Documenti di Didattica
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IV.
V.
VI.
VII.
VIII.
IX.
X.
XI.
XII.
Items
Individual Values (IVs)
Effort Values (EVs)
Traits (Abilities)
Natures
The Job System
Move Combinations
Making a Team
Credits
----------------------------------------------------------------------------I. Preface
----------------------------------------------------------------------------"I, the author of this guide, hereby release it into the public domain. This
applies worldwide. In case this is not legally possible: I grant anyone the
right to use it for any purpose, without any conditions, unless such
conditions are required by law."
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 Pokmon 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
Pokmon 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 Pokmon. 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.
Pokmon Competitive Battling is an art that many has discovered. This does
not include beating the game and become "the Pokmon 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 Pokmon 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 Pokmon battling and
you will recognize the many strategies it uses. If Nintendo were to make a
Pokmon 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, Pokmon Battling is basically pitting 6 of your
own Pokmon against 6 of your opponent's Pokmon over a link cable. Level 100
is the highest you can go, so it's best to train your Pokmon to level 100.
Use your best Pokmon! It's recommended that two of the same type of Pokmon
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 Pokmon, simply go to Change and choose a
Pokmon from your party of up to six Pokmon. 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 Pokmon. There are six in total:
HP, Attack, Defense, Special Attack, Special Defense, and Speed. Pokmon
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 Pokmon 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 Pokmon 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 Pokmon 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 Pokmon'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 Pokmon will be fainted. This
means that you must switch out this Pokmon without the penality of you
opponent having an extra move, and that this Pokmon 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
Pokmon will be of some use later, switch it out so that it won't faint.
While we keep talking about Pokmon stats, we need to remember that they are
quite random. If then, how do we compare Pokmon 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
Pokmon. 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 Pokmon has 6 Base Stats for HP, Attack, Defense, Special
Attack, Special Defense, and Speed. Almost every Pokdex out there has base
stats for each Pokmon 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 Pokmon 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 Pokmon shall be over level 100. 2) No moves or combinations
of moves can be on a Pokmon that isn't legal. 3) No items can be used. 4) No
unofficial Pokmon. 5) No unofficial moves or items.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------III. Moves
----------------------------------------------------------------------------This whole section is devoted to the different effects of Pokmon 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 Pokmon 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 Pokmon's movesets. Note that we are now getting to the
analysis study of Pokmon.
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 "supereffective" 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
Pokmon'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 Pokmon? If your
move is "not very effective" against a Pokmon, then that means your move's
type is weak against the Pokmon'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
Pokmon, such as Gengar. See how using the same move (Ember) deals different
amounts of damage to different Pokmon? Type Alignment Advantages must be
memorized, as they are very important when fighting a Pokmon. 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
later)
-Pokmon with the Ability "Swift Swim" has doubled Speed (more on this later)
-Pokmon 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 Pokmon 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 Pokmon 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 Pokmon 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
Pokmon 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
Pokmon (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 Pokmon, use Sunny Day, then swithc
back to the frozen Pokmon, you will become defrosted. If Fire Spin, Flame
Wheel, or Sacred Fire is used by the frozen Pokmon or its opponent, then the
frozen Pokmon will be defrosted. If you have another Pokmon in your party
that knows Heal Bell or Aromatherapy, then you can switch to that Pokmon,
use that move, and your frozen Pokmon 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 Pokmon 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 Pokmon can use it too since unlike the Freeze status, burned Pokmon
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 Pokmon'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: Pokmon 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 Pokmon. Also, many Status Problems can be inflicted
upon a Pokmon at the same time. In summary, you can inflict one Status
Effect and many Status Problems on a single Pokmon, 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 Pokmon 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, Pokmon 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 Pokmon with these moves. When you switch
Pokmon, 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 Pokmon 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 Pokmon
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 Pokmon that has the same gender as the user or
if the Pokmon has no gender.
When you use Attract on a Pokmon, 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 Pokmon, 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
Pokmon cannot function with that move disabled, then you most switch.
e) Taunt
When you Taunt a Pokmon, 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 Pokmon, 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 Pokmon 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 Pokmon. 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
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 Pokmon. 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 Pokmon. That is about it.
m) Earthquake and Magnitude
These moves hit Diving and Digging Pokmon. 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 Pokmon using Protect, Detect, Substitute,
Pokmon using Endure and is at 1 HP, and Ghost Pokmon. Faint Attack hits any
Pokmon that is visible on the field, meaning that it hits what Swift hits
Pokmon 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. Pokmon 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 Pokmon, 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) Pokmon-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 Pokmon-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
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 Pokmon, 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 Pokmon 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 Pokmon'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 Pokmon.
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 Pokmon'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 Pokmon's weakness or
downgrade your Pokmon'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
be able to set your Pokmon'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 Pokmon recieves what EVs.
Note: Although it seems better to try to look for Pokmon that gives +2 or +3
EVs, these Pokmon are probably very rare and are not populous, so it is
actually faster to find an area with many Pokmon with +1 EVs and faint them
instead.
Pokmon
EVs received
a) HP EVs
Caterpie
Nidoran (F)
Nidorina
Nidoqueen
Clefairy
Clafable
Jigglypuff
Wigglytuff
Slowpoke
Grimer
Muk
Lickitung
Chansey
Kangaskhan
Lapras
Ditto
Vaporeon
Snorlax
Mew
Hoothoot
Noctowl
Chinchou
Lanturn
Igglybuff
Marill
Azumarill
Wooper
Quagsire
Piloswine
Phanpy
Blissey
Entei
Celebi
Wurmple
Shroomish
Slakoth
Slaking
Shedinja
Whismur
Loudred
Exploud
Makuhita
Hariyama
Azurill
Delcatty
Gulpin
Swalot
1
1
2
3
2
3
2
3
1
1
1
2
2
2
2
1
2
2
3
1
2
1
2
1
2
3
1
2
1
1
2
1
3
1
1
1
3
2
1
2
3
1
2
1
1
1
2
Point
Point
Points
Points
Points
Points
Points
Points
Point
Point
Point
Points
Points
Points
Points
Point
Points
Points
Points
Point
Points
Point
Points
Point
Points
Points
Point
Points
Point
Point
Points
Point
Points
Point
Point
Point
Points
Points
Point
Points
Points
Point
Points
Point
Point
Point
Points
None
None
None
None
None
None
None
None
None
None
1 Point (Attack)
None
None
None
None
None
None
None
None
None
None
None
None
None
None
None
None
None
1 Point (Attack)
None
None
2 Points (Attack)
None
None
None
None
None
None
None
None
None
None
None
None
1 Point (Speed)
None
None
Wailmer
Wailord
Barboach
Whiscash
Castform
Tropius
Wynaut
Snorunt
Glalie
Spheal
Sealeo
Walrein
Relicanth
Jirachi
1
2
1
2
1
2
1
1
2
1
2
3
1
3
Point
Points
Point
Points
Point
Points
Point
Point
Points
Point
Points
Points
Point
Points
None
None
None
None
None
None
None
None
None
None
None
None
1 Point (Defense)
None
2
1
2
1
2
3
1
2
1
2
1
2
1
2
3
1
2
3
1
1
2
2
2
1
2
1
2
1
2
2
1
2
3
1
1
2
1
1
2
1
1
2
1
Points
Point
Points
Point
Points
Points
Point
Points
Point
Points
Point
Points
Point
Points
Points
Point
Points
Points
Point
Point
Points
Points
Points
Point
Points
Point
Points
Point
Points
Points
Point
Points
Points
Point
Point
Points
Point
Point
Points
Point
Point
Points
Point
1 Point
None
None
None
None
None
None
1 Point
None
None
None
None
None
None
None
None
None
None
1 Point
None
None
None
None
None
None
None
None
1 Point
None
None
None
None
None
None
1 Point
1 Point
None
None
None
1 Point
None
None
None
b) Attack EVs
Beedrill
Ekans
Arbok
Nidoran (M)
Nidorino
Nidoking
Paras
Parasect
Mankey
Primape
Growlithe
Arcanine
Machop
Machoke
Machamp
Bellsprout
Weepinbell
Victreebel
Muk
Krabby
Kingler
Hitmonlee
Rhydon
Goldeen
Seaking
Scyther
Pinsir
Tauros
Gyarados
Flareon
Dratini
Dragonair
Dragonite
Totodile
Croconaw
Feraligatr
Sentret
Spinarak
Ariados
Unown
Snubull
Granbull
Qwilfish
(Sp. Defense)
(Defense)
(HP)
(Speed)
(Defense)
(Defense)
(Sp. Attack)
Scizor
Heracross
Teddiursa
Ursaring
Swinub
Piloswine
Octillery
Kingdra
Donphan
Stantler
Tyrogue
Entei
Larvitar
Pupitar
Tyranitar
Combusken
Blaziken
Mudkip
Marshtomp
Swampert
Poochyena
Mightyena
Nuzleaf
Shiftry
Breloom
Sableye
Mawile
Carvanha
Sharpedo
Camerupt
Trapinch
Vibrava
Flygon
Cacturne
Zangoose
Seviper
Solrock
Corpish
Crawdaunt
Anorith
Armaldo
Shuppet
Banette
Absol
Huntail
Bagon
Salamence
Groudon
Rayquaza
Deoxys
2
2
1
2
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
2
1
2
3
1
3
1
2
3
1
2
2
3
2
1
1
1
2
1
1
1
1
1
2
1
2
1
2
1
2
1
2
2
1
1
3
3
2
1
Points
Points
Point
Points
Point
Point
Point
Point
Point
Point
Point
Points
Point
Points
Points
Point
Points
Point
Points
Points
Point
Points
Points
Points
Points
Point
Point
Point
Points
Point
Point
Point
Point
Point
Points
Point
Points
Point
Points
Point
Points
Point
Points
Points
Point
Point
Points
Points
Points
Point
None
None
None
None
None
1 Point (HP)
1 Point (Sp. Attack)
1 Point (Sp. Attack & Sp. Defense)
1 Point (Defense)
None
None
1 Point (HP)
None
None
None
1 Point (Sp. Attack)
None
None
None
None
None
None
None
None
None
1 Point (Defense)
1 Point (Defense)
None
None
1 Point (Sp. Attack
None
1 Point (Speed)
2 Points (Speed)
1 Point (Sp. Attack)
None
1 Point (Sp. Attack)
None
None
None
None
None
None
None
None
1 Point (Defense)
None
None
None
1 Point (Sp. Attack)
1 Point (Sp. Attack & Speed)
1
1
2
2
1
2
1
Point
Point
Points
Points
Point
Points
Point
None
1 Point (Sp. Defense)
None
None
None
None
2 Points (Attack)
c) Defense EVs
Squirtle
Wartortle
Metapod
Kakuna
Sandshrew
Sandslash
Parasect
Poliwrath
Geodude
Graveler
Golem
Slowbro
Shellder
Cloyster
Onix
Exeggcute
Cubone
Marowak
Koffing
Weezing
Rhyhorn
Tangela
Seadra
Omanyte
Omastar
Kabuto
Kabutops
Bayleef
Meganium
Croconaw
Feraligatr
Sudowoodo
Pineco
Forretress
Gligar
Steelix
Shuckle
Magcargo
Corsola
Skarmory
Donphan
Miltank
Suicune
Silcoon
Cascoon
Seedot
Pelipper
Nincada
Nosepass
Sableye
Mawile
Aron
Lairon
Aggron
Torkoal
Duskull
Dusclops
Clamperl
Huntail
Relicanth
Shelgon
Beldum
Metang
Metagross
Regirock
Registeel
3
1
2
3
2
1
2
1
1
1
2
1
2
1
1
1
1
2
1
2
1
1
1
1
2
1
2
1
2
1
2
1
2
1
2
1
2
2
1
2
1
1
1
1
1
2
3
2
1
1
1
1
1
2
1
2
3
3
2
Points
Point
Points
Points
Points
Point
Points
Point
Point
Point
Points
Point
Points
Point
Point
Point
Point
Points
Point
Points
Point
Point
Point
Point
Points
Point
Points
Point
Points
Point
Points
Point
Points
Point
Points
Point
Points
Points
Point
Points
Point
Point
Point
Point
Point
Points
Points
Points
Point
Point
Point
Point
Point
Points
Point
Points
Points
Points
Points
None
None
None
None
None
None
None
None
None
None
None
None
None
None
None
1 Point (Sp. Attack)
None
None
None
None
1 Point (Sp. Defense)
2 Points (Sp. Defense)
1 Point (Attack)
2 Points (Attack)
None
None
None
None
None
1 Point (Sp. Defense)
None
1 Point (Sp. Defense)
None
1 Point (Attack)
None
2 Points (Sp. Defense)
None
None
None
None
None
None
1 Point (Attack)
1 Point (Attack)
None
None
None
None
1 Point (Sp. Defense)
2 Points (Sp. Defense)
None
1 Point (Attack)
1 Point (HP)
None
None
None
None
None
1 Point (Sp. Defense)
1
1
2
1
3
2
1
2
3
1
1
2
1
2
3
1
2
1
2
3
2
1
1
2
2
1
3
3
3
1
3
1
1
1
2
3
1
2
2
1
1
2
1
1
1
1
2
1
2
1
1
1
1
3
1
2
3
1
Point
Point
Points
Point
Points
Points
Point
Points
Points
Point
Point
Points
Point
Points
Points
Point
Points
Point
Points
Points
Points
Point
Point
Points
Points
Point
Points
Points
Points
Point
Points
Point
Point
Point
Points
Points
Point
Points
Points
Point
Point
Points
Point
Point
Point
Point
Points
Point
Points
Point
Point
Point
Point
Points
Point
Points
Points
Point
None
1 Point (Sp. Defense)
1 Point (Sp. Defense)
1 Point (Speed)
None
1 Point (Sp. Defense)
None
None
None
1 Point (Speed)
None
None
None
None
None
None
None
None
None
None
None
None
1 Point (Defense)
None
None
None
None
None
None
None
None
None
1 Point (Speed)
None
None
None
None
None
None
1 Point (Sp. Defense)
1 Point (Attack)
None
None
None
1 Point (Attack)
None
None
1 Point (Attack & Sp. Defense)
None
None
2 Points (Speed)
None
1 Point (Attack)
None
None
None
None
1 Point (Sp. Defense)
Roselia
Numel
Camerupt
Spinda
Cacnea
Cacturne
Seviper
Lunatone
Chimecho
Gorebyss
Latios
Kyogre
Rayquaza
Deoxys
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
2
1
2
3
3
1
1
Point
Point
Point
Point
Point
Point
Point
Points
Point
Points
Points
Points
Point
Point
None
None
1 Point (Attack)
None
None
1 Point (Attack)
1 Point (Attack)
None
1 Point (Sp. Defense)
None
None
None
2 Points (Attack)
1 Point (Attack & Speed)
1
1
1
3
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
2
2
2
1
3
1
1
2
1
2
1
1
2
3
3
1
2
3
1
1
1
2
1
2
2
3
3
3
1
1
3
1
Point
Point
Point
Points
Point
Point
Point
Point
Point
Point
Point
Points
Points
Points
Point
Points
Point
Point
Points
Point
Points
Point
Point
Points
Points
Points
Point
Points
Points
Point
Point
Point
Points
Point
Points
Points
Points
Points
Points
Point
Point
Points
Point
Spoink
Grumpig
Swablu
Altaria
Baltoy
Claydol
Lileep
Cradily
Milotic
Kecleon
Duskull
Dusclops
Chimecho
Regice
Registeel
Latias
1
2
1
2
1
1
1
2
2
1
1
2
1
3
1
3
Point
Points
Point
Points
Point
Point
Point
Points
Points
Point
Point
Points
Point
Points
Point
Points
None
None
None
None
None
None
None
None
None
None
1 Point (Defense)
1 Point (Defense)
1 Point (Sp. Attack)
None
2 Points (Defense)
None
1
1
1
1
2
3
1
2
1
2
2
3
1
1
1
2
1
1
2
1
2
1
2
1
2
1
2
1
2
2
1
1
2
2
1
1
2
3
1
1
2
Point
Point
Point
Point
Points
Points
Point
Points
Point
Points
Points
Points
Point
Point
Point
Points
Point
Point
Points
Point
Points
Point
Points
Point
Points
Point
Points
Point
Points
Points
Point
Point
Points
Points
Point
Point
Points
Points
Point
Point
Points
None
1 Point
None
None
None
None
None
None
None
None
None
None
None
1 Point
None
None
1 Point
None
None
None
None
None
None
None
None
None
None
None
None
None
1 Point
None
None
None
None
None
None
None
None
1 Point
None
f) Speed EVs
Charmander
Charmeleon
Weedle
Pidgey
Pidgeotto
Pidgeot
Rattata
Raticate
Spearow
Fearow
Pikachu
Raichu
Vulpix
Ninetales
Zubat
Goldbat
Venomoth
Diglett
Dugtrio
Meowth
Persian
Poliwag
Poliwhirl
Ponyta
Rapidash
Voltorb
Electrode
Staryu
Starmie
Electabuzz
Tauros
Magikarp
Jolteon
Aerodactyl
Cyndaquil
Quilava
Furret
Crobat
Pichu
Xatu
Skiploom
(Sp. Attack)
(Sp. Defense)
(Sp. Attack)
(Attack)
(Sp. Attack)
Jumpluff
Aipom
Yanma
Murkrow
Sneasel
Delibird
Smeargle
Elekid
Magby
Raikou
Treecko
Grovyle
Sceptile
Zigzagoon
Linoone
Taillow
Swellow
Wingull
Surskit
Vigoroth
Ninjask
Skitty
Delcatty
Meditite
Medicham
Electrike
Manectric
Plusle
Minun
Volbeat
Illumise
Vibrava
Flygon
Feebas
Luvdisc
Deoxys
3
1
2
1
1
1
1
1
1
2
1
2
3
1
2
1
2
1
1
2
2
1
1
1
2
1
2
1
1
1
1
1
2
1
1
1
Points
Point
Points
Point
Point
Point
Point
Point
Point
Points
Point
Points
Points
Point
Points
Point
Points
Point
Point
Points
Points
Point
Point
Point
Points
Point
Points
Point
Point
Point
Point
Point
Points
Point
Point
Point
None
None
None
None
None
None
None
None
None
1 Point
None
None
None
None
None
None
None
None
None
None
None
None
1 Point
None
None
None
None
None
None
None
None
1 Point
1 Point
None
None
1 Point
(Sp. Attack)
(HP)
(Attack)
(Attack)
(Attack & Sp. Attack)
c) The PokRUS
If you haven't heard of this before, the PokRUS doubles the EVs received,
just like the Macho Brace. This is good, but the PokRUS is random whether or
not it will infect one of your Pokmon. If you're lucky enough to have it,
then it will infect your whole party. The PokRUS will go away, so if you
want to keep it so that it could infect new Pokmon, then put one infected
Pokmon in a box, since the PokRUS doesn't go away if the infected Pokmon
is in a box. When the want to infect a new Pokmon, withdraw the infected
Pokmon and when it infects your party, put it in a box again. Note that a
Pokmon that has been infected by the PokRUS will not get PokRUS again,
since its Memory T Cells will ensure that.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------VII. Traits
----------------------------------------------------------------------------First, please note that Traits only appear in the Third Generation. Each
Pokmon has an Trait, or Ability, and they will benefit the Pokmon in one
way. Some Pokmon has unique Traits that only that Pokmon 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 Pokmon with this Trait is active, all effects of the current weather
are completely negated.
2) Arena Trap
Pokmon with this Trait prevent any opposing Pokmon from leaving play,
except those that are Flying type or possess the Trait Levitate.
3) Battle Armor
Pokmon with this Trait have a thick layer of armor that prevents Critical
Hits.
4) Blaze
When the HP of a Pokmon with this Trait falls below 1/3 it's total HP, that
Pokmon's Fire type attacks will do 1.5x damage.
5) Cacophony
Pokmon with this Trait negate the effects of Sound Moves by drowning them
out.
6) Chlorophyll
Pokmon with this Trait absorb sunlight to double their Speed while it is
Sunny.
7) Clear Body
Pokmon with this Trait are completely immune to all stat-lowering attacks.
8) Cloud Nine
When a Pokmon with this Trait is active, all effects of the current weather
are completely negated.
9) Color Change
When a Pokmon with this Trait is attacked, it will change its type to that
of the move it was hit with.
10) Compoundeyes
Pokmon with this Trait have large eyes, making all attacks 30% more
accurate.
11) Cute Charm
When a Pokmon 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 Pokmon with this Trait is active, the battle arena becomes so damp
that no active Pokmon can use Explosion or Selfdestruct.
13) Drizzle
Pokmon with this Trait cause Rain to fall for the remainder of the battle
when they enter play.
14) Drought
Pokmon with this Trait cause the weather to be Sunny for the remainder of
the battle when they enter play.
15) Early Bird
When a Pokmon 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 Pokmon 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 Pokmon with this Trait is attacked with a Contact Move, there is a
30% chance of the attacker becoming Burned.
18) Flash Fire
When a Pokmon 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
Pokmon with this Trait change their type according to the weather.
20) Guts
When a Pokmon with this Trait receives a status ailment, its Attack is
increased by 1.5x.
21) Huge Power
Pokmon with this Trait have double their normal Attack.
22) Hustle
Physical attacks from Pokmon with this Trait do 1.5x more damage, but their
accuracy is 20% lower.
23) Hyper Cutter
Pokmon with this Trait are extremely fierce, and their Attack cannot be
lowered.
24) Illuminate
Pokmon with this Trait emit a warm glow that attracts wild Pokmon. It has
no effect in battle.
25) Immunity
Pokmon with this move have a natural immunity to all forms of Poison.
26) Inner Focus
Pokmon with this Trait concentrate intensely to prevent Flinching.
27) Insomnia
Pokmon with this Trait are unable to fall Asleep.
28) Intimidate
When Pokmon with this Trait enter play, their presence is so intimidating
that any opposing Pokmon has its Attack reduced by one level.
29) Keen Eye
Pokmon with this Trait have exceptional vision, and their Accuracy cannot be
lowered.
30) Levitate
Pokmon with this Trait can float in the air, thereby avoiding all Ground
type attacks.
31) Lightning Rod
When a Pokmon with this Trait is in play, all Electric attacks are drawn to
it, regardless of the intended target.
32) Limber
Pokmon with this Trait have extremely flexible bodies that are unable to be
Paralyzed.
33) Liquid Ooze
When Pokmon 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
Pokmon with this Trait are covered in a burning exterior that prevents
Freezing.
35) Magnet Pull
Pokmon with this Trait are magnetically charged and will prevent all Steel
type Pokmon from leaving play.
36) Marvel Scale
When a Pokmon with this Trait receives a status ailment, its Defense is
increased by 1.5x.
37) Minus
If the Ally of a Pokmon with this Trait has the Trait "Plus", its Special
Attack will be 1.5x greater.
38) Natural Cure
Pokmon with this Trait posses the ability to cure themselves upon leaving
play.
39) Oblivious
Pokmon with this Trait are immune to the move Attract.
40) Overgrow
When the HP of a Pokmon with this Trait falls below 1/3 it's total HP, that
Pokmon's Grass type attacks will do 1.5x damage.
41) Own Tempo
Pokmon with this Trait have unique minds and cannot become Confused.
42) Pickup
Pokmon with this Trait have a chance to pick up items after battles with
wild Pokmon. It has no effect in battle.
43) Plus
If the Ally of a Pokmon with this Trait has the Trait "Minus", its Special
Attack will be 1.5x greater.
44) Poison Point
When a Pokmon with this Trait is attacked with a Contact Move, there is a
30% chance of the attacker becoming Poisoned.
45) Pressure
When a Pokmon with this Trait is attacked, the attacker loses an extra PP
from the attack it used.
46) Pure Power
Pokmon with this Trait have double their normal Attack.
47) Rain Dish
Pokmon 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
Pokmon with this Trait have a thick skull that prevents recoil damage from
moves such as Double-Edge.
49) Rough Skin
Pokmon with this Trait have extremely coarse skin that damages any Pokmon
that uses a Contact Move against it by 1/16 of their total HP.
50) Run Away
Pokmon with this Trait can flee from wild Pokmon without fail. It has no
effect in battle.
51) Sand Stream
Pokmon with this Trait cause a ferocious Sandstorm to rage for the remainder
of the battle when they enter play.
52) Sand Veil
Pokmon with this Trait are slightly more evasive during a Sandstorm.
53) Serene Grace
When a Pokmon with this Trait uses an attack that has an extra effect, the
chances of the effect occurring are doubled.
54) Shadow Tag
Pokmon with this Trait possess the ability to freeze the shadows of
opponents and prevent them from leaving play.
55) Shed Skin
When a Pokmon with this Trait has a status ailment, there is a 30% chance
each turn of the Pokmon shedding the ailment.
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) Nave
+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 Pokmon. 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. Pokmon has a
Job System, but the moveset of the Pokmon 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
Pokmon into categories. Most of the terminology above are official, or are
created by Nintendo. From now on, most of the terminology will be playercreated, 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 Pokmon's moveset.
Some Pokmon can only do (or be proficient at) certain jobs, depending on its
type and stats. Also, I will start referencing "Base Stats" of Pokmon. If
you remember, "Base Stats" are not the stats of a Pokmon 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 Pokmon literally "sweeps,"
meaning they take down many Pokmon. As you can guess, Physical Sweepers use
Physical Attacks efficiently. A good Sweeper would be able to take down at
least two Pokmon 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
Pokmon:
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 Pokmon'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 Pokmon 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 Pokmon 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 Pokmon that uses Haze. Since Haze is such an important move,
there are Pokmon 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
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 Pokmon often work together as a team and they make great Walls. Of
course, they will probably not defeat any Pokmon 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 Pokmon 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 Pokmon), 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 Pokmon 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 Pokmon. Of course Earthquake is there for a
damaging move if is rarely used.
a) Toxi-Shufflers
These Pokmon use Toxic then Roar or Whirlwind so all of their opponent's
team's Pokmon are Poisoned.
b) Para-Shufflers
These Pokmon use Thunder Wave then Roar or Whirlwind so all of their
opponent's team's Pokmon are Paralyzed.
c) Perish Trapper
Perish Trapping is not really gone, but it's not really for one Pokmon
anymore. In GSC, one Pokmon 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 Pokmon before it uses this
combination, so two Pokmon must Perish Trap. I will give examples as the
guide progresses.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------X. Move Combinations
----------------------------------------------------------------------------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
Enemy
Enemy
Enemy
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 Pokmon's moveset is depended upon. What I'm saying is,
without that item, the Pokmon is technically screwed. This can backfire see,
since if your opponent doesn't have that kind of Pokmon, then your Pokmon
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 Pokmon 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 Pokmon. 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 Pokmon, Pokmon with Hydro Pump, Pokmon with Thunder, and Pokmon
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 Pokmon, Pokmon 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 Pokmon 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 Pokmon with low
health. Since Wish can be Baton Passed, the low health Pokmon will be
healed.
23) Pseudo-Passing
Pseudo-Passing is to pass an effect created by one Pokmon 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
Pokmon 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
Pokmon 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 Pokmon
(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 Pokmon. 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 Pokmon, 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
Pokmon 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 Pokmon 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 Pokmon 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.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------XI. Making a Team
----------------------------------------------------------------------------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 Pokmon, 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 Pokmon, the
harder parts in my opinion is to make your Pokmon work together, not just to
find the right moves for your Pokmon. If you don't know what a "standard"
moveset is, every Pokmon has between one and three standard movesets. They
are the theory of the best chosen moves for that Pokmon. 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 Pokmon
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 Pokmon to defeat these two Pokmon. Also, usually, you
start with a Pokmon 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 Pokmon.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
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 Pokmon.
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
Pokmon and two Rock Pokmon! You will then have a major Water weakness!
After you're done with making a team, try to list the weaknesses of each
Pokmon as 2 and the resistances of each Pokmon 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 Pokmon weak to Fire for a
Pokmon strong against Fire. It's recommended that I try to get a Pokmon
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 Pokmon 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
Pokmon has Rain Dance and the other has Sunny Day, then you should take off
one Area Effect. Does three of your Pokmon 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 Pokmon that I've listed above
are some of the most popular Pokmon 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 Pokmon 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!
----------------------------------------------------------------------------XII. Credits
----------------------------------------------------------------------------First of all, I would like to thank you for reading this guide, and
especially to those that have the courage to read the whole thing. As of now,
this guide has reached about twenty-two thousand (22,000) words and I'm even
surprised at myself to having the patience and time to write this guide.
This guide is pretty much a self effort, but there is one person that I would
like to thank:
Kaidelong, or IDL, which answered some of my questions that even I did not
know! (Yes, that is shocking)
Also, my sources were from:
Serebii.net (http://www.serebii.net/) clarified information about IVs and
providing the EVs and Abilities chart.
Smogon (http://www.smogon.com/) provided me information about some Pokmon
attacks and also some movesets and strategies.
Pokmon Dungeon (http://www.pokemondungeon.com/) provided me with type
changes from RBY to GSC, which was hard to find!
Azure Heights (http://www.math.miami.edu/~jam/azure/) gave great information
about Accuracy, Evasion, and the mechanics of RBY.
The P-Files (http://pokedex.kary.ca/) provided a fast and simple Pokdex when
I needed it.
Finally, please don't contact me except via the Pokmon Dungeon forums, since
this is released to the public and I will not make many changes to it. I
rarely check my e-mail anyways, so it's best to contact me by registering and
posting at http://ghpf.pokemondungeon.com/index.php.
Pokemon Emerald Version: Competitive Battling Guide by KholdStare88
Version: 2.0 | Last Updated: 2006-05-09 | View/Download Original File Hosted by
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