Tips for competitive battling!

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Levi

Levi

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Towns Folk
Hey everyone!
So I wanted to see what the competitive side of Pokémon had to offer... Little did I know what I was getting myself into :wtf: EVs IVs Natures Move sets... WHOA!? for a noob who payed almost ZERO attention to what Pokémon were in my party I am completely lost. Are there any kind people who have the time to explain this stuff to me? Mabye help me build a balanced competitive team? :)
 
Alright, here goes. Might be wordy, but I've been into the competitive Pokemon side since Diamond/Pearl:

IV's
IV's are short for Individual values. Think of it like genetic traits; A Pokemon is born with it, and cannot be changed. And, just like in real life, it is possible to pass down IV's from generation to generation, using the Destiny Knot and breeding 2 Pokemon with different IV's. If you want to know if it's worth it or not, here's an example: Although as insignificant as 31 points may seem, they are required for Ace Trainers to obtain when breeding Pokémon with perfect natures/stats. On some occasions they are even the tipping point in a close matchup. For example, if there was a Terrakion with 0 Attack IV, it will have an attack of 358 at level 100 (with an attack improving nature), while a Terrakion with perfect Attack IVs would have 392 Attack. This small difference can mean the difference between a one-hit kill and survival with 1 HP.
Now, not all Pokemon have the same base stats, so you'll need to find out which IV's it needs, and which it doesn't. Most Pokemon don't need more than 5 perfect IV's. Eg: A Greninja has a good Special Attack stat as well as a good Special movepool, so there is no reason to breed Attack IV's onto it.
IV format: HP/ATK/DEF/SP.ATK/SP.DEF/SPD
In a competitive environment, even a single IV can make a huge difference in the outcome of the battle. Simply put, there is NO competition between an IV-bred and non-IV bred Pokemon
IV breeding guide by @Marc :http://forum.3dspedia.com/threads/how-to-iv-breed-in-pokemon-x-y-chain-breeding-guide.5646/


EV's
EV is short for Effort Value. Think of it like your proficiency in a certain stat. You gain EV's by battling other Pokemon and by using the Super Training Regimens (Or Punching bags). When you freshly hatch/catch a Pokemon, it will have 0 EV's in all its stats. Now, depending on the Pokemon's base stats and movepool, you want to get EV's which will be beneficial to it. Eg: You have a Garchomp which has a very good Attack stat and a range of Physical moves, you would not give it Special Attack EV's, as it does not have a good enough base stat and/or movepool to support it.
Every Pokemon has a maximum of 510 EV's which can be obtained, with each stat holding a maximum of 252 each.
EV training guide and horde locations by @Marc : http://forum.3dspedia.com/threads/how-to-ev-train-in-pokemon-x-y-guide.1966/#post-185236

So, there was my novel. I know, might seem like a lot at first. I felt the same way. But, when I battled people who hadn't IV bred and EV-trained their Pokemon, the win was borderline effortless to get. Stick with it, and you'll be pumping out perfect Pokemon in no time! ;)
 
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Hi, welcome.

EV's, IV's and Breeding

To start off, you'll need to know what IV's and EV's are. In a basic overview, IV's are individual values, ranging from 1-31 In the stats HP/Atk/Def/SpAtk/Spdef/Speed. EVs are basically extra points in the stats you want ^-^

As for Natures, Let's say you have a frail sweeper. Would you want the frail sweeper to have Spdef, or more speed so It can kill faster? Natures boost one stat and lower another, It can sometimes, save you a game, if you outspeed a pokemon, or barely make a Pokemon faint.

Pokemon are mainly divided into these 3 basic categories;
Wall
Support
Sweeper

EV Training: You can find a guide here.
IV's and breeding: You can find extra details here.
Natures: You can find a list of Natures and what they do here.

Synergy

Next, is Synergy. Before you take a random bunch of Pokemon and make a team, you have to note the Weaknesses they have. You don't want your whole team to get swept by an earthquake, ya know? :panda:

For example, If I had an Umbreon on my team. Umbreon is weak to Fight, Bug and Fairy, so I would need Pokemon that resist it or are immune to some weaknesses like Chandelure or Skarmory.

Synergy: You can find more information here.

Movesets

Movesets are important, so you can set up/ sweep efficiently. You want to give your Sweepers coverage moves so they can at least do neutral damage. Also, it's important to make sure, that if your Pokemon is a physical attacker, it has physical moves. If you're going to make it a mixed sweeper, make sure it has a attack stat that can do damage. >.<

Predicting

Your team can be virtually perfect, but if you don't know how to predict, then you're screwed :dead:
Predicting is basically guessing what the opponent is going to do, It's all mind games that are hard to explain >.<

You can find more information on Predicting here.

My Recommendations \ : D /

When making a team, I would recommend this;
  • Have a Volt-Switcher, U-turner/Baton-Passer/ Ghost type so you won't be walled by Shadow Tag/ or Mean Look.
  • Have a Special Wall and Physical Wall that can absorb easily predictable attacks.
  • Have at least 1 Physical Sweeper and 1 Special Sweeper
  • Have an Espeon because Magic Bounce is OP
  • Make sure you have a flying pokemon
  • There's more... I'll edit when I remember later :p
Eek >.< Ali already replied ;-;
 
Last edited:
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Alright, here goes. Might be wordy, but I've been into the competitive Pokemon side since Diamond/Pearl:

IV's
IV's are short for Individual values. Think of it like genetic traits; A Pokemon is born with it, and cannot be changed. And, just like in real life, it is possible to pass down IV's from generation to generation, using the Destiny Knot and breeding 2 Pokemon with different IV's. If you want to know if it's worth it or not, here's an example: Although as insignificant as 31 points may seem, they are required for Ace Trainers to obtain when breeding Pokémon with perfect natures/stats. On some occasions they are even the tipping point in a close matchup. For example, if there was a Terrakion with 0 Attack IV, it will have an attack of 358 at level 100 (with an attack improving nature), while a Terrakion with perfect Attack IVs would have 392 Attack. This small difference can mean the difference between a one-hit kill and survival with 1 HP.
Now, not all Pokemon have the same base stats, so you'll need to find out which IV's it needs, and which it doesn't. Most Pokemon don't need more than 5 perfect IV's. Eg: A Greninja has a good Special Attack stat as well as a good Special movepool, so there is no reason to breed Attack IV's onto it.
IV format: HP/ATK/DEF/SP.ATK/SP.DEF/SPD
In a competitive environment, even a single IV can make a huge difference in the outcome of the battle. Simply put, there is NO competition between an IV-bred and non-IV bred Pokemon
IV breeding guide by @Marc :http://forum.3dspedia.com/threads/how-to-iv-breed-in-pokemon-x-y-chain-breeding-guide.5646/


EV's
EV is short for Effort Value. Think of it like your proficiency in a certain stat. You gain EV's by battling other Pokemon and by using the Super Training Regimens (Or Punching bags). When you freshly hatch/catch a Pokemon, it will have 0 EV's in all its stats. Now, depending on the Pokemon's base stats and movepool, you want to get EV's which will be beneficial to it. Eg: You have a Garchomp which has a very good Attack stat and a range of Physical moves, you would not give it Special Attack EV's, as it does not have a good enough base stat and/or movepool to support it.
Every Pokemon has a maximum of 510 EV's which can be obtained, with each stat holding a maximum of 252 each.
EV training guide and horde locations by @Marc : http://forum.3dspedia.com/threads/how-to-ev-train-in-pokemon-x-y-guide.1966/#post-185236

So, there was my novel. I know, might seem like a lot at first. I felt the same way. But, when I battled people who hadn't IV bred and EV-trained their Pokemon, the win was borderline effortless to get. Stick with it, and you'll be pumping out perfect Pokemon in no time! ;)
Click to expand...
Greninja need its Atk stat, with ORAS it got access to Gunk Shot allowing it to check fairies like Azumarill and Mega Gardevoir, it's one of the reason it was banned by Smogon, also Garchomp can run a mixed set which would run some Sp.A investment.

Anyway, I'll try and give you some tips to understand playing competitively but since my knowledge on VGC/Doubles is limited, I'll just stick to Singles because that's where most of my experience comes from

First off, you'll need to memorize a type chart, make sure you understand resistances/weaknesses, you'll also need to learn about the different roles Pokemon can be classified as well as the different playstyles teams seem to be focused around
http://forum.3dspedia.com/threads/competitive-dictionary.8376/

This is a thread I made regarding playstyles, roles and common move combinations and abbreviations, it may prove helpful.

If all of this seems too confusing for you, that's understandable, there's a lot of information to learn and memorize, if you're more of a visual learner, you might want to watch some experienced players, I'll leave some links to some of my personal favorite competitive battlers

https://www.youtube.com/user/pokeaimMD/videos
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC9y3BYRjW3ZNuqrlP6iY-eg

If you have any more questions, feel free to ask or PM me :]
 
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Reactions: Marc and 532
Hi, welcome.

EV's, IV's and Breeding

To start off, you'll need to know what IV's and EV's are. In a basic overview, IV's are individual values, ranging from 1-31 In the stats HP/Atk/Def/SpAtk/Spdef/Speed. EVs are basically extra points in the stats you want ^-^

As for Natures, Let's say you have a frail sweeper. Would you want the frail sweeper to have Spdef, or more speed so It can kill faster? Natures boost one stat and lower another, It can sometimes, save you a game, if you outspeed a pokemon, or barely make a Pokemon faint.

Pokemon are mainly divided into these 3 basic categories;
Wall
Support
Sweeper

EV Training: You can find a guide here
IV's and breeding: You can find extra details here
Natures: You can find a list of Natures and what they do here

Synergy

Next, is Synergy. Before you take a random bunch of Pokemon and make a team, you have to note the Weaknesses they have. You don't want your whole team to get swept by an earthquake, ya know? :panda:

For example, If I had an Umbreon on my team. Umbreon is weak to Fight, Bug and Fairy, so I would need Pokemon that resist it or are immune to some weaknesses like Chandelure or Skarmory.

Synergy: You can find more information here

Movesets

Movesets are important, so you can set up/ sweep efficiently. You want to give your Sweepers coverage moves so they can at least do neutral damage. Also, it's important to make sure, that if your Pokemon is a physical attacker, it has physical moves. If you're going to make it a mixed sweeper, make sure it has a attack stat that can do damage. >.<

Predicting

Your team can be virtually perfect, but if you don't know how to predict, then you're screwed :dead:
Predicting is basically guessing what the opponent is going to do, It's all mind games that are hard to explain >.<

You can find more information on Predicting here.

My Recommendations \ : D /

When making a team, I would recommend this;
  • Have a Volt-Switcher, U-turner/Baton-Passer/ Ghost type so you won't be walled by Shadow Tag/ or Mean Look.
  • Have a Special Wall and Physical Wall that can absorb easily predictable attacks.
  • Have at least 1 Physical Sweeper and 1 Special Sweeper
  • Have an Espeon because Magic Bounce is OP
  • Make sure you have a flying pokemon
  • There's more... I'll edit when I remember later :p
Eek >.< Ali already replied ;-;
Click to expand...
Ninja'd :p
 
Wow, how was I not getting this before...:banghead: Thanks you guys for clearing this stuff up for me! I have started thinking about my team and I was wondering Mega Aggron would make a good physical sweeper. What do you think because I would base my whole team around it.
 
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Wow, how was I not getting this before...:banghead: Thanks you guys for clearing this stuff up for me! I have started thinking about my team and I was wondering Mega Aggron would make a good physical sweeper. What do you think because I would base my whole team around it.
Click to expand...
Mega Aggron really isn't a physical sweeper, with its bulk and its ability it's more suited to being a tank, taking hits from threats like Mega Metagross, Mega Altaria, Azumarill, etc.
 
Ok... I really want to fit him somewhere into my team but maybe just not in that position. What about Mega Salamence?
Mega Aggron really isn't a physical sweeper, with its bulk and its ability it's more suited to being a tank, taking hits from threats like Mega Metagross, Mega Altaria, Azumarill, etc.
Click to expand...
 
@Levi mega salamence is considered to be ubers. He may not be a good choice than if you want an OU team.
 
  • #10
@Levi mega salamence is considered to be ubers. He may not be a good choice than if you want an OU team.
Click to expand...
Oh no... Are there more terms for me to learn? What are Ubers and OU? sorry its armature hour over here
 
  • #11
Oh no... Are there more terms for me to learn? What are Ubers and OU? sorry its armature hour over here
Click to expand...

Ubers and OU are tiers. Set pokemon belong in specific tiers. People usually play by Smogon rules.

More info here.
 
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