed to 25%
of its original speed, probably ensuring that you'll attack second! Just as
above, you can use Heal Bell, Aromatherapy, Refresh, or Rest to get rid of
this Status Effect. Paralysis doesn't have a duration, so you cannot wait it
out. Having PRZCureBerry, Miraclebery, Cheri Berry, or Lum Berry attached
will cure this Status Effect.
e) Poison
Note: Pokémon that has Poison as (one of) its type(s) cannot be poisoned
except by the move "Twinneedle."
This one splits into two categories: being poisoned or badly poisoned.
Besides Poisonpowder, there are moves that has a chance of infliting the
status Poison. This type of Poison are only normal Poison, and will steadily
decrease your HP every round. If you are poisoned by the move "Toxic," then
you are inflicted with Toxic Poison, just it will still show up as the Status
Effect Poison. This type of Poison is deadly, since you lose more HP for
every round you've been poisoned! Even if you switch out, the count does not
reset, but you do not lose HP if you are switched out. Just as above, you can
use Heal Bell, Aromatherapy, Refresh, or Rest to get rid of this Status
Effect. Having PSNCureBerry, Miracleberry, Pecha Berry, or Lum Berry attached
will cure this Status Effect.
5) Status Problems
Status problems are similar to Status Effects, but they can go away if you
switch out the inflicted Pokémon. Also, many Status Problems can be inflicted
upon a Pokémon at the same time. In summary, you can inflict one Status
Effect and many Status Problems on a single Pokémon, until their durations
expire. While Status Effects and Status Problems do not deal direct damage,
you can see how they can greatly hinder your opponent's ability to attack or
defend. Status Effects and Status Problems are usually refered together as
Status Abnormalities.
a) Confusion
Note: "Outrage" and "Petal Dance" will confuse the user. The move "Teeter
Dance" will confuse all Pokémon on the field, including your own.
Confusion is probably the most popular Status Problem. When you're confused,
you have a 50% chance of attacking, and if you don't attack, you hurt
yourself. To recap, you have a 50% chance of using a move successfully and
50% chance of hurting yourself. That's not a good thing at all. To clarify,
you do not attack yourself with the move you selected, but rather your own
Attack stat attacks your Defense stat. Knowing, this, Pokémon with a high
Attack tend to hurt themself more when confused and vice-versa. However,
unlike Paralysis, Confusion only lasts for 2 to 5 turns. You can use Heal
Bell or Aromatherapy to get rid of the Confusion Status Problem, but remember
that you don't have to switch to a Pokémon with these moves. When you switch
Pokémon, all Status Problems go away. Note that Refresh only works with
Paralyze, Poison, and Burn. Having a Bitter Berry, Miracleberry, Persim
Berry, or Lum Berry attached with cure this Status Problem.
b) Leech Seed
Note: Grass Pokémon cannot be inflicted with this Status Problem.
There's no doubt about it; this move is extremely annoying. While it reduces
your opponent's HP every turn, the user actually get healed by the HP that
the opponent loses. This is deadly especially if you leech high HP Pokémon
like Snorlax or Blissey. There is no way to get rid of Leech Seed unless you
switch out.
c) Attract
Note: You cannot infatuate a Pokémon that has the same gender as the user or
if the Pokémon has no gender.
When you use Attract on a Pokémon, it become infatuated, or attracted to the
user. Note that your opponent has to have the opposite gender from yours.
When you're charmed, you have a 50% chance of attacking and a 50% chance of
not attacking. There is no penalty for not attacking, but Attract lasts
indefinately. There is no way to get rid of Attract unless you switch out.
d) Disable
When you Disable a Pokémon, one of its move, chosen randomnly, cannot be used
for some amount of time. This can be frustrating because obviously, it limits
your movepool. However, you can wait until the Disable goes away or if that
Pokémon cannot function with that move disabled, then you most switch.
e) Taunt
When you Taunt a Pokémon, it can only use moves that deal damage. If you are
one of those people who only use attacking moves and not moves that deal
Status Abnormalities, then you won't mind. However, there are many strategies
with Taunt, and it will be described later on.
f) Imprison
When you Imprison a Pokémon, it cannot use moves that the user has. There is
no way to get rid of Imprison unless you switch out.
g) Encore
When you use Encore, your opponent will be forced to use the move it used
last again. If it works well, then keeping the encored Pokémon in will not be
an advantage, so you must switch. Encore only lasts 2 to 6 turns though, so
you can wear it out if you want.
6) Status Changes
(The term "Status Ailments" usually talks about both Status Effects and
Status Changes)
Status Changes deal with the actually stat of your Pokémon. If you guessed
it, Status Changing moves increase or decrease Attack, Defense, Special
Attack, Special Defense, and Speed. Other stats we haven't talked about yet
and can be changed are Accuracy, Evasion, Boost, and Resistance. Besides from
the last four, it should be obvious to you what Status Changes do. To
articulate on this subject, increasing a stat one stage multiplies the stat
by 1.5x, two stages = 2x, three stages = 2.5x, and the highest you can go is
six stages = 4x. Using this method, then the reverse is true. Decreasing a
stat one stage divides the stat by 1.5x, and etc.... This is simple for the
first five stats listed above. For these ones I'll just list the moves that
best increase or decrease that stat. I will give further details for the last
four. Note that None doesn't neccessarily mean that there are no moves that
do this, but it is not recommended that you do this or the moves have a lot
accuracy or are not worth using.
a) Attack
Increase: Swords Dance, Dragon Dance, Belly Drum, Bulk Up, Curse
Decrease: Charm, Featherdance, Tickle, Will-o-Wisp
b) Defense
Increase: Iron Defense, Acid Armor, Barrier, Cosmic Power, Bulk Up, Curse
Decrease: Screech, Tickle
c) Special Attack
Increase: Tail Glow, Calm Mind, (Amnesia RBY)
Decrease: None
d) Special Defense
Increase: Amnesia, Cosmic Power, Calm Mind
Decrease: Metal Sound, Fake Tears
e) Speed
Increase: Agility, Dragon Dance
Decrease: Cotton Spore, Scary Face
f) Accuracy
Accuracy is how well the opponent hits you. Decreasing Accuracy one stage
decreases the original accuracy of the incoming move to 67.4%, two stages to
53.3%, three stages to 42.5%, four stages to 40.4%, five stages to 32.9%, and
six stages to 28.4%. These values are experimental values, but they should be
a close estimate.
Increase: Foresight, Haze
Decrease: Mud Slap, Octazooka, Smokescreen, Sand-Attack
e) Evasion
Evasion is how well you evade or dodge an attack. Increasing Evasion one
stage decreases the original accuracy of the incoming move to 65.9%, to
stages to 50.0%, three stages to 44.2%, four stages to 59.6%, five stages to
67.1%, and six stages to 71.6%. These values are experimental values, but
they should be a close estimate.
Increase: Double Team, Minimize
Decrease: Foresight, Haze
f) Boost
Boost is when you raise the power of one type of move. For example, "Charge"
increases the power of Electric attacks. It is not recommended that you use
boosting moves, since unlike moves that raises Attack or Special Attack, this
only benefits one type.
g) Resistance
Resistance is when you resist the power of one type of move. For example,
"Mud Sport" decreases the power of Electric attacks used against you.
Resistance moves are not entirely non-usable, since your opponent is more
likely to have more than one move.
7) Other Moves
There are other moves that do not fit the above descriptions. We will analyze
them here.
a) Haze
This is one of the most important concept in the game, although not the most
important move. Have you wondered what would happen if your opponent uses
Swords Dance six times? It would be impossible to beat that Pokémon. When you
use Haze, every Status Changes on the battling field go away. That annoying
Scyther's Swords Dances are gone and its attack are back to normal. Be
careful, since it also takes away your own Status Changes. That is why it is
not recommended to have Status Changing moves and Haze in a moveset.
b) Roar and Whirlwind
These moves are called Pseudo-Hazing or for short, PHazing. Pseudo-Hazing, if
you know what pseudo is, means to have the effects of Haze without using the
move "Haze." When you Roar, you force your opponent to switch (unless under
special circumstances, which we will talk about later) and if you recall from
above, Status Changes go away when you switch! This is a clever way to remove
your opponent's Status Changes without Hazing yourself also. Beware, though,
that your opponent will have a new Pokémon in, and that Roar and Whirlwind
almost always go last. This means you will take a hit from your opponent, so
PHaze fast before your opponent gets a chance to attack! Note that Roar will
not affect Pokémon with the ability "Soundproof" (more on this later).
c) Baton Pass
Baton Pass is a handy move that could be impossible to beat or could deal you
a lot of trouble depending on what Pokémon you have. Baton Pass applies the
Status Changes (listed above) to another Pokémon in your party and then
automatically switches to that Pokémon. This could be useful, since what if a
Pokémon with a good Attack doesn't have Swords Dance to raise its Attack some
more? Simple! You use Swords Dance on another Pokémon that knows Baton Pass,
then Baton Pass to the Pokémon you want its Attack to increase . While this
is very useful and can produce unstoppable Pokémon, you have to remember the
strategies above (Hazing and PHazing) and not overdo this tactic. One thing
to note though. Baton Pass also pass some of the Status Problems, Substitute
(more on this later), Perish Song (more about this later) and Mean Look (more
on this later). It's not very nice to Baton Pass Leech Seed to the next
Pokémon, since only switching, not Baton Passing, will get rid of Leech Seed.
d) Mean Look and Spider Web
Mean Look is a useful move that does not allow your opponent to switch out.
Spider Web does the same thing, but most battler refer to both as Mean Look
or Trapping. Its strategies will be dealt with later, but there are a few
things that you should know about this move. Baton Pass on both sides will
keep the Mean Look status. If the user uses Baton Pass to another Pokémon,
then the opponent is still trapped. If your trapped opponent Baton Pass to
another Pokémon, then that new Pokémon will still be trapped. This is a good
way to prevent Hazing or PHazing, since your opponent cannot switch to a
Pokémon with Haze, Roar, or Whirlwind. If you switch out the user, then the
trapped opponent will no longer become trapped.
e) Substitute
Oh my, what a wonderful move. Substitute will sacrifice one-fourth of your HP
and create another copy of that Pokémon. The copy will have the same stats as
the original, but all hits will be taken by the copy until the so-called
Substitute breaks. While not very appealing to many beginners, this could
save you a lot of time and especially good if you predict that your opponent
will switch. If you use Baton Pass with a Substitute in play, then the
Substitute will be transfered to the next Pokémon but with the latter
Pokémon's stats.
f) Fire Spin, Whirlpool, Wrap, etc...
These moves are very special because they prevent the opponent from switch
for 2 to 5 turns. While doing little dammage, it takes a away a fraction of
your opponent's HP until your opponent is released.
g) Rapid Spin
I've already explained that Rapid Spin will blow away Spikes. I will clarify
that it only blow away the Spikes hurting you, not the Spikes you used to
hurt the opponent. Also, Spikes will release you from restraining moves such
as Fire Spin and Wrap. It also has a little bonus of doing 20 base damage to
the enemy.
h) Perish Song
Perish Song can be a weak, easy to avoid move or it can be very deadly. When
Perish is used, 3 turns later, both sides will faint no matter what! This
might sound bad, but you can switch out at any time during the count to save
your Pokémon. Further strategies about Perish Song will be explained later
on.
i) Protect and Detect
These moves protect the user from any damage done that round. Of course, it
won't protect the damage taken by Wrap (and other restrianing moves), Hail,
Sandstorm, Poison, Burn, and Leech Seed. It seems like a move that stalls
time, but it can be used to predict your opponent's move without losing a lot
of HP if that move is indeed super-effective. For example, Magneton uses
Protect against a Venusaur. Venusaur uses Earthquake, and Magneton is
protected! It is not a waste of move, since you will now probably switch out
Magneton to prevent being eradicated by Earthquake, which Magneton has a 4x
weakness against.
j) Double Slap, Rock Blast, Bullet Seed, etc...
These moves are very weak but they attack several times randomnly, 2 to 5, in
one turn. It seems like a risk only, but these moves are mainly used to break
Substitute. Let's say use you Rock Blast and you attack four times. The
Substitute breaks on the second Rock Blast, meaning that the last two Rock
Blasts will hit your opponent, not the Substitute.
k) Fly, Dig, and Dive
Fly is a two-turn attack, first flying up into the air to avoid most attacks,
then attack the enemy for 70 damage. Dig and Dive does almost the same for 60
damage. These moves are mainly used with the item Leftovers attached (more
about this later) to slowly heal the user's HP. Beware that some moves do hit
while you're Flying and Diving.
l) Thunder, Twister, and Gust
These moves hit Flying Pokémon. That is about it.
m) Earthquake and Magnitude
These moves hit Diving and Digging Pokémon. That is about it.
n) Endure
Endure makes sure no matter what that you will have at least 1 HP left after
your opponent strikes you. However, Sandstorm, Hail, Leech Seed, Poison, and
Burn will not protect you.
o) Swift and Faint Attack
Swift hits no matter what, besides Pokémon using Protect, Detect, Substitute,
Pokémon using Endure and is at 1 HP, and Ghost Pokémon. Faint Attack hits any
Pokémon that is visible on the field, meaning that it hits what Swift hits
besides Flying, Digging, and Diving Pokémon.
p) Dream Eater and Nightmare
Dream Eater can only be used if your opponent is asleep. It is a Psychic
attack that does 100 damage while 50% of the HP that your opponent lost heals
you. Nightmare is the same, but for every round that your opponent is asleep,
it will lose one fourth of its HP. You only need to use Nightmare once.
q) Counter and Mirror Coat
Counter retaliates with double the damage when you are hit by a Physical
Attack. Mirror Coat retaliates with double the damage when you are hit by a
Special Attack. This sounds great, but if you use Counter and your opponent
uses a Special attack, then Counter does nothing. The key here is to predict
what your opponent will do. Note that if you faint, you cannot Counter to
faint you opponent. Just a little reminder.
r) Headbutt, Rock Slide, Crunch, etc...
These moves has a chance of flinching the opponent, making them not able to
attack for that round only. In order to flinch, you need to strike first.
s) Future Sight and Doom Desire
These moves deal damage in the future, or in several rounds. They do not get
STAB, and they do not consider Type Alignment Advantages.
t) Quick Attack, Mach Punch, and Extremespeed
These moves always attack first, unless both Pokémon uses one of these three,
then their Speed comes into play. Even though Quick Attack and Mach Punch
does little damage, it could be use quite effectively with strategy.
u) Heal Bell and Aromatherapy
These move are almost on the bottom of the list mainly because I've talked so
much about them. As described many times before, they get rid of Status
Effects and Status Problems on your entire party.
v) Refresh
Like above, I've talked about this move. It heals the Burn, Poison, and
Paralyze Status Effects.
w) Aeroblast, Slash, Cross Chop, etc...
These moves have a higher chance of dealing a Critical Hit. In fact, their
chances of dealing a Critical Hit are doubled.
x) Rest
Rest fully recovers your HP and Status Effects (except Freeze) and you go to
sleep for the next 2 turns. You are under the Status Effect "Sleep."
y) Outrage, Thrash, and Petal Dance
These moves will attack for 2 or 3 turns with that same move, then the user
is confused. The user during these attacks is uncontrollable, not having a
choice of using another move or switching out. Even though the user attacks
two or three times, it only uses up 1 PP.
z) Toxic
I've talked about this move but I want to review it. When you are Toxic
Poisoned, you lose more HP per round for every round you're not cured. This
is a deadly attack indeed.
Now, you have learned mostly all you know about moves. This section should
give you the idea that attacking relentlessly is not the only strategy out
there. Even though I've given you these moves and what they do, I do not
expect you to use them effectively...yet. These moves work well together, and
you will be taught how to. For now, try to memorize some of these moves, or
constantly refer back to them instead of just saying "I don't have to worry
since this move doesn't do damage." This is especially true for the Second
Generation, where most battle stalls, or are so long because these above
moves are so effective at preventing your opponent from using only damaging
moves effectively.
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IV. Items
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
The only way items can be used is for attachment. You can only attach one
item to a Pokémon in the Second and Third generation, so that means RBY
Pokémon will not use Items in player vs. player battles. There are several
items are that very good to attach, there are items that you shouldn't even
bother with, and there are some items that people think are good but in
reality they are not. This section will list some recommended items to attach
and some items to avoid. Of course, this mostly applies only for competitive
battling, and some items that are extremely bad can become useful ingame
because it is easy to get and NPCs do not think very much by themselves.
Generally, items that boost one stat (like X Attack or Guard Spec. in GSC) or
items that boosts one type (such as Twistedspoon or Charcoal) are bad. This
is because they do not benefit the Pokémon entirely, but just a stat or one
or two attacks. The old saying is, "When in doubt, use Leftovers." The reason
why is below.
1) Recovery Items
a) Leftovers
This item is great. Every turn, it heals one-sixteenth (1/16) of your maximum
HP. This does not sound very good, but think about it. If you last 8 moves,
then your HP has healed by half of your maximum HP! If you end up in the
yellow or red zone after 8 turns, then you know that Leftovers has saved you.
This is the most used item on every competitive team, since between 4 and 5
out of 6 Pokémon will hold Leftovers. To recap, you heal automatically
without using a healing move.
b) Shell Bell
This is another healing item, but it acts quite differently. When you attack
someone, Shell Bell will restore one-eighth (1/8) of the damage taken by your
opponent back to you. While this sounds wonderful, it's not. First, it can
only recover HP if you use a move that damages your opponent. Second, for
Shell Bell to roughly equal the power of Leftovers, that move must take away
half of your opponent's HP. Since that is a hard quota to get to, Leftovers
is superior. However, Shell Bell is a good substitute for Leftovers on
Pokémon that you use to attack often and if you are too lazy (or have no way
to trade) to get 4 to 5 leftovers by trading.
c) Miracleberry or Lum Berry
These items heal every Status Effect and Confusion immediately on the user.
However, it can only be used once per battle. This item is mostly found on
attackers, who cannot be hindered by Paralysis killing its Speed or Burn
killing its Attack. Miracleberry is for GSC and Lum Berry is for RSE/FRLG.
d) Mint Berry or Chesto Berry
These items only heal the Sleep Status Effect, but they are sometimes
preferred over Miracleberries and Lum Berries. Pokémon with the move "Rest"
usually have this berry attached, since it is a free 100% HP Recovery move
and you wake up right away. If you have Miracleberry or Lum Berry attached,
an opponent might Paralyze you and you will cure the Paralysis, making
Miracleberry or Lum Berry not usable for Rest again. Remember that Rest also
recovers Status Effects such as Paralysis.
2) Stat Changing and Related Items
a) Scope Lens
This item increases the chance of getting a Critical Hit. When used properly
on certain Pokémon, each time you attack you will have a 50% chance of
dealing a Critical Hit.
b) Quick Claw
This item gives you a 10% chance of going first. True that a 10% chance is
bad and true that this item is generally not useful, but in some very rare
cases, it could be useful.
c) Brightpowder
This item gives you a 10% chance of evading your opponent's attack.
Basically, this item gives a 0.9x multiplier to every attack coming at you.
If your opponent attacks you with Heat Wave (accuracy: 90%), then Heat Wave's
accuracy is now 90% x 0.9 = 81%. It's really unreliable, but like Quick Claw,
there are some rare applications to it.
3) Pokémon-Specific Items
a) Thick Club
This item doubles the attack of Cubone and Marowak. It's only for Marowak,
but unlike X Attack, which gives s 10% boost to Attack, this gives a 100%
boost to Attack, so it's worth using.
b) Soul Dew
This item gives both Special Attack and Special Defense a 1.5x multiplier
when attached to Latias or Latios. Like Thick Club, it is Pokémon-specific,
and it makes Latias and Latios extremely powerful. Beware that some battlers
will forbid this item on Latias and Latios.
c) Metal Powder
This item gives both Attack and Defense a 1.5x multiplier when attached to
Ditto. Like Thick Club, it is Pokémon-specific.
4) Third Generation Items
k) Choice Band (RSE/FRLG only)
This item multiplies your Attack status (not Special Attack also) by 1.5x.
While doing so, you can only use one move from your moveset, unless you
switch out. This might sound appealing or pure unusable to some people, but
when used correctly, it works wonders.
l) White Herb (RSE/FRLG only)
This item rids Status Changes inflicted upon you either by your opponent, by
the user, or by a user's teammate (or party-mate if you so want to call it
that). However, this item can only be used once. If your opponent uses Charm,
then White Herb will cure your Defense decrease right away. If you use
Overheat, then White Herb will cure your Special Attack decrease right away.
If Umbreon uses Curse six times and Baton Passes to you, then White Herb will
cure your Speed decrease right away while keeping the Attack and Defense
increases. It is handy in a couple of situations.
m) Salac Berry, Petaya Berry, and Leichi Berry (RSE/FRLG only)
These items increase a certain stat by one stage when your health reaches
25%. Salac Berry increases Speed, Petaya Berry increases Attack, and Leichi
Berry increases Special Attack. There are other berries that increase
different stats, but those are usually not used so they will not be included.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
V. Individual Values (IVs)
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
This section goes further into depth and the game's calculations. This
section can be skipped and you can go back to this later, but it helps to
understand one move of the game, Hidden Power. IVs, sometimes called
Determinant Values (DVs), are hidden values in the game that generates the
random stats of your Pokémon. In the Second Generation, IVs range from 0 to
15. In the Third Generation, IVs range from 2 to 31. What do I mean by random
stats? For example, a Pokémon with an Attack IV of 8 might have an Attack of
334, while a Pokémon with an Attack IV of 14 might have an Attack of 342. The
higher the IV, the higher the stat. For GSC, there are 5 IV stats: HP,
Attack, Defense, Special, and Speed, with each one ranging from 0 to 15. Note
that both Special Attack and Special Defense from GSC comes from the same IV
stat. This means that Special Attack and Special Defense in GSC will always
complement each other. For RSE/FRLG, there are 6 IV stats: HP, Attack,
Defense, Special Attack, Special Defense, and Speed, with each ranging from 2
to 31. IVs are irrelevant when battling over GameBoys because it is so hard
to get ones with the IVs you like. Once again, IVs are hidden values (there
are ways to find it if you search for an IV calculator on the internet) and
are random. However, if you battle online, where you can set the IVs of your
Pokémon, then it will play a huge factor.
1) Shiny Pokémon
In the Second Generation, and only in the Second Generation did IVs have
anything to do with Shiny Pokémon. Basically, if all of your IVs are 10 (HP,
Attack, Defense, Special, and Speed), then your Pokémon is shiny. Granted
that having IVs of 10 will not yield the greatest stats, but if you battle
online and want to make your Pokémon shiny, then make all of its IVs 10.
2) Hidden Power
As I stated above, IVs come into calculation with the move Hidden Power.
Before I go on, this is a fair warning. The rest of this guide will consists
of lots of numbers and calculations. This is a strategic part of Pokémon, and
serious battlers know better than just push buttons. While this will be very
interesting to some, knowing sections I - IV would already make you a better
battler by far. However, the rest of the guide will separate the good from
the great.
Back on topic, Hidden Power is a move that does from 68 and 70 damage and can
be any type except Normal. While this seems random, it is only to a point.
The random part is to get the IVs needed for Hidden Power's type and damage,
since IVs determines Hidden Power's type and damage. Note that Hidden Power
is usually abbreviated as "HP: Type" since you would want to specify which
type your Hidden Power is. For example, I would say that my Gyarados has HP:
Flying. Now that we know that IVs contribute to Hidden Power, we will find
out how.
a) The Second Generation
Attack and Defense IVs determine Hidden Power's type in GSC. For the purposes
of the Pokémon not sucking, I will list what IVs needed to get what type from
8-15 instead of 0-15.
Attack IV-Defense IV-Type of Hidden Power
8-8-Fighting
8-9-Flying
8-10-Poison
8-11-Ground
8-12-Fighting
8-13-Flying
8-14-Poison
8-15-Ground
9-8-Rock
9-9-Bug
9-10-Ghost
9-11-Steel
9-12-Rock
9-13-Bug
9-14-Ghost
9-15-Steel
10-8-Fire
10-9-Water
10-10-Grass
10-11-Electric
10-12-Fire
10-13-Water
10-14-Grass
10-15-Electric
11-8-Psychic
11-9-Ice
11-10-Dragon
11-11-Dark
11-12-Psychic
11-13-Ice
11-14-Dragon
11-15-Dark
12-8-Fighting
12-9-Flying
12-10-Poison
12-11-Ground
12-12-Fighting
12-13-Flying
12-14-Poison
12-15-Ground
13-8-Rock
13-9-Bug
13-10-Ghost
13-11-Steel
13-12-Rock
13-13-Bug
13-14-Ghost
13-15-Steel
14-8-Fire
14-9-Water
14-10-Grass
14-11-Electric
14-12-Fire
14-13-Water
14-14-Grass
14-15-Electric
15-8-Psychic
15-9-Ice
15-10-Dragon
15-11-Dark
15-12-Psychic
15-13-Ice
15-14-Dragon
15-15-Dark
You might be wondering how to use these numbers, and it's all very simple.
Once again, if you're battling over GameBoys, then don't even consider
getting a specific IV for more than one stat, because it is just too hard. If
you are battling online, you can set the IVs so it will yield a certain type
of Hidden Power. For example, you want your Celebi to have HP: Electric. You
should then set your Attack IV to 14 and your Defense IV to 15. Note that
Celebi doesn't use its Physical Attack (or it shouldn't) anyways so lowering
its Attack IV won't really make a big difference. Now, how do you know what
will be the power of Hidden Power? The Special IVs determine this. Once
again, I will provides IVs from 8-15 to not Butcher your Pokémon's Special.
Special IV-Power of Hidden Power
8-68
9-69
10-69
11-70
12-68
13-69
14-69
15-70
b) The Third Generation
The Third Generation is more complicated, since all IVs are considered into
Hidden Power's type. It is crucial to consider the best IVs for your Pokémon.
For example, to get HP: Rock, you can use 31 Hit Points, 31 Attack, 30
Defense, 30 Speed, 31 Special Attack, and 30 Special Defense IVs, or 30 Hit
Points, 30 Attack, 31 Defense, 30 Speed, 31 Special Attack,k or 30 Special
Defense IVs. Since both yields HP: Rock, we need to pick the better once.
Note that one uses 31 Attack IVs and one uses 30 Attack IVs. It is
recommended to use the one with 31 Attack IVs since HP: Rock is a Physical
Attack and it's more compatible with a higher Attack stat. This is assuming
that the rest of this Pokémon's damaging moves are Physical Attacks, as it
should be. Here is a list of all the highest combinations of IVs to get
different types of Hidden Power with 70 Power. Since all 6 IVs come into
consideration, a complete list would be confusing and not needed. Once again,
pick the IVs combination that does not exploit your Pokémon's weakness or
downgrade your Pokémon's strengths. A common mistake is HP: Ice on Jolteon.
You have to choose the combination that retains Jolteon's high Speed, or else
Aerodactyl can beat it.
HP/Attack/Defense/Speed/Special Attack/Special Defense
Fighting:
31/31/30/30/30/30, Attack advantage
30/30/31/30/30/30, Defense advantage
Flying:
31/31/31/30/30/30, Attack and Defense advantage
30/30/30/31/30/30, Speed advantage
Poison:
31/31/30/31/30/30, Attack advantage
30/30/31/31/30/30, Defense advantage
Ground:
31/31/31/31/30/30, best combination
Rock:
31/31/30/30/31/30, Attack advantage
30/30/31/30/31/30, Defense advantage
Bug:
31/31/31/30/31/30, Attack and Defense advantage
31/30/30/31/31/30, Speed advantage
Ghost:
31/31/30/31/31/30, best combination
Steel:
31/31/31/31/31/30, Attack, Defense, and Speed advantage
31/30/30/30/30/31, Special Defense advantage
Fire:
31/31/30/30/30/31, Attack advantage
31/30/31/30/30/31, Defense advantage
Water:
31/31/31/30/30/31, Attack and Defense advantage
31/30/30/31/30/31, Speed advantage
Grass:
31/30/31/31/30/31, HP advantage
30/31/31/31/30/31, Attack advantage
Electric:
31/30/30/30/31/31, Special Attack advantage
31/31/31/31/30/31, Speed and Defense advantage
Psychic:
31/30/31/30/31/31, best combination
Ice:
31/30/30/31/31/31, Speed advantage
31/31/31/30/31/31, Attack and Defense advantage
Dragon:
31/30/31/31/31/31, HP advantage
30/31/31/31/31/31, Attack advantage
Dark:
31/31/31/31/31/31, best combination
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VI. Effort Values (EVs)
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
First, please note that EVs only appear in the Third Generation. EVs are
hidden values that can increase your Pokémon's stats. You can obtain EVs for
every stat (HP, Attack, Defense, Special Attack, Special Defense, and Speed),
with a maximum of 255 EVs for one single stat and 510 EVs total for all of
the stats combined. For every 4 EVs of one stat, your Pokémon will gain 1
point to that stat. For example, if you gained 4 Attack EVs, then your
Pokémon will gain 1 point in its Attack stat. It sounds great, right? How,
then, do you obtain EVs to raise your Pokémon's stats?
1) Vitamins
Vitamins are HP Up, Protein, Iron, Calcium, Zinc, and Carbos. Each vitamin
will give you 10 EVs of HP, Attack, Defense, Special Attack, Special Defense,
and Speed, respectively. However, you can only use 10 Vitamins of each kind,
with a total of 51 Vitamins can be used.
2) Fainting a Pokémon
Believe it or not, fainting a Pokémon will gives you from 1 to 3 EVs of one
stat, or the EVs could be split into 2 stats but the maximum EVs you can get
total from one Pokémon is 3. For example, Aron gives +1 Defense EVs. If you
fight a lot of Arons, then your Pokémon's Defense will raise faster than your
other stats, since for every four Arons you faint, you get +1 to your Defense
stat. Since the maximum EVs you can gain for one stat is 255, the EVs that
you can use is actually 252, since 252 can be divided by 4. This is important
if you go through a process of "EVs training," meaning that you will only
battle certain Pokémon to get the EVs you want. Giving a Pokémon 255 EVs of
one stat is a waste of 3 EVs, since instead of 255 + 255 = 510, you can split
up 252 + 252 + 6 = 510, and the 6 EVs (actually 4) will be used for another
stat. Two EVs will be left unusued no matter what. Even if you're not so keen
on undergoing complete EVs training, you can train in an area where there are
many Pokémon that gives the EVs that you want. If you battle online, you will
be able to set your Pokémon's EVs. This is very important because you can
give up to 63 points to a single stat using EVs. I will now provide a list of
which Pokémon recieves what EVs.
Note: Although it seems better to try to look for Pokémon that gives +2 or +3
EVs, these Pokémon are probably very rare and are not populous, so it is
actually faster to find an area with many Pokémon with +1 EVs and faint them
instead.
Pokémon EVs received other EVs received
a) HP EVs
Caterpie 1 Point None
Nidoran (F) 1 Point None
Nidorina 2 Points None
Nidoqueen 3 Points None
Clefairy 2 Points None
Clafable 3 Points None
Jigglypuff 2 Points None
Wigglytuff 3 Points None
Slowpoke 1 Point None
Grimer 1 Point None
Muk 1 Point 1 Point (Attack)
Lickitung 2 Points None
Chansey 2 Points None
Kangaskhan 2 Points None
Lapras 2 Points None
Ditto 1 Point None
Vaporeon 2 Points None
Snorlax 2 Points None
Mew 3 Points None
Hoothoot 1 Point None
Noctowl 2 Points None
Chinchou 1 Point None
Lanturn 2 Points None
Igglybuff 1 Point None
Marill 2 Points None
Azumarill 3 Points None
Wooper 1 Point None
Quagsire 2 Points None
Piloswine 1 Point 1 Point (Attack)
Phanpy 1 Point None
Blissey 2 Points None
Entei 1 Point 2 Points (Attack)
Celebi 3 Points None
Wurmple 1 Point None
Shroomish 1 Point None
Slakoth 1 Point None
Slaking 3 Points None
Shedinja 2 Points None
Whismur 1 Point None
Loudred 2 Points None
Exploud 3 Points None
Makuhita 1 Point None
Hariyama 2 Points None
Azurill 1 Point None
Delcatty 1 Point 1 Point (Speed)
Gulpin 1 Point None
Swalot 2 Points None
Wailmer 1 Point None
Wailord 2 Points None
Barboach 1 Point None
Whiscash 2 Points None
Castform 1 Point None
Tropius 2 Points None
Wynaut 1 Point None
Snorunt 1 Point None
Glalie 2 Points None
Spheal 1 Point None
Sealeo 2 Points None
Walrein 3 Points None
Relicanth 1 Point 1 Point (Defense)
Jirachi 3 Points None
b) Attack EVs
Beedrill 2 Points 1 Point (Sp. Defense)
Ekans 1 Point None
Arbok 2 Points None
Nidoran (M) 1 Point None
Nidorino 2 Points None
Nidoking 3 Points None
Paras 1 Point None
Parasect 2 Points 1 Point (Defense)
Mankey 1 Point None
Primape 2 Points None
Growlithe 1 Point None
Arcanine 2 Points None
Machop 1 Point None
Machoke 2 Points None
Machamp 3 Points None
Bellsprout 1 Point None
Weepinbell 2 Points None
Victreebel 3 Points None
Muk 1 Point 1 Point (HP)
Krabby 1 Point None
Kingler 2 Points None
Hitmonlee 2 Points None
Rhydon 2 Points None
Goldeen 1 Point None
Seaking 2 Points None
Scyther 1 Point None
Pinsir 2 Points None
Tauros 1 Point 1 Point (Speed)
Gyarados 2 Points None
Flareon 2 Points None
Dratini 1 Point None
Dragonair 2 Points None
Dragonite 3 Points None
Totodile 1 Point None
Croconaw 1 Point 1 Point (Defense)
Feraligatr 2 Points 1 Point (Defense)
Sentret 1 Point None
Spinarak 1 Point None
Ariados 2 Points None
Unown 1 Point 1 Point (Sp. Attack)
Snubull 1 Point None
Granbull 2 Points None
Qwilfish 1 Point None
Scizor 2 Points None
Heracross 2 Points None
Teddiursa 1 Point None
Ursaring 2 Points None
Swinub 1 Point None
Piloswine 1 Point 1 Point (HP)
Octillery 1 Point 1 Point (Sp. Attack)
Kingdra 1 Point 1 Point (Sp. Attack & Sp. Defense)
Donphan 1 Point 1 Point (Defense)
Stantler 1 Point None
Tyrogue 1 Point None
Entei 2 Points 1 Point (HP)
Larvitar 1 Point None
Pupitar 2 Points None
Tyranitar 3 Points None
Combusken 1 Point 1 Point (Sp. Attack)
Blaziken 3 Points None
Mudkip 1 Point None
Marshtomp 2 Points None
Swampert 3 Points None
Poochyena 1 Point None
Mightyena 2 Points None
Nuzleaf 2 Points None
Shiftry 3 Points None
Breloom 2 Points None
Sableye 1 Point 1 Point (Defense)
Mawile 1 Point 1 Point (Defense)
Carvanha 1 Point None
Sharpedo 2 Points None
Camerupt 1 Point 1 Point (Sp. Attack
Trapinch 1 Point None
Vibrava 1 Point 1 Point (Speed)
Flygon 1 Point 2 Points (Speed)
Cacturne 1 Point 1 Point (Sp. Attack)
Zangoose 2 Points None
Seviper 1 Point 1 Point (Sp. Attack)
Solrock 2 Points None
Corpish 1 Point None
Crawdaunt 2 Points None
Anorith 1 Point None
Armaldo 2 Points None
Shuppet 1 Point None
Banette 2 Points None
Absol 2 Points None
Huntail 1 Point 1 Point (Defense)
Bagon 1 Point None
Salamence 3 Points None
Groudon 3 Points None
Rayquaza 2 Points 1 Point (Sp. Attack)
Deoxys 1 Point 1 Point (Sp. Attack & Speed)
c) Defense EVs
Squirtle 1 Point None
Wartortle 1 Point 1 Point (Sp. Defense)
Metapod 2 Points None
Kakuna 2 Points None
Sandshrew 1 Point None
Sandslash 2 Points None
Parasect 1 Point 2 Points (Attack)
Poliwrath 3 Points None
Geodude 1 Point None
Graveler 2 Points None
Golem 3 Points None
Slowbro 2 Points None
Shellder 1 Point None
Cloyster 2 Points None
Onix 1 Point None
Exeggcute 1 Point None
Cubone 1 Point None
Marowak 2 Points None
Koffing 1 Point None
Weezing 2 Points None
Rhyhorn 1 Point None
Tangela 1 Point None
Seadra 1 Point 1 Point (Sp. Attack)
Omanyte 1 Point None
Omastar 2 Points None
Kabuto 1 Point None
Kabutops 2 Points None
Bayleef 1 Point 1 Point (Sp. Defense)
Meganium 1 Point 2 Points (Sp. Defense)
Croconaw 1 Point 1 Point (Attack)
Feraligatr 1 Point 2 Points (Attack)
Sudowoodo 2 Points None
Pineco 1 Point None
Forretress 2 Points None
Gligar 1 Point None
Steelix 2 Points None
Shuckle 1 Point 1 Point (Sp. Defense)
Magcargo 2 Points None
Corsola 1 Point 1 Point (Sp. Defense)
Skarmory 2 Points None
Donphan 1 Point 1 Point (Attack)
Miltank 2 Points None
Suicune 1 Point 2 Points (Sp. Defense)
Silcoon 2 Points None
Cascoon 2 Points None
Seedot 1 Point None
Pelipper 2 Points None
Nincada 1 Point None
Nosepass 1 Point None
Sableye 1 Point 1 Point (Attack)
Mawile 1 Point 1 Point (Attack)
Aron 1 Point None
Lairon 2 Points None
Aggron 3 Points None
Torkoal 2 Points None
Duskull 1 Point 1 Point (Sp. Defense)
Dusclops 1 Point 2 Points (Sp. Defense)
Clamperl 1 Point None
Huntail 1 Point 1 Point (Attack)
Relicanth 1 Point 1 Point (HP)
Shelgon 2 Points None
Beldum 1 Point None
Metang 2 Points None
Metagross 3 Points None
Regirock 3 Points None
Registeel 2 Points 1 Point (Sp. Defense)
d) Special Attack EVs
Bulbasaur 1 Point None
Ivysaur 1 Point 1 Point (Sp. Defense)
Venusaur 2 Points 1 Point (Sp. Defense)
Charmeleon 1 Point 1 Point (Speed)
Charizard 3 Points None
Butterfree 2 Points 1 Point (Sp. Defense)
Oddish 1 Point None
Gloom 2 Points None
Vileplum 3 Points None
Venomoth 1 Point 1 Point (Speed)
Psyduck 1 Point None
Golduck 2 Points None
Abra 1 Point None
Kadabra 2 Points None
Alakazam 3 Points None
Magnemite 1 Point None
Magneton 2 Points None
Gastly 1 Point None
Hunter 2 Points None
Gengar 3 Points None
Exeggutor 2 Points None
Horsea 1 Point None
Seadra 1 Point 1 Point (Defense)
Jynx 2 Points None
Magmar 2 Points None
Porygon 1 Point None
Zapdos 3 Points None
Moltres 3 Points None
Mewtwo 3 Points None
Quilava 1 Point None
Typhlosion 3 Points None
Natu 1 Point None
Xatu 1 Point 1 Point (Speed)
Mareep 1 Point None
Flaaffy 2 Points None
Ampharos 3 Points None
Sunkern 1 Point None
Sunflora 2 Points None
Espeon 2 Points None
Misdreavus 1 Point 1 Point (Sp. Defense)
Unown 1 Point 1 Point (Attack)
Girafarig 2 Points None
Slugma 1 Point None
Remoraid 1 Point None
Octillery 1 Point 1 Point (Attack)
Houndour 1 Point None
Houndoom 2 Points None
Kingdra 1 Point 1 Point (Attack & Sp. Defense)
Porygon2 2 Points None
Smoochum 1 Point None
Raikou 1 Point 2 Points (Speed)
Torchic 1 Point None
Combusken 1 Point 1 Point (Attack)
Beautifly 3 Points None
Ralts 1 Point None
Kirlia 2 Points None
Gardevoir 3 Points None
Masquerain 1 Point 1 Point (Sp. Defense)
Roselia 1 Point None
Numel 1 Point None
Camerupt 1 Point 1 Point (Attack)
Spinda 1 Point None
Cacnea 1 Point None
Cacturne 1 Point 1 Point (Attack)
Seviper 1 Point 1 Point (Attack)
Lunatone 2 Points None
Chimecho 1 Point 1 Point (Sp. Defense)
Gorebyss 2 Points None
Latios 3 Points None
Kyogre 3 Points None
Rayquaza 1 Point 2 Points (Attack)
Deoxys 1 Point 1 Point (Attack & Speed)
e) Special Defense EVs
Ivysaur 1 Point 1 Point (Sp. Attack)
Venusaur 1 Point 2 Points (Sp. Attack)
Wartortle 1 Point 1 Point (Defense)
Blastoise 3 Points None
Butterfree 1 Point 2 Points (Sp. Attack)
Beedrill 1 Point 2 Points (Attack)
Ninetales 1 Point 1 Point (Speed)
Venonat 1 Point None
Tentacool 1 Point None
Tentacruel 1 Point None
Drowzee 1 Point None
Hypno 2 Points None
Hitmonchan 2 Points None
Mr. Mime 2 Points None
Eevee 1 Point None
Articuno 3 Points None
Chikorita 1 Point None
Bayleef 1 Point 1 Point (Defense)
Meganium 2 Points 1 Point (Defense)
Ledyba 1 Point None
Ledian 2 Points None
Cleffa 1 Point None
Togepi 1 Point None
Togetic 2 Points None
Bellossom 3 Points None
Politoed 3 Points None
Hoppip 1 Point None
Umbreon 2 Points None
Slowking 3 Points None
Misdreavus 1 Point 1 Point (Sp. Attack)
Shuckle 1 Point 1 Point (Defense)
Corsola 1 Point 1 Point (Defense)
Mantine 2 Points None
Kingdra 1 Point 1 Point (Attack & Sp. Attack)
Hitmontop 2 Points None
Suicune 2 Points 1 Point (Defense)
Lugia 3 Points None
Ho-oh 3 Points None
Dustox 3 Points None
Lotad 1 Point None
Lombre 1 Point None
Ludicolo 3 Points None
Masquerain 1 Point 1 Point (Sp. Attack)
Spoink 1 Point None
Grumpig 2 Points None
Swablu 1 Point None
Altaria 2 Points None
Baltoy 1 Point None
Claydol 1 Point None
Lileep 1 Point None
Cradily 2 Points None
Milotic 2 Points None
Kecleon 1 Point None
Duskull 1 Point 1 Point (Defense)
Dusclops 2 Points 1 Point (Defense)
Chimecho 1 Point 1 Point (Sp. Attack)
Regice 3 Points None
Registeel 1 Point 2 Points (Defense)
Latias 3 Points None
f) Speed EVs
Charmander 1 Point None
Charmeleon 1 Point 1 Point (Sp. Attack)
Weedle 1 Point None
Pidgey 1 Point None
Pidgeotto 2 Points None
Pidgeot 3 Points None
Rattata 1 Point None
Raticate 2 Points None
Spearow 1 Point None
Fearow 2 Points None
Pikachu 2 Points None
Raichu 3 Points None
Vulpix 1 Point None
Ninetales 1 Point 1 Point (Sp. Defense)
Zubat 1 Point None
Goldbat 2 Points None
Venomoth 1 Point 1 Point (Sp. Attack)
Diglett 1 Point None
Dugtrio 2 Points None
Meowth 1 Point None
Persian 2 Points None
Poliwag 1 Point None
Poliwhirl 2 Points None
Ponyta 1 Point None
Rapidash 2 Points None
Voltorb 1 Point None
Electrode 2 Points None
Staryu 1 Point None
Starmie 2 Points None
Electabuzz 2 Points None
Tauros 1 Point 1 Point (Attack)
Magikarp 1 Point None
Jolteon 2 Points None
Aerodactyl 2 Points None
Cyndaquil 1 Point None
Quilava 1 Point None
Furret 2 Points None
Crobat 3 Points None
Pichu 1 Point None
Xatu 1 Point 1 Point (Sp. Attack)
Skiploom 2 Points None
Jumpluff 3 Points None
Aipom 1 Point None
Yanma 2 Points None
Murkrow 1 Point None
Sneasel 1 Point None
Delibird 1 Point None
Smeargle 1 Point None
Elekid 1 Point None
Magby 1 Point None
Raikou 2 Points 1 Point (Sp. Attack)
Treecko 1 Point None
Grovyle 2 Points None
Sceptile 3 Points None
Zigzagoon 1 Point None
Linoone 2 Points None
Taillow 1 Point None
Swellow 2 Points None
Wingull 1 Point None
Surskit 1 Point None
Vigoroth 2 Points None
Ninjask 2 Points None
Skitty 1 Point None
Delcatty 1 Point 1 Point (HP)
Meditite 1 Point None
Medicham 2 Points None
Electrike 1 Point None
Manectric 2 Points None
Plusle 1 Point None
Minun 1 Point None
Volbeat 1 Point None
Illumise 1 Point None
Vibrava 1 Point 1 Point (Attack)
Flygon 2 Points 1 Point (Attack)
Feebas 1 Point None
Luvdisc 1 Point None
Deoxys 1 Point 1 Point (Attack & Sp. Attack)
3) Ways to speed up EVs Training
Yes there are, and they're not really hard to get (well some of them). The
items or events below affect EVs Training in some way.
a) Macho Brace
The game does not tell you what the Macho Brace is for, besides the fact that
it halves the wearer's Speed. That can't be all that it does, since it will
make the Macho Brace useless. In fact, the wearer will gain double whatever
EVs it gets. Fainting a Taillow while wearing a Macho Brace will give you 2
Speed EVs (Taillow originally gives 1 Speed EV). If your Pokémon is at a high
level and won't be affected by the huge Speed decrease, then please use this
great item!
b) EXP. SHARE
As you all know, the wearer of EXP. SHARE gets half of the experience while
not in battle. Also, the wearer will get EVs, not half, but full. If your
Jolteon faints a Taillow and your Zigzagoon (that was never in battle) has
EXP. SHARE attached, then both Jolteon and Taillow gains 1 EV. This is a good
way to train up weak Pokémon both experience-wise and EV-wise.
c) The PokéRUS
If you haven't heard of this before, the PokéRUS doubles the EVs received,
just like the Macho Brace. This is good, but the PokéRUS is random whether or
not it will infect one of your Pokémon. If you're lucky enough to have it,
then it will infect your whole party. The PokéRUS will go away, so if you
want to keep it so that it could infect new Pokémon, then put one infected
Pokémon in a box, since the PokéRUS doesn't go away if the infected Pokémon
is in a box. When the want to infect a new Pokémon, withdraw the infected
Pokémon and when it infects your party, put it in a box again. Note that a
Pokémon that has been infected by the PokéRUS will not get PokéRUS again,
since its Memory T Cells will ensure that.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
VII. Traits
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
First, please note that Traits only appear in the Third Generation. Each
Pokémon has an Trait, or Ability, and they will benefit the Pokémon in one
way. Some Pokémon has unique Traits that only that Pokémon can have. Note
that these are not moves, but they will activate indefinately or when an
event happened. You do not "use" these Traits, but they are automatic. Right
now, it's only important that you know Traits exist and that they are
something not to overlook. Below is the list of all the Abilities in
alphabetical order and what they do. For the sake of simplicity, they will
not include their functions in the field, but just in battles.
1) Air Lock
When a Pokémon with this Trait is active, all effects of the current weather
are completely negated.
2) Arena Trap
Pokémon with this Trait prevent any opposing Pokémon from leaving play,
except those that are Flying type or possess the Trait Levitate.
3) Battle Armor
Pokémon with this Trait have a thick layer of armor that prevents Critical
Hits.
4) Blaze
When the HP of a Pokémon with this Trait falls below 1/3 it's total HP, that
Pokémon's Fire type attacks will do 1.5x damage.
5) Cacophony
Pokémon with this Trait negate the effects of Sound Moves by drowning them
out.
6) Chlorophyll
Pokémon with this Trait absorb sunlight to double their Speed while it is
Sunny.
7) Clear Body
Pokémon with this Trait are completely immune to all stat-lowering attacks.
8) Cloud Nine
When a Pokémon with this Trait is active, all effects of the current weather
are completely negated.
9) Color Change
When a Pokémon with this Trait is attacked, it will change its type to that
of the move it was hit with.
10) Compoundeyes
Pokémon with this Trait have large eyes, making all attacks 30% more
accurate.
11) Cute Charm
When a Pokémon with this Trait is attacked with a Contact Move, there is a
30% chance of the attacker becoming Attracted if the attacker is of the
opposite gender.
12) Damp
When a Pokémon with this Trait is active, the battle arena becomes so damp
that no active Pokémon can use Explosion or Selfdestruct.
13) Drizzle
Pokémon with this Trait cause Rain to fall for the remainder of the battle
when they enter play.
14) Drought
Pokémon with this Trait cause the weather to be Sunny for the remainder of
the battle when they enter play.
15) Early Bird
When a Pokémon with this Trait falls asleep, the duration of its sleep will
be only half as long as it would have been.
16) Effect Spore
When a Pokémon with this Trait is attacked with a Contact Move, there is a
10% chance of the attacker becoming either Paralyzed, Poisoned, or Asleep.
17) Flame Body
When a Pokémon with this Trait is attacked with a Contact Move, there is a
30% chance of the attacker becoming Burned.
18) Flash Fire
When a Pokémon with this Trait is attacked with a Fire type move, it becomes
immune to all Fire type moves, and its own Fire type moves become 1.5x more
powerful.
19) Forecast
Pokémon with this Trait change their type according to the weather.
20) Guts
When a Pokémon with this Trait receives a status ailment, its Attack is
increased by 1.5x.
21) Huge Power
Pokémon with this Trait have double their normal Attack.
22) Hustle
Physical attacks from Pokémon with this Trait do 1.5x more damage, but their
accuracy is 20% lower.
23) Hyper Cutter
Pokémon with this Trait are extremely fierce, and their Attack cannot be
lowered.
24) Illuminate
Pokémon with this Trait emit a warm glow that attracts wild Pokémon. It has
no effect in battle.
25) Immunity
Pokémon with this move have a natural immunity to all forms of Poison.
26) Inner Focus
Pokémon with this Trait concentrate intensely to prevent Flinching.
27) Insomnia
Pokémon with this Trait are unable to fall Asleep.
28) Intimidate
When Pokémon with this Trait enter play, their presence is so intimidating
that any opposing Pokémon has its Attack reduced by one level.
29) Keen Eye
Pokémon with this Trait have exceptional vision, and their Accuracy cannot be
lowered.
30) Levitate
Pokémon with this Trait can float in the air, thereby avoiding all Ground
type attacks.
31) Lightning Rod
When a Pokémon with this Trait is in play, all Electric attacks are drawn to
it, regardless of the intended target.
32) Limber
Pokémon with this Trait have extremely flexible bodies that are unable to be
Paralyzed.
33) Liquid Ooze
When Pokémon with this Trait are attacked by a HP draining attack, such as
Giga Drain, the attacker's HP will drop instead of rise.
34) Magma Armor
Pokémon with this Trait are covered in a burning exterior that prevents
Freezing.
35) Magnet Pull
Pokémon with this Trait are magnetically charged and will prevent all Steel
type Pokémon from leaving play.
36) Marvel Scale
When a Pokémon with this Trait receives a status ailment, its Defense is
increased by 1.5x.
37) Minus
If the Ally of a Pokémon with this Trait has the Trait "Plus", its Special
Attack will be 1.5x greater.
38) Natural Cure
Pokémon with this Trait posses the ability to cure themselves upon leaving
play.
39) Oblivious
Pokémon with this Trait are immune to the move Attract.
40) Overgrow
When the HP of a Pokémon with this Trait falls below 1/3 it's total HP, that
Pokémon's Grass type attacks will do 1.5x damage.
41) Own Tempo
Pokémon with this Trait have unique minds and cannot become Confused.
42) Pickup
Pokémon with this Trait have a chance to pick up items after battles with
wild Pokémon. It has no effect in battle.
43) Plus
If the Ally of a Pokémon with this Trait has the Trait "Minus", its Special
Attack will be 1.5x greater.
44) Poison Point
When a Pokémon with this Trait is attacked with a Contact Move, there is a
30% chance of the attacker becoming Poisoned.
45) Pressure
When a Pokémon with this Trait is attacked, the attacker loses an extra PP
from the attack it used.
46) Pure Power
Pokémon with this Trait have double their normal Attack.
47) Rain Dish
Pokémon with this Trait use a dish atop their heads to collect rainwater and
use it to heal themselves by 1/16 of their total HP each turn it Rains.
48) Rock Head
Pokémon with this Trait have a thick skull that prevents recoil damage from
moves such as Double-Edge.
49) Rough Skin
Pokémon with this Trait have extremely coarse skin that damages any Pokémon
that uses a Contact Move against it by 1/16 of their total HP.
50) Run Away
Pokémon with this Trait can flee from wild Pokémon without fail. It has no
effect in battle.
51) Sand Stream
Pokémon with this Trait cause a ferocious Sandstorm to rage for the remainder
of the battle when they enter play.
52) Sand Veil
Pokémon with this Trait are slightly more evasive during a Sandstorm.
53) Serene Grace
When a Pokémon with this Trait uses an attack that has an extra effect, the
chances of the effect occurring are doubled.
54) Shadow Tag
Pokémon with this Trait possess the ability to freeze the shadows of
opponents and prevent them from leaving play.
55) Shed Skin
When a Pokémon with this Trait has a status ailment, there is a 30% chance
each turn of the Pokémon shedding the ailment.
56) Shell Armor
Pokémon with this Trait have a thick layer of armor that prevents Critical
Hits.
57) Shield Dust
Pokémon with this Trait are coated in a strange powder that the negates the
extra effects of most moves.
58) Soundproof
Pokémon with this Trait are completely immune to all Sound Moves.
59) Speed Boost
The Speed of any Pokémon with this Trait rises by one level at the end of
every turn.
60) Static
When a Pokémon with this Trait is attacked with a Contact Move, there is a
30% chance of the attacker becoming Paralyzed.
61) Stench
Pokémon with this Trait posses an unbearable stench that keeps away wild
Pokémon. It has no effect in battle.
62) Sticky Hold
Pokémon with this Trait cannot have their item stolen in any way.
63) Sturdy
Pokémon with this Trait are completely immune to all One-Hit KO attacks.
64) Suction Cups
Pokémon with this Trait use suction cups to anchor themselves, negating the
effects of Roar and Whirlwind.
65) Swarm
When the HP of a Pokémon with this Trait falls below 1/3 it's total HP, that
Pokémon's Bug type attacks will do 1.5x damage.
66) Swift Swim
Pokémon with this Trait use their incredible swimming ability to double their
Speed while it is Raining.
67) Synchronize
When a Pokémon with this Trait becomes Paralyzed, Poisoned, or Burned, the
Pokémon that inflicted it receives the same status as well.
68) Thick Fat
Pokémon with this Trait receive half damage from Fire type and Ice type
attacks.
69) Torrent
When the HP of a Pokémon with this Trait falls below 1/3 it's total HP, that
Pokémon's Water type attacks will do 1.5x damage.
70) Trace
When a Pokémon with this Trait enters play, it copies the Trait of an
opposing Pokémon until it leaves play.
71) Truant
Pokémon with this Trait are extremely lazy, and cannot attack consecutively.
72) Vital Spirit
Pokémon with this Trait are extremely alert and cannot fall Asleep.
73) Volt Absorb
When a Pokémon with this Trait is attacked with an Electric type move, it
will absorb the damage and recover a maximum of 1/4 its total HP.
74) Water Absorb
When a Pokémon with this Trait is attacked with a Water type move, it will
absorb the damage and recover a maximum of 1/4 its total HP.
75) Water Veil
Pokémon with this Trait are surrounded by a shield of water that prevents
Burns.
76) White Smoke
Pokémon with this Trait are protected by a veil of smoke that negates the
effects of all stat-lowering moves.
77) Wonder Guard
Pokémon with this Trait are protected by a mystical barrier that negates
damage from all attacks except those that are Super Effective against them.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
VIII. Natures
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
First, please note that Natures only appear in the Third Generation. Natures
are like Traits; they are automatic. However, Traits raises a certain stat
while lowering another stat, or they could have no stat changes at all. This
change will be 10% in either direction. Also, all Pokémon can randomnly have
any Nature from the list below, while each Pokémon can only have one or two
Traits assigned to them. Natures are like IVs in a way. If you want a Pokémon
with a specific Nature, it is very hard to do so becaues it is random, but
still possible since Natures are not hidden and there are less Natures than
there are IVs. Natures are important because they give a boost in your
Pokémon's strengths. If you are Machamp, you would love a 10% in Attack while
would not mind a 10% decrease in Special Attack. Below is a list of Natures
in the order of what it increases, what stat they increase, and what stat
they decrease. Note that Natures do not alter a Pokémon's HP stat.
1) Bashful
No Change
2) Docile
No Change
3) Hardy
No Change
4) Serious
No Change
5) Adamant
+10% Attack
-10% Special Attack
6) Brave
+10% Attack
-10% Speed
7) Lonely
+10% Attack
-10% Defense
8) Naughty
+10% Attack
-10% Special Defense
9) Bold
+10% Defense
-10% Attack
10) Impish
+10% Defense
-10% Special Attack
11) Lax
+10% Defense
-10% Special Defense
12) Relaxed
+10% Defense
-10% Speed
13) Mild
+10% Special Attack
-10% Defense
14) Modest
+10% Special Attack
-10% Attack
15) Quiet
+10% Special Attack
-10% Speed
16) Rash
+10% Special Attack
-10% Special Defense
17) Calm
+10% Special Defense
-10% Attack
18) Careful
+10% Special Defense
-10% Special Attack
19) Gentle
+10% Special Defense
-10% Defense
20) Sassy
+10% Special Defense
-10% Speed
21) Hasty
+10% Speed
-10% Defense
22) Jolly
+10% Speed
-10% Special Attack
23) Naïve
+10% Speed
-10% Special Defense
24) Timid
+10% Speed
-10% Attack
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
IX. The Job System
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Believe it or not, all of the above information I would consider "Basic
Knowledge" to Pokémon. Now, we're in the land of "how to use it," not "what
is it." First of all, no, we not not in Final Fantasy Series. Pokémon has a
Job System, but the moveset of the Pokémon determines its job. If you're with
me so far, then you should know that The Job System is not an official
system, but it is there for competitive battlers to reference and put their
Pokémon into categories. Most of the terminology above are official, or are
created by Nintendo. From now on, most of the terminology will be player-
created, since the players will take the information that is given and
analyze every inch of it.
As I described above, there the Job System depends on a Pokémon's moveset.
Some Pokémon can only do (or be proficient at) certain jobs, depending on its
type and stats. Also, I will start referencing "Base Stats" of Pokémon. If
you remember, "Base Stats" are not the stats of a Pokémon at a level, but it
is rather an average ratio used for comparison purposes. I will try to define
all of the terminology as well.
1) Physical Sweeper
Physical Sweepers are called so because these Pokémon literally "sweeps,"
meaning they take down many Pokémon. As you can guess, Physical Sweepers use
Physical Attacks efficiently. A good Sweeper would be able to take down at
least two Pokémon before fainting. Here is an example of a Physical Sweeper.
This is also a good chance to get used to the format for describing a
Pokémon:
Heracross (F) @ Leftovers <-- Species, Gender, and Attached Item
Trait: Guts <-- Trait
EVs: 58 HP / 252 Attack / 200 Speed <-- Effort Values Distrubution
Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SAtk) <-- Nature
-Swords Dance <-- First move
-Focus Punch <-- Second move
-Megahorn <-- Third move
-Rock Slide <-- Fourth move
This is the proper way to present a moveset. Although all of the information
above is not neccessary, it is good to have the Pokémon's moves and Nature.
Regarding the moveset above, Heracross will Swords Dance to double its
Attack, then Focus Punch, Megahorn, and Rock Slide will totally devastate
your opponent if your opponent does not have a Pokémon that resists these
moves. Note that just having four attacks on Heracross is not as effective as
having Swords Dance then three attacks. This is an example of how Status
Changing moves and Damaging moves can work together to create a good moveset.
2) Special Sweeper
Special Sweepers is another Sweeper that uses Special Attacks. Here is an
example of a Special Sweeper:
Starmie @ Leftovers <-- Some do not have a Gender
Trait: Nature Cure <-- Its other Trait has no effect
EVs: 42 HP / 216 Speed / 252 Special Attack
Timid Nature (+Spd, -Atk)
-Surf
-Ice Beam
-Rapid Spin/Thunderbolt <-- "/" indicates own preference
-Recover
Notice now this Sweeper does not boosts up its attacking power but instead
boosts up its staying power with the move Recover, so it could faint less
quickly and deal more damage. Also notice something about the Effort Values
of both Sweepers. Usually, maximum (252) EVs go into Attack or Special
attack, depending on the type of Sweeper. There are also many EVs on Speed,
since a Sweeper that attacks first takes less damage. The Nature of Sweepers
often increases Attack, Special Attack, or Speed also.
3) Mixed Sweeper
Mixed Sweeper is merely a Sweeper that uses both Physical and Special
Attacks. There aren't many of these, since it is better to specialize in
either Physical or Special. However, there are a few Pokémon that make good
Mixed Sweepers, and here is an example:
Swampert (F) @ Leftovers
Trait: Torrent
EVs: 38 HP / 128 Attack / 220 Special Attack / 124 Special Defense
Brave Nature (+Atk, -Spd)
-Curse
-Earthquake
-Ice Beam/Surf
-Rest
Once again, Rest is for staying power so Swampert can come back and sweep
some more. EVs is a problem for Mixed Sweepers since should it go into Attack
or Special Attack? Curse takes care of that problem, since using Curse lets
you concentrate more on Special Attack and other stats while giving reduced
contribution to Attack. If you don't know, Curse increases Attack and Defense
one stage while lowers Speed one stage. The reason this sweeper doesn't need
Speed is because Curse makes it powerful defensively also, not just
offensively. Since it's also defensive, it doesn't need to go first. Note
that Physical and Special Sweepers usually have high offensive stats but low
defensive stats.
4) Hazer
A Hazer is a Pokémon that uses Haze. Since Haze is such an important move,
there are Pokémon that are designated to do this job. Here is an example of a
Hazer:
Weezing (F) @ Leftovers
Trait: Levitate <-- Weezing is now immune to Earthquake!
EVs: 196 HP / 156 Attack / 158 Defense
Relaxed Nature (+Def, -Spd)
-Sludge Bomb
-Haze
-Will-O-Wisp
-Pain Split/Rest
No, I'm not some kind of rapist that likes Female Pokémon; there is a reason
for me choosing them. Male is the default Gender online, so many Pokémon
using Attract are Female. For this reason, I use Female Pokémon so they can't
be attracted.
Of course, a Hazer can't just Haze; it needs to have other jobs as well.
Hazers are usually Tankers or Walls (more about this later), or Pokémon that
can stall for a long time. This is because it needs to Haze many times if
your opponent keeps Swords Dancing.
5) Pseudo-Hazer (PHazer)
A PHazer is a Pokémon that usually uses Roar or Whirlwind to force switching.
There are other exceptions, but that will be explained later. PHazers are
very similar to Hazers, but they are more popular because many Pokémon learn
Roar. Here is an example of a PHazer:
Suicune @ Leftovers <-- More Leftovers? Yup, good item.
Trait: Pressure
EVs: 252 HP / 128 Defense / 64 Speed / 64 Special Attack
Bold Nature (+Def, -Atk)
-Calm Mind
-Surf
-Rest
-Roar
Like Hazers, PHazers need to last, so Rest is there.
5) Physical Tanks
If you guessed it, Physical Tanks are intended to take damage. These can also
deal damage, but by rather indirect moves with a possible addition of one
damaging move that does not have to deal a lot of damage. Usually, it's Toxic
or Will-O-Wisp plus Rest or Recover on a Pokémon with a very high Defense.
Here is an example of a Physical Tank:
Steelix (F) @ Leftovers <-- Notice how it's immune to Sandstorm
Trait: Sturdy
EVs: 252 HP / 80 Attack / 42 Speed / 136 Special Defense
Impish Nature (+Def, -SAtk)
-Earthquake
-Rock Slide
-Explosion
-Toxic
Steelix resists many Physical Attacks but can still dish out some damage.
Steelix can never be a sweeper, but it serves its purpose as a Physical Tank
well. In fact, Steelix doesn't even need Rest because it takes so little
damage from Physical Attacks.
6) Special Tanks
Of course, Special Tanks are the Special version of Physical Tanks. Here is
an example of a Special Tank:
Regice @ Leftovers
Trait: Clear Body <-- Opponent cannot lower stats
EVs: 200 HP / 200 Defense / 56 Special Attack / 54 Special Defense
Bold Nature (+Def, -Atk)
-Ice Beam
-Thunderbolt
-Thunder Wave/Counter
-Rest
As you have guessed, neither Ice Beam or Thunderbolt will do much damage, but
Regice is extremely tough to take down.
7) Walls
Of course there aren't many Mixed Tanks. Why? Their Defense and Special
Defense stat is so high that they have no Attack or Special Attack at all! Of
course, I'm talking about Shuckle, and for the sake of simplicity, let's just
focus on Walls. Walls are like Tanks, but they are not expected to faint
their opponents in any way. However, they are expected to take more hits than
Tanks, so this job is for people who like to take their battles slow and
steady. Here are two good types of Physical and Special Walls. There aren't
much, so that's why they're in the same category:
Skarmory @ Leftovers
Trait: Sturdy
EVs: 196 HP / 30 Attack / 252 Defense / 32 Speed
Impish Nature (+Def, -SAtk)
-Spikes
-Drill Peck
-Rest
-Roar
Blissey @ Leftovers
Trait: Nature Cure
EVs: 240 HP / 252 Defense / 14 Speed / 4 Special Attack
Bold Nature (+Def, -Atk)
-Aromatherapy/Heal Bell
-Softboiled
-Seismic Toss
-Ice Beam
These two Pokémon often work together as a team and they make great Walls. Of
course, they will probably not defeat any Pokémon alone, but they will resist
most attacks thrown at them.
8) Cleric (Healer)
Clerics use Heal Bell or Aromatherapy to rid its team of Status Effects.
These are very helpful if you encounter an opponent that tries to Paralyze
your team to death, or if you have a Sleeping Pokémon on your team because it
used Rest. Clerics are, as predicted, good tankers, so they can keep healing
the party. Of course, one great Cleric is Blissey. Here is an example of
another Cleric:
Miltank (F) @ Leftovers
Trait: Thick Fat <-- Trait makes it a good Tanker.
EVs: 168 HP / 172 Attack / 168 Defense
Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
-Curse
-Body Slam
-Milk Drink
-Heal Bell
9) Annoyer/Staller/Drainer
Woop! This is one of my favorite jobs. Annoyers annoy the daylights out of
most people, using Double Team, Confuse Ray, Thunder Wave, Attract, and Rest
as some popular annoying moves. Unlike Tanks and Walls, Annoyers don't absorb
hits--they evade or try to make their opponents not able to attack.
Sometimes, Heal Bell and Roar can send Annoyers packing. Sometimes, Annoyers
are unstoppable after many Status Changes. I put Annoyers and Drainers
together because most Annoyers find a way to replenish their HP, and it's
usually from Leech Seed, Mega Drain, or Giga Drain. Yes, Mega Drain is an
effective move if used right. Here is an example of a Drainer:
Ludicolo (F) @ Leftovers
Trait: Swift Swim
EVs: 252 HP / 130 Defense / 128 Special Defense
Calm Nature (+SDef, -Atk)
-Leech Seed
-Toxic
-Protect
-Seismic Toss
I know Ludicolo can regenerate HP with the Rain Dish Ability, but this is a
great Rain Dance counter since an Annoyer that goes first is almost too
powerful.
10) Spiker
A Spiker uses Spikes. You've already seen a good Spiker, and that is
Skarmory. However, Skarmory is not the only option, because if you ewant a
Spiker as a starter (your leading Pokémon), then other Spikers are better. If
you use Skarmory first, there is a chance that you will get eradicated by a
Magneton with the Magnet Pull Ability. No example for now, because I'm going
to introduce to you another job first.
11) Spinner
A Spinner uses Rapid Spin to get rid of those evil Spikes. You've already
seen a good Spinner, and that is Starmie. But hey, a Pokémon can have two
jobs, and a Spiker/Spinner combination is actually very good. Here is an
example of a Spiner that is a Spinner as well:
Forretress (F) @ Leftovers
Trait: Sturdy
EVs: 252 HP / 70 Attack / 188 Defense
Impish Nature (+Def, -SAtk)
-Spikes
-Rapid Spin
-Earthquake
-Explosion
If Forretress encounters another Spiker, then it will Rapid Spin after a few
Spikes. Note that Rapid Spin only rids your opponent's Spikes, unlike Haze.
After three Spikes or when it thinks that it will faint, then it uses
Explosion, getting rid of a Pokémon. Of course Earthquake is there for a
damaging move if is rarely used.
12) Baton Passer
A Baton Passer uses Baton Pass. Usually BP stands for Baton Pass and BP'er
stands for Baton Passer. A BP chain includes two or more Pokémon Baton
Passing different Status Changes and finally Baton Passing to a nearly
indestructable Pokémon. However, a BP chain should be aware of Hazing and
Pseudo-Hazing. Since I can't decide on which example to show you, here are
examples of two Baton Passers:
Scizor (F) @ Leftovers/Leichi Berry <-- Increases Attack at 25% Health
Trait: Swarm
EVs: 110 HP / 108 Defense / 128 Speed / 164 Special Defense
Careful Nature (+SDef, -SAtk)
-Swords Dance
-Agility
-Hidden Power [Bug]
-Baton Pass
Ninjask (F) @ Leftovers
Trait: Speed Boost
EVs: 6 HP / 252 Attack / 252 Speed
Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
-Swords Dance
-Substitute
-Silver Wind
-Baton Pass
Scizor is not a Sweeper, but if its current opponent poses no threat to
Scizor after at least one Swords Dance and one Agility, then use HP: Bug to
get rid of that Pokémon then Baton Pass. It is the same for Ninjask. If
Ninjask's Substitute is not broken, then Silver Wind after Swords Dance could
do wonders. But getting back on topic, just think how good Heracross,
Tyranitar, or Machamp is with Swords Dance and Agility Baton Passed. Their
Attack and Speed would have been doubled!
13) <Insert Move Here>'er
Okay, so that's not really the name of the job. Basically, adding the prefix
-er to any move can make it a job. You will commonly hear Tyranitar makes a
good Dragon Dancer or Suicine makes a good Calm Minder. There are very few
moves that have -er added after it though, because only moves that could
significantly benefit a Pokémon would be a candidate. I assume that you don't
need an example, because it's pretty self-evident what I will put. If you
really want an example, then scroll up and look at Suicune's moveset (Calm
Minder) or Heracross' moveset (Swords Dancer).
However, there is a point that I should make. Sometimes, we competitive
battlers get lazy, and certain abbreviates starts to pop up. For example, CM
stands for Calm Mind and CM'er is a Calm Minder. DD, SD, and ST stands for
Dragon Dance, Swords Dance, and Sleep Talk, respectively. Even Pokémon is
abbreviated to Pogey by some battlers!
14) Other Jobs
There are many other jobs, but they have become forgotten or not used when
the Third Generation comes out. Generally, we consider the Third Generation
battles to be of a faster pace, so many stallers or indirectly damaging
Pokémon are out. Some examples are Toxi-Shufflers, Para-Shufflers, and Perish
Trapper. I will only briefly describe them as most attention have now focused
on the Third Generation and many battlres do not battle GSC much anymore.
a) Toxi-Shufflers
These Pokémon use Toxic then Roar or Whirlwind so all of their opponent's
team's Pokémon are Poisoned.
b) Para-Shufflers
These Pokémon use Thunder Wave then Roar or Whirlwind so all of their
opponent's team's Pokémon are Paralyzed.
c) Perish Trapper
Perish Trapping is not really gone, but it's not really for one Pokémon
anymore. In GSC, one Pokémon uses Mean Look and Perish Song to prevent the
opponent from switching out of the inevitable fate. However, in RSE/FRLG,
there are much more opportunities to faint that Pokémon before it uses this
combination, so two Pokémon must Perish Trap. I will give examples as the
guide progresses.
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X. Move Combinations
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I must admit that this guide is mostly for the Third Generation, which is
RSE/FRLG. If you are wondering why I don't include RBY and GSC information,
the answer is, sections I-V includes most of RBY and GSC information.
However, from now on, it will almost be stricly RS/FRLG. Also, it is
extremely hard to go back and forth between the three because there were many
changes and reading the guide would be very confusing. Every time a new
generation comes out, there were not only additions--there were many
modifications as well, including most of the game mechanics. The worse was
from RBY to GSC. RBY is a whole new world to us now, because everything is so
simplistic and so different. Some notable changes were changes in Type
Alignment Advantages (and additions), Hidden Power, the change of most moves,
the collapse of the Psychic type, item attachment, as well as many moves
additions. RSE/FLRG introduces Effort Values, new strategies (this was a
tough one), Natures, and Abilities. As you can see, this is why the below
Move Combinations will mostly apply to the Third Generation. I will try to
organize them into the order of most important to least, but if they are
listed, then they are important in some way.
If you do not know what a move does, please refer to this page:
http://www.smogon.com/advance/moves
1) Subpunching
If you can predict a switch or a Status Inducing move, the use Substitute and
your opponent won't attack you with a damaging attack. Then, you use Focus
Punch, dealing 150 Fighting Damage, very successful if you have a high
Attack, if it is super-effective or if it has STAB. The hard thing is to
predict when to use Substitute. Here is an example:
Turn 1:
You send out Starmie.
Opponent sends out Snorlax.
(Starmie isn't going to hurt Snorlax...trust me)
Turn 2:
You call back Starmie.
You send out Heracross.
Enemy Snorlax uses Curse.
Enemy Snorlax's attack rose!
Enemy Snorlax's Defense rose!
Enemy Snorlax's Speed fell!
(Snorlax will not be staying in for Heracross)
Turn 3:
Opponent calls back Snorlax.
Opponent sends out Skarmory.
Heracross uses Substitute.
Heracross has created a Substitute!
(Skarmory is an effect counter to Heracross, but it's Skarmory who will
be taking damage)
Turn 4:
Heracross focuses its energy!
Enemy Skarmory uses Drill Peck.
It's super-effective!
Heracross' Substitute faded.
Heracross uses Focus Punch.
Heracross' Focus Punch dealt 35% damage to Skarmory
Skarmory restores its health using Leftovers.
(Heracross did its job)
Turn 5:
You call back Heracross.
You send out Starmie.
Enemy Skarmory uses Spikes.
Spikes scatter around Starmie!
(Your opponent knows Heracross will switch out)
If you don't follow what just happened, then you will learn by experience
anyways. The point is, Subpunching is not a strategy that you take for
granted, since it requires much anticipation.
2) BoltBeaming
A BoltBeamer is a Pokémon that has both Lightning Bolt and Ice Beam in its
moveset. The good thing is, only Laturn and Magneton resists these two moves,
so you can pretty much do decent damage to most Pokémon. Two good BoltBeamers
are Regice and Lanturn.
3) EndReving
An EndRever is a Pokémon that uses Endure (End) and Reversal (Rev). If you
recall from memory or the link above, Reversal's power increases as your HP
decreases. When you Endure a hit, your HP will be at 1, so that gives
Reversal maximum power. This is usually used with Salac Berry, and if you
recall, Salac Berry raises your Speed when your health reaches 25%. This way,
your Speed rises when you Endure and you are probably fast enough to take
down your opponent. This strategy can be used for Flail and Endeavor, which
does approximately the same thing. Watch out, since if your opponent switches
to a Ghost type, then Reversal, Flail, and Endeavor is useless. Sandstorm
will also defeat this strategy.
4) SubReving
A SubRever is a Pokémon that uses Substitute (Sub) and Reversal (Rev). Since
Endure's accuracy falls to 50% if you Endure twice in a row, you need to
predict if your opponent's attack will faint you or not. When you use
Substitute, you create a copy of yourself for the cost of 25% of your
maximum. Substitute never faints the user, so after four Substitutes, your HP
will be extremely low. Note how this works almost like Endure, but you can
use Substitute repeatedly without fail (unless no one broke your Substitute,
then you just attack the opponent). After four Substitutes, Salac Berry will
activate and you can then Reversal, Flail, or Endeavor. A downfall to this
strategy, even though it is often considered better than EndReving, are moves
that attack multiple times. You will be fainted by moves such as Rock Blast
and Bonemerang. A Ghost type can still defeat you, and so can Sandstorm.
5) Stat Changing + Baton Pass
Although this isn't a real strategy, it's here because pummeling you opponent
with attacking move isn't going to do. Have some strategies in increasing
your stats or decreasing your opponent's stats, because this will be more
beneficial for you in the long run. Take Heracross for example. Swords Dance
then Megahorn is better than Megahorn then Megahorn.
6) BellyRest
If you do not know, Belly Drum sacrifices half of your maximum HP while
maximizing your Attack. If you don't know how much Belly Drum maximizes by, I
can tell you that it's enough to OHKO (One Hit Knock Out, or meaning you
faint the opponent in one attack) most Pokémon. Belly Drum followed by Rest
means that you will replenish your HP sacrificed, making you an awesome
Sweeper. Usually, BellyRest involves using a Mint Berry or a Chesto Berry to
restore the Sleep Status Effect.
This strategy requires exact timing. If you spot its weakness, taking away
half of you HP and giving your opponent a chance to attack isn't fun. This is
why most of the time, you have to predict a switch and use Belly Drum. Also,
you can induce a Sleep/Paralyze Status Effect, and/or the Confusion/Attract
Status Problem. This way, you are lowering the chances your opponent has of
attacking, or forcing a switch, giving you a free Belly Drum. Here is an
example:
Turn 1:
You send out Starmie.
Opponent sends out Milotic.
Turn 2:
You call back Starmie.
You send out Snorlax.
Enemy Ludicolo uses Calm Mind.
Milotic's Special Attack rose!
Milotic's Special Defense rose!
(Milotic cannot faint Snorlax because Snorlax's Special Defense is too high)
Turn 3:
Opponent calls back Ludicolo.
Opponent sends out Aggron
(Your opponent hopes to Roar away Snorlax's expected Curses)
Snorlax uses Belly Drum.
Snorlax cuts its HP in half to maximize its Attack!
Now, Aggron cannot roar because Snorlax will OHKO it. This is now the realm
of guessing work as to if Snorlax will use Return, Brick Break, or
Earthquake. If Snorlax can Rest, then it will be almost unstoppable. However,
once again, you need to time this. Note that it is best to use this at the
end of a battle, when it's more likely that there are less Pseudo-Hazers that
could Roar or Whirlwind away your Belly Drumer.
7) Parafusion
Parafusion hurts, literally. This is the strategy of using both Paralysis and
Confusion, giving your opponent a 33% chance to attack! This is best used
with Seismic Toss since you need a Pokémon with good defenses to be able to
survive using both of these moves, and Seimic Toss always deals 100 HP off
your opponent no matter what the user's Attack stat is. The last slot is
probably Rest, Shadow Ball, or Attract.
8) Swagger + Psych Up, Flatter + Psych Up.
Swagger confuses the opponent and raises its Attack by two stages. Flatter
confuses the opponent and raises its Special Attack by two stages. Psych Up
copies all of the Status Changes that your opponent has, and if you raised
your opponent's Attack or Special Attack, then you can copy it. Note that you
do not copy your opponent's Confusion since that is a Status Problem. This is
a way to boosts up your Attack or Special Attack if you cannot learn Swords
Dance or Tail Glow. Umbreon is a good candidate for Swagger + Psych Up. Its
defenses are so high that it doesn't mind raising its opponent's Attack. No
Pokémon can legally have both Flatter and Psych Up, so you might want to
switch out then Psych Up your opponent.
Note that Psych Up by itself is extremely good. Predict a Belly Drummer,
Psych Up, and you'll be Belly Drumed without losing half of your maximum HP!
9) TrickBand
Remember what I said about Choice Band? It raises your Attack by 1.5x but it
only allows you to use one attack only until you switch out. Trick switches
your item with your opponent's. However, if you Trick Choice Band with a non-
Physical Sweeper, then your opponent is forced to use the move that had used
against you while you used Trick. Choice Band is great, but not on Starmie
and Ludicolo. This strategy will seriously hinder your opponent's strategy.
A good TrickBander is Alakazam, since it has great Speed to allow it to pull
it off. Notice that you no longer have Choice Band, so you are not required
to use Trick again. It's a neat strategy that requires not a lot of
anticipation.
10) Thief
Thief is an interesting move that I don't use much, since it tends to have a
very complex strategy. There are only several items worth stealing, and those
are items that the Pokémon's moveset is depended upon. What I'm saying is,
without that item, the Pokémon is technically screwed. This can backfire see,
since if your opponent doesn't have that kind of Pokémon, then your Pokémon
with Thief is really useless. You can steal Leftovers, but that's about it.
One example is Lum Berry. If you steal Lum Berry then Burn a Gyarados through
Will-o-Wisp, then Gyarados' Attack halves, greatly disabling its Sweeping
abilities. Note that Lum Berry will cure any Status Effect inflicted on
Gyarados, such as Burn.
Another example is to steal Choice Band. If you recall, it multiplies every
physical damage by 1.5x, so you just lowered the Attack of a good Sweeper,
like Heracross. Note that the other option for Heracross is Leftovers or
Salac Berry, but if you steal Choice Band, then it cannot have Leftovers nor
Salac Berry! Heracross is now just a mediocre Sweeper. Be careful though,
since you have to switch out your Pokémon using Thief because Choice Band
will force it to use Thief again. Also, make sure that the Choice Band
stealer is also a Sweeper, so it can actually use Choice Band when it switches
in again.
So how do you know if your opponent's Gyarados have Lum Berry or if your
opponent's Heracross have Choice Band? You don't. This is why Thief is only
used by experts who have great anticipation skills, and yes, it can be very
effective.
11) Snatch
This move is evil...very evil. It's similar to Psych Up, but unlike Psych Up,
it steals your opponent's Status Changes, not only copy. Also, it can steal
Substitutes, surprising those Annoyers. Just wait until Suicune uses Calm
Mind 3 times while you act like you don't know what's going on, then use
Snatch and leave your opponent crying. Note that Snatch always go second, so
you cannot start off a round be stealing someone that was done before. You
steal at the end of the round, so make sure to Snatch before your opponent
gets a chance to attack.
12) Perish Trapping
As I said before, in RSE/FRLG, this works best with two Pokémon. Those two
canditates are usually an Umbreon Baton Passing Mean Look to someone with
solely Perish Song and a healing move or Protect. Some good Candidates are
Lapras, Wigglituff, Celebi, Altaria, and Misdreavus. In the old days of GSC,
Lapras used to Whirlpool to keep the opponent in its place, and Misdreavus
used to Mean Look. Now, both of those moves would waste so much time and
Lapras and Misdreavus would faint before setting up Perish Trapping.
13) MintyRest, ChestoRest, LumRest
Minty Rest is Rest + Mint Berry attached, and ChestoRest is Rest + Chesto
Berry attached. This gives you a free 100% HP Recovery. It's that simple. Use
it when you think you will faint (but time it so you don't faint). LumRest is
Rest + Lum Berry attached. This is a strategy in the Third Generation because
of Will-O-Wisp alone. True that you can Rest the Burn Status Effect off, but
if you're a Physical Sweeper, then you certainly don't want your Attack
halved.
14) Rain Dance + Thunder (ThunderDance)
An effect of Rain Dance is that Thunder will never miss. Think about
it...Lightning appears in storms, right? Anyways, you can have someone from
your team use Rain Dance and make your team benefit from it. For example, use
water Pokémon, Pokémon with Hydro Pump, Pokémon with Thunder, and Pokémon
with the Rain Dish or Swift Swim Trait.
15) Sunny Day + Solarbeam (SunnyBeam)
An effect of Sunny Day is that Solarbeam will not require a charge. Remember
that Solarbeam take in sunlight then attack. Now, it just attack because
Sunny Day provides the sunlight that Solarbeam needs. You can also include
fire Pokémon, Pokémon with Fire Blast, Exeggutor because of the Chlorophyll
Trait, and of course, someone with Solarbeam.
16) Leech Seed + Ingrain + Mega/Giga Drain + Leftovers
Ingrain restores HP every turn, and so does Leech Seed and the item
Leftovers. Mega Drain/Giga Drain will also restore some HP that you have
dealt to your opponent. Obviously, this is an Annoyer/Drainer to the max.
Ingrain also means your opponent cannot Roar or Whirlwind you out, because
your roots are implanted to the ground.
17) Spore + Focus Punch
Breloom is famous for this. It is fast enough to use Spore, 100% of the time
Sleeping your opponent. Then, it uses Focus Punch, because your opponent
cannot attack and make Focus Punch lose concentration. That means you have to
switch in order to get annihilated, but when you switch, you don't attack,
you Breloom gets a free Focus Punch no matter what.
18) Rest + Sleep Talk
This is so annoying, because you have to defeat a Sleep Talker in three
rounds or less to prevent it from using Rest again. Sleep Talk attacks while
asleep, so coupled with Return and Earthquake, it could cause lots of damage
while not being fainted easily.
19) Toxic + Spikes + Sandstorm (TSS)
This is consists of a team that purely annoys. You mainly damage by Toxic,
Spikes, and Sandstorm via using Roar or Whirlwind to force being hurt by
Sandstorm. However, remember that Sandstorm damages both sides, and Rock,
Steel, and Ground Pokémon don't get damaged. Because of this, Suicune can
sometimes destroy a TSS team because it has high defenses and is able to Surf
its way out of it.
20) Swords Dance/Bulk Up/Calm Mind + Salac Berry
Swords Dance, Bulk Up, or Calm Mind gets you ready to become a sweeper, and
when your HP gets low, Salac Berry will increase your Speed so you can attack
first with boosted up stats.
21) Agility + Petaya Berry/Leichi Berry
First Agility, then start attacking. When your health is low, your Attack or
Special Attack increases and you have a better chance of fainting your
opponent easier. Metagross can use this strategy somewhat well.
22) Wish + Baton Pass (WishPass)
First, use Wish. Then, use Baton Pass and pass it to a Pokémon with low
health. Since Wish can be Baton Passed, the low health Pokémon will be
healed.
23) Pseudo-Passing
Pseudo-Passing is to pass an effect created by one Pokémon to the next
without the use of Baton Pass. This is really impossible except for three
moves: Reflect, Light Screen, and Safeguard. When these moves are used, a
barrier that halves Physical attacks, a barrier that halves Special attacks,
and a barrier that stops all Status Effects and Status Problems, repectively,
will be formed. These barries will stay for five turns, unless the move Brick
Break was performed by your opponent to knock out these barriers. Even if you
switch out the user, these barriers still stays, so their effects also stays.
24) Mimic + Imprision
This is pretty much obvious. Use Mimic then select the move that you don't
want your opponent to do. Then, use Imprision, and your opponent cannot use
that move anymore!
25) Sleep Status Effect + Stat Boosts
When you put your opponent to sleep, rare will it stay in. You expect a
switch on the next turn, so this is called a free turn. You can use whatever
move without being damaged. Some used this time to use Substitute, some use
Calm Mind, some use Swords Dance, and some use Confusion. The point is, this
is the perfect time to set up a combination. Milotic can use Hypnosis then
Rain Dance. It can also Calm Mind and use Surf the next turn for at least 50%
damage (unless it's not very effective). Avoid putting Snorlax or other
Pokémon that you think might have Sleep Talk to sleep.
26) Substitute/Protect + Speed Boost
Ninjask has a great Trait called Speed Boost. Every turn, Ninjask's Speed
will raise by one stage. The problem is, Ninjask is already the fastest
Pokémon in the game (besides Deoxys-Emerald) and it literally cannot take a
hit. However, it can Baton Pass the Speed Boots, but first, it needs to
survive. Using Substitute or Protect ensures that Ninjask won't take too much
damage (in the case of Substitute, 25% of its maximum HP). However, while
Protect ensures 100% Evasion, using Protect twice lowers its accuracy to 50%,
so it's pretty risky. If you think that Ninjask can take a hit from a Pokémon
(by giving it Defense/Special Defense DVs or something) then you can use
Protect, Swords Dance, Protect, Baton Pass. It's generally better, however,
to use Substitute.
27) Swagger + Screech
As I explained before, when you hurt yourself in Confusion, your Attack stat
attacks your own Defense stat. For this reason, Swagger, which raises the
opponent's Attack and confuses it, is dangerous. What's worse is Screech
going along with it. It lowers your opponent's defense, so you can have a
field day when your opponent hurts itself.
28) Defense Curl + Rollout
The only reason that this combination is on here is because of Shuckle. If
you use Defense Curl, then Rollout's damage will double. This means that
Rollout used by Shuckle will do 1,440 damage instead of 720 damage. This
isn't a lot of damage, trust me, since Shuckle's base Attack stat is 10, with
100 and above making a good Physical Sweeper. Of course, this is dangerous,
so only someone with godly defenses like Shuckle can pull this off.
29) Mean Look + Spore + Lock-On + Sheer Cold
Since FishMew (Mew with Fissure + Horn Drill + Rest + Sleep Talk) isn't legal
in the Third Generation, this is the other cheap OHKO tactic only to be used
legally by Smeargle. In my opinion, this doesn't work, because Smeargle has
too low defenses. However, if Mean Look is passed to Smeargle, then we have
something going on here. Lock-On + Sheer Cold is 100% OHKO, Mean Look
prevents your opponent from switching, and Spore prevents your opponent from
murdering Smeargle.
30) Hidden Power
This should be a lot higher up the list, but I felt that I've already
explained this to you. Hidden Power is used in many ways:
a) To provide a damaging move if the highest damaging move of that type is
less than 70 power.
Scizor is a Baton Passer usually, yes, but it still needs a damaging attack.
Scizor can use Silver Wind, which is a good attack in because if it raises
all of its stats, then that would be a very good thing to Baton Pass!
However, some people do no have the patience to breed for Silver Wind, so
they might use Hidden Power [Bug], which is a good alternative.
b) To cover weaknesses.
Zapdos is a good Pokémon. It is an extremely good annoying with Substitute +
Thunder Wave. However, to Swampert, neither Thunder Wave nor Thunderbolt can
work, so Zapdos wants a way to hurt it. Using Hidden Power [Grass] is a good
idea.
c) To have a damaging attack.
Believe it or not, but some Pokémon, like Aggron, have a terrible moveset
when it comes to giving it damaging moves. For this reason, an Aggron with
Choice Band would be likely to have Hidden Power [Rock] or Hidden Power
[Steel].
31) Pseudo-Hazing
Like Hidden Power, this section is also last because I've already talked
about some of it. I said that Roar and Whirlwind are Pseudo-Hazing moves, and
they are. If you force your opponent to switch, then its Status Changes are
gone. However, there are more ways. The most common Pseudo-Hazing moves are:
a) Roar and Whirlwind
As I said before, these moves forces switching, so they are the most popular.
b) Status Ailments
Somewhat hinted above, moves such as Sleep Powder, Attract, and Confuse Ray
usually make the opponent switch. The reason is, you don't want a Sleeping
Pokémon in battle and you also don't want someone with a 25% chance of
attacking in battle. Note that Paralysis and Burn also works somewhat, but
Tankers and Walls normally stay in.
c) Yawn
Yawn is a move that makes the opponent go to sleep 100% the next move, but
not immediately. Your opponent knows that his or her Pokémon will go to
sleep, so they usually switch out, giving you a free turn.
d) Leech Seed
Again, no one wants to be Leech Seeded, so they switch out if they think that
they are not able to faint the user.
e) Perish Song
Not all uses of Perish Song are Perish Trapping. Your opponent surely doesn't
want to be fainted, so they will switch out before the count ends. Perish
Song without Mean Look is a hint that you are not wanted.
f) Mind Reader or Lock-On
These moves make the next move have 100% Accuracy, and most Pokémon will be
switched out. The reason is because an OHKO move is expected, or something
that could be annoying such as Zap Cannon or Dynamicpunch.
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XI. Making a Team
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Before I begin, I want to emphasize to you how important this section is. If
there's anything that you should read before creating a team, then the Job
System and this section are the ones. Please do not skip this section, as it
contains some extremely vital information.
Since we've learned almost everything there is to know about Pokémon, it's
time to put them together and create a team. The last step is by far, the
hardest steps. True that there are "standard" movesets for every Pokémon, the
harder parts in my opinion is to make your Pokémon work together, not just to
find the right moves for your Pokémon. If you don't know what a "standard"
moveset is, every Pokémon has between one and three standard movesets. They
are the theory of the best chosen moves for that Pokémon. However, half of
your team will probably have to deviate from these standard movesets a bit in
order for them to flow with the rest of your team. There are many things that
you need to know about the team making process, and I will now attempt to
list them:
1) First, let's try to see the theory of the jobs that your team should have.
Except of a TSS team (Toxic, Spikes, Sandstorm), a team should not have all
Sweepers, all Tanks, or all Annoyers. Of course this doesn't mean that they
are not usable, but it is advised that you mix up the jobs that your Pokémon
have. For example, if you have all Sweepers and you encounter two powerful
tanks such as Skarmory and Blissey. Your hits will bounce off them, so you
need another type of Pokémon to defeat these two Pokémon. Also, usually, you
start with a Pokémon that is likely to "do something in a short time." Don't
send out Steelix as your starter, send in someone fast and can cover many
types. Zapdos is a good starter because it can Paralyze and Substitute,
Ninjask is not bad because it will Baton Pass to a sweeper, a Choice Bander
is not bad because it can probably majorly damage or OHKO its opponnent, and
Zangoose is also a good choice since its Swords Dance + Salac Berry
combination can probably take down one Pokémon.I will list the "backbone" in
creating a team. Like Introduction, Body, Body, Body, Conclusion rule to
writing essays, these jobs will be the basic structure to your team and you
can deviate from these structures as you become a better battler.
a) Physical Sweeper, Physical Sweeper, Special Sweeper, Special Sweeper,
Tanker, Annoyer.
First, I will say that two of the six Pokémon needs to also be a Hazer or
Pseudo-Hazer. This will be the theme to all of the sets, because Hazing is so
important that it's critical to have some Pokémon doing it. Second, a Spinner
would be a great addition to this team, since this team relies mainly on
attacking power and Spikes would greatly hinder that. You might one to make
one of your Special Sweeper a Starmie since it can be both a Special Sweeper
and a Spinner. Also, you might want to make your Tanker or Annoyer a Pseudo-
Hazer since they are the prime candidates. Again, start with Zapdos or
another fast Pokémon.
b) Baton Passer, Physical Sweeper, Physical or Mixed Sweeper,
Special Sweeper, Tanker, Wall.
Ninjask is perfect for this team, because Speed Boost will benefit all
Sweepers, even Tankers. If you do manage a Swords Dance with Ninjask, then
Baton Pass it to your Physical Sweeper because it can really Sweep. The
Tanker and Wall are for switch-ins, such as when the Sweeper encounters
something that it's sure it cannot kill. The Tanker or Wall would then absorb
the damage, sending out Ninjask again or another Sweeper when you predict a
switch. This relies on some prediction. You can have only one Pseudo-Hazer in
this team since this is a face-paced team, and you try to defeat your
opponent before they can set up their Status Changes.
c) Physical Sweeper, Special Sweeper, Physical or Mixed Sweeper, Drainer,
Tanker, Cleric.
This is a Sleep Talking team, even though it doesn't show it. Two of the
Sweepers should have Rest, and so should the Drainer and possibly the Tanker.
Then, the Cleric pops up from time to time to Heal Bell, and it would be good
if this Cleric is a Tanker or Wall (not someone that can't survive very long
like Vileplume or Miltank). This is actually an Annoy Team, even though it
has many Sweepers. With Rest + Heal Bell, the Sweepers doesn't seem to faint!
d) Spiker, Physical Sweeper, Special or Mixed Sweeper, Tanker, Drainer,
Cleric.
This team is purely Annoy. The Sweepers are for Stallers or Drainers such as
Ludicolo, but with a Spiker, Drainer and a Tanker, you will seriously
aggravate your opponent, especially with a Cleric. A Sleep Talker would fit
the theme here, and of course two or more Hazers or Pseudo-Hazers are needed.
The more you Roar or Whirlwind, the more your opponent will be hurt with
Spikes.
e) Baton Passer, Baton Passer, Physical Sweeper, Physical Sweeper,
Special or Mixed Sweeper, Magneton.
This is really a weak team in the hands of a novice but powerful in the hands
of an experienced battler. True that Roar and Whirlwind rid Status Changes,
but a good battler would know what to Baton Pass, when to Baton pass, and
when to send in Magneton. One of Magneton's traits is Magnet Pull, which
prevents Skarmory from switching, getting rid of one major Pseudo-Hazer. This
team relies heavily on prediction.
f) Zapdos, Umbreon, Celebi, Drainer, Physical Sweeper, Special Sweeper.
Once again, this team requires a lot of prediction and should only be handled
by experienced battlers. Umbreon can Mean Look and Baton Pass to Celebi and
Celebi can Perish Song. Zapdos' Thunder Wave and Substitute makes this
strategy easier, especially if Umbreon and Celebi is not taking that much
damage from a Paralyzed Pokémon.
g) Spiker or Drainer, Special or Mixed Sweeper, Heracross, Magneton, Dugtrio,
Shuckle.
If you're been battling for a while, then you must know what I'm trying to do
here. Shuckle's Wrap and Encore keep its opponent in while you switch to
Heracross or Dugtrio, doing damage. Magneton is there once again for
Skarmory, and it's nice to have a Spiker to take off more damage as your
opponent switches since this is a major Annoy team. As always, you need a
Sweeper to take down those Stallers.
2) Neutralizing Your Weaknesses.
Let's say you choose set A from the above. You cannot send in two Fire
Pokémon and two Rock Pokémon! You will then have a major Water weakness!
After you're done with making a team, try to list the weaknesses of each
Pokémon as 2 and the resistances of each Pokémon as 0.5. It doesn't matter if
it's 4x or 0.25x, just list them as 2x or 0.25x. For example, my team is:
Zapdos
Blissey
Ludicolo
Skarmory
Metagross
Regice
Zapdos: Rock, Ice: 2x; Grass, Fighting, Flying, Bug, Steel: 0.5x; Ground 0x.
Blissey: Fighting 2x; Ghost 0x.
Ludicolo: Poison, Flying, Bug: 2x, Ground, Steel: 0.5x.
Skarmory: Fire, Electric: 2x; Normal, Flying, Psychic, Ghost, Dragon, Dark,
Steel, Grass, Bug: 0.5x; Poison, Ground: 0x.
Metagross: Fire, Ground: 2x; Normal, Grass, Ice, Flying, Rock, Dragon, Steel,
Psychic: 0.2x; Poison: 0x.
Regice: Fire, Fighting, Rock, Steel: 2x; Ice: 0.5x.
Now, multiply the weaknesses and Resistances of each type that shows a
weakness. All this mean is that start with the weaknesses of each type and
start to look around. After all of the weaknesses (2x) are done, stop.
Rock = 2 x 0.5 x 2 = 2x team weakness
Ice = 2 x 0.5 x 0.5 = 0.5x team weakness
Fighting = 2 x 2 = 4x team weakness!
Poison = Immune by Metagross and Regice
Flying = 2 x 0.5 x 0.5 x 0.5 = 0.25 team weakness
Bug = 2 x 0.5 = 1x team weakness
Fire = 2 x 2 x 2 = 8x team weakness!!
Electric = 2 = 2x team weakness
Ground = Immune by Zapdos and Skarmory
Steel = 2 x 0.5 x 0.5 x 0.5 x 0.5 = 0.125 team weakness
As you can see, my team is weak against Fighting and very weak against Fire.
In general, you should not get a 4x team weakness and definately not a 8x
team weakness and above. I have to exchange a Pokémon weak to Fire for a
Pokémon strong against Fire. It's recommended that I try to get a Pokémon
that resists Fighting also.
Of course you don't have to do all of these calculations, but it's extremely
recommended. After many battles, you should be able to look at a team and
spot out its weakness. Until then, it's best if you do the above.
3) Getting Coverage
Now, we're talking about the offense here. This section is mainly about teams
that have more than two Sweepers, since Annoy teams usually use other tactics
being using Type Alignment Advantages to win. Of course, there are some move
that you should have:
A Water Attack
A Fire Attack
A Ground Attack
A Ghost Attack
An Ice Attack
An Electric Attack
Having these moves can pretty much deal super-effectiveness to most teams,
and there should be a Fire Blast in there somewhere, as well as Earthquake
and others listed above. If you can't find enough Pokémon to fit 5 of these
moves, then your team should undergo a different strategy besides Sweeping.
4) Finalizing Your Team
First of all, look it over. Do you have conflicting moves? If one of your
Pokémon has Rain Dance and the other has Sunny Day, then you should take off
one Area Effect. Does three of your Pokémon all have Fire Attacks? If so,
then you have too many; exchange one for a Ground Attack or the useful Shadow
Ball. Do you have a strategy to take down Blissey? Skarmory? Slaking? Do you
have enough Pseudo-Hazers in case you encounter one of those Baton Passing
Chains? What are your strategies against a Calm Minding Suicine, a Cursing
Snorlax, a Dragon Dancing Salamence, or a Choice Banding Metagross? These are
the questions that you must answer before you send a team off into battle. It
seems as if there are too many restrictions, but the more questions you can
answer, the better your team is. Remember that you cannot possibly defeat
every team with just one team, and that one team will always beat yours, so
do not overdo these questions. However, the Pokémon that I've listed above
are some of the most popular Pokémon choices out there, so it's critical that
you have a method for at least making them switch out. Then try a few
battles, see what you're weak at and improvise. You will improvise many times
before you make a team that you're comfortable with and win more than you
lose. Patience is one of the key to success.
Just like many games, theory and practice are two different things. You might
have a great team, but you might not know how to use it. Maybe your
anticipation isn't as good, or that you forgot which Pokémon can counter your
opponent's menacing Metagross. You won't get success right away, but you have
to keep trying. Practice makes perfect, or near perfect. I have given you one
half of the process to become a competitive battler. It's up to you to train
the other half and your determination will decide everything. Good luck!