A Beginner’s Guide to Competitive Pokemon

by Public Relations Dragon Grove Belden

If you are reading this, it is probably because you yearn to be what so many of us dream of becoming: a Pokémon Master. You’ve probably played the games, beaten the elite four, maybe even caught em’ all, and yet you still wish to do more. You feel that the Pokémon world has more to offer; that there is so much you still have to master. And you would be right. The world of player vs. player Pokémon is a complex world, one that is hard to gain entrance to without the correct resources and the knowledge of how to access and utilize them correctly. And that’s where this guide comes in. Its goal is to give you all the tools you need so that you may become a real life Pokémon master. So without further ado, let the guide begin.

Part 1: Where to Start

There are many hubs you can go to that will serve as a home for your new life in the world of competitive Pokémon. Some prefer to use the actual console games to host their battles, some like to use servers where you can do things you could never accomplish in the game, but the central hub of competitive Pokémon is http://pokemonshowdown.com. Pokémon showdown allows you to create a team with any Pokémon with any stats, moves, abilities, and items that they could actually use in the game. They follow all the rules of Smogon University, the unofficial authority of competitive Pokémon. While you can use any resources you wish, these are the most commonly used resources and for good reason. They make sure the game stays balanced while keeping as true as possible to what you can do in the games without having to go through the long and tedious process of breeding and training the perfect team.

Part 2: A Sad Truth

Growing up with Pokémon, you develop bonds with certain species of the cute little monsters. But in this world, the fact of the matter is that some Pokémon are simply better than others, and sadly you aren’t going to be able to use Pikachu on your competitive team. The one solace to be found is that Smogon splits Pokémon into different tiers, or lists of Pokémon that fall within a similar skill level. When playing in Pokémon Showdown, you can pick which tier you wish to play, and you are able to use any Pokémon from that tier or any lower one that you wish to have on your team. This way less powerful Pokémon can get a chance to shine in lower tiers, or even get to fill a niche position in a higher one. The most common tier is the Overused tier, or OU. This is where all the best yet not totally overpowered Pokémon reside. In descending order the other tiers are Underused (UU), Rarelyused (RU), Neverused (NU), and Little Cup (LC), each with their own quirks that make them worth looking at. The other tier available to play is called Ubers, which allows the Pokémon that are so good that they are banned from even OU play. Tiers change from generation to generation, and its actually possible to play in any generation you wish on Pokémon Showdown (though be wary, the rules change a bit with every generation). For a list of the current gen VI tier listings go to http://www.smogon.com/forums/threads/the-current-smogon-tier-lists.3504634/.

Part 3: Battle Mechanics

Before building your team, you must understand how battle works. Pokémon battles are turn based, with teams of six Pokémon, but only one being out at a given time. At the beginning of each battle, you get to view your opponent’s team and then choose which Pokémon you want to send out first. Then, each turn you may either switch Pokémon or use one of the four moves you choose to give it. Moves are split into three categories. These are physical attacks, special attacks, and status moves. Physical and special attacks deal damage, often times with secondary effects that can either hurt or help either Pokémon. Status moves do not deal damage, and instead will buff/heal the user and/or its team, hinder the opposing in some way, or affect the environment. Every Pokémon has either one or two of 18 types, each type with its own set of weaknesses, resistances, and immunities to other types (view a chart of these at http://bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/wiki/Type_chart). Moves have one (or in very rare circumstances two) type(s), and an attacking Pokémon using the same type of move as one of its own types will get a same type attacking bonus (STAB), dealing 1.5 times the damage it normally would. Each Pokémon also has 6 stats: HP, Attack, Defense, Special Attack, Special Defense, and Speed. HP or Hit Points refers to the amount of health a Pokémon has, and when it runs out of HP it faints and is unusable for the rest of the battle. Attack determines the strength of your physical moves, and defense determines how much damage physical attacks from opposing Pokémon will deal you. Special Attack and Special Defense works in the same manner but with special attacks. Finally speed is used to determine which Pokémon moves first in a given turn. Lastly, Pokémon also have abilities and items. Each species of Pokémon has access to a small number of abilities that can do any number of things, from giving it an extra immunity to healing it upon switch out. A Pokémon can also hold an item that has some effect on the game, such as healing it a small amount every turn or boosting some stat. Some Pokémon can even hold mega stones, which allow them to perform in battle mega evolutions that can boost stats, change abilities, and even change the Pokémon’s type.

Part 4: Competitive Roles

Now that you are ready to start choosing Pokémon, there are a few things you have to keep in mind. The most important consideration to make is what roles you want different Pokémon to fill. The most basic roles you will use are sweepers, walls, and support. The purpose of a sweeper is to be able to kill your opponent’s entire team if they don’t have something that can stop it. A good sweeper’s highest stat will usually be either its attack or special attack, followed usually by speed or HP, which will decide whether you are trying to kill your opponent before it gets a chance to hit you or absorb a hit and then hit them back even harder.

Next there are walls, whose purpose is to take hits, check sweepers, and wear opponents down. These will usually have incredibly high stats in HP and at least one of the defenses. Their moves usually consist of some way to heal their own hp, as well as usually packing something to burn, paralyze, toxic poison, or put to sleep their opponent. Burns deal 12% of the opponents total HP each turn and also cuts attack in half. Paralysis reduces speed to a quarter of its previous speed and renders it unable to move a quarter of the time. Toxic poison starts out by dealing 6% damage, but then damage dealt doubles each proceeding turn. Sleep makes it so Pokémon cannot move until they wake up in 1-3 turns. However, it is important to remember that a Pokémon may only be afflicted by one status condition. Walls will often also have some way of healing status for itself and oftentimes the rest of its team as well. However, it is also standard for walls to have some way of dealing damage, otherwise they are unable to accomplish much besides not dying.

Support Pokémon are a very versatile group. Some set up hazards, which deal damage or slow down opposing Pokémon upon switch in. some use the move rapid spin or defog to remove hazards. Some buff themselves up and then pass on the stat boosts with the move baton pass. Some are dedicated to healing their team and are referred to as clerics. Some set up weather or use the move trick room (which makes the slower Pokémon go first).

Slightly less common roles Pokémon play are revenge killers, tanks, and wall breakers. Revenge killers are usually super strong and super fast, but they are very fragile and therefore it is only truly safe to send them in after an ally has fainted. Tanks are Pokémon that are both stronger than a wall and more defensive than a sweeper, filling a more balanced role on your team. Wall breakers can usually avoid being worn down by walls and can also use strong offense or set up moves to either force it out or kill it.

Part 5: Building Your Team

One thing you must remember is that your team must work together. Even though there will only be one Pokémon out at one time, the whole of your team is much more than just the sum of its parts. There are many ways to create synergy within your team. No matter what, type is a very important consideration for this process. You do not want to have too many Pokémon that are weak to a single type, and you want your offensive moves to have a broad coverage across all types. There are some good team builder resources you can use to check weaknesses your team has to different types, one of which being at http://www.teammagma.net/teambuilder/. Some unify their team with a common theme, such as creating weather and building of its perks. Others create a very offensive or defensive core. However, the simplest way is to create a balance of different roles. A well-balanced team would often consist of one special sweeper, one physical sweeper, one physically defensive Pokémon, and one specially defensive Pokémon. You should also have one Pokémon to set up hazards, and one Pokémon to remove them, and one cleric, though these roles can often be filled in addition to already existing offensive or defensive roles. Whatever space is left on your team you can use to combat any weaknesses apparent in the rest of your team, and this is where you can be creative in what sort of fun roles you want to fill.

There are 44 Pokémon in the OU tier, most of them having different options of what they can do, and from time to time you will even see Pokémon from other tiers make an appearance. Not to mention that you have the ability to play in more than just the OU tier. Needless to say, there is massive variability and a good deal of strategy to this game. It also goes without saying that it will take time to get used to the different threats in whichever tier you are playing in and how to deal with them. However, with the knowledge and tools passed on by this guide you have all you need to get started in the vast and wildly interesting world of competitive Pokémon, and its only a matter of before you learn all you need to deal with any threat. Keep going at it, and also remember to look out for a more advanced guide coming soon.