This is a beginner’s guide to integrating yourself into the current competitive D/P/P meta-game. This is a guide for people that already know that Fire is good against Grass, and not good against Water, blah blah blah. Also this part of the guide is geared towards Shoddy play, so if you want information on breeding and EV training, it will be later on.
Basic knowledge: Types of attacks:
In D/P/P, there are two kinds of attacks, special and physical. Physcial moves depends on the attacking Pokemon’s Attack, and the defending Pokemon’s Defence, while Special moves depend on the attacking Pokemon’s Special Attack, and the defending Pokemon’s Special Defence. You want to use moves that deal with your stronger attacking stat, so that means giving your Scizor X-Scissor instead of Bug Buzz, and your Heatran Earth Power over Earthquake, even though Bug Buzz and Earthquake have higher Base damage.
Basic knowledge: Stats
There are 6 relevant stats: Hit Points, Attack, Defense, Special Attack, Special Defense, and Speed.
Part One: Getting the best stats.
1.1 Natures:
Okay, clearly not all pokemon of the same type share the same stats. Part of the reason is because of natures. In D/P/P, there are 25 different natures, some of which have identical effects. What these natures do is to raise one stat by 10 percent, and lower another by 10 percent. For instance, the Adamant nature raises attack and lowers special attack, while the Timid nature raises speed and lowers attack. Since these stats work by percentage, the highest stat will see the largest benefit from a favorable nature. If you're serious about battling, you need to find a nature that helps you the most. Below is the list of natures and their effects.
Serebii Natures List
1.2 EVs (Effort Values):
Everyone knows that trained pokemon are stronger than wild ones. Why? Because of EVs. Every time you defeat another pokemon and receive exp. points, you get a certain number of EVs in a stat. By controlling which Pokemon you face, you can control which stat receives the boost. For instance, defeating a Graveller will get you 2 defense EVs, while defeating a Starly will get you 1 speed EV. For every 4 EVs in a stat, you will get +1 in your stat by level 100. You can only get 255 EVs per stat, and only 510 EVs total, but since 255 is not divisible by 4, 252 Evs are what you should aim for in a single stat.
For a more detailed description, go here.
1.3 IVs (Individual Values):
Even with identical natures and EVs, two pokemon that are the same species and level will still have different stats. This is because each one is assigned a random value between 0 and 31 in every stat when it is created. This will determine how strong your pokemon will be in that particular stat. This value is known as its Individual Value, or IV.
Serebii IV guide
Knowing those 3 things allows you to make your pokemon as powerful as possible.
Part 2: Moves:
Like I stated earlier, there are 2 kinds of attacks, physical and special. But not all moves do damage. For the most part, those moves are commonly referred to as support moves.
A short list of the more commonly used support moves:
2.1 Priority Moves:
So now you know there are 3 types of moves, support, physical attack, and special attack. There is another subgroup for attacks called priority attacks. These attacks bypass the normal ‘whoever has higher speed goes first,’ or the ‘whoever is slower goes last,’ deal. It is how a Quick Attack from a Pikachu hits before an EQ from and Aerodactal’s EQ, or how a Aerodactal using Whilwind goes after a Bronzong using Gyro Ball. Here is a list of priority moves and their order.
7? Pursit (if the opposing Pokemon switches, but normally in tier 0.)
6 Switching
5 Helping Hand
4 Magic Coat, Snatch
3 Detect, Endure, Follow Me, Protect
2 Feint
1 Aqua Jet, Bide, Bullet Punch, Extremespeed, Fake Out, Ice Shard, Mach Punch, Quick Attack, Shadow Sneak, Sucker Punch, Vacuum Wave
0 Everything else
-1 Vital Throw
-2 Focus Punch
-3 Avalanche, Revenge
-4 Counter, Mirror Coat
-5 Roar, Whirlwind
-6 Trick Room
And moves that use other moves (Sleep Talk) turn that move into the priority the changing move is, so a Skarmory using Sleep Talk and uses Whilwind has 0 priority. Quick Claw just gives you an 18.75% chance of going first, giving that both moves are in the same priority. Trick Room makes the slower Pokemon go first, but priority is still the same.
Part 3: Abilities
Some pokemon have only one ability, while others may have more than one to choose from, but all Pokemon have an ability. What ability your pokemon has can vastly affect its use. For a list of abilities and their effects, go here.
Part 4: Items
Items are a huge part of competitive battling, and the item a pokemon is holding can determine its role. A defensive pokemon typically goes with a healing item like Leftovers, while an attacking pokemon has many different options to increase its respective attacking stat. Some of the more commonly used items are:
Part 5: Statuses
A pokemon can be statused by a variety of moves, and you can only be statused with one move at a time.
Part 6: Rules
When battling competitively, there are several rules that people like to play by. It is usually a good idea to know what kind of rules you are going to be using before you start.
6.1: Tiers
Pokemon are divided into tiers, based on their stats and movesets. Some people enjoy battling with ridiculously unbalanced pokemon in the Ubers, while others prefer playing with the rarely seen pokemon of the Under Used. Most people, however, battle in the standard metagame, also known as the Over Used. You can always use pokemon from a lower tier, but never from a higher one. The tiers are as follows:
6.2: Other Rules
There are other rules that people use when they play. Some of these for the Standered OU play include:
-Sleep clause: a maximum of 1 pokemon can be asleep on each team. Not including resting pokemon.
-Freeze clause: Only one pokemon can be frozen per team.
-Self-KO clause: If there is only one pokemon left per team, you cannot use moves like perish song, destiny bond, explosion, or selfdestruct. This is to prevent ties.
-Evasion Clause: Moves like double team or minimize are banned.
-OHKO Clause: One-hit kill moves, like Horn Drill, Fissure, or Sheer Cold, are banned.
-Soul Dew Clause: This one is kinda new, no Pokemon can have the item Soul Dew.
Part 7: Pokemon Roles: [size="3] INCOMPLETE[/size]
In this game, there are several roles that give a Pokemon a purpose. The main Archetypes of Pokemon are Sweeper, Wall, and Supporter. If you are more of a visual learner, here is a table of contents thingy:
[INDENT][INDENT]( 7.1 ) Sweepers[/INDENT][/INDENT]
[INDENT][INDENT][INDENT]( 7.1.1 ) Physical Sweepers[/INDENT][/INDENT][/INDENT]
[INDENT][INDENT][INDENT]( 7.1.2 ) Special Sweepers[/INDENT][/INDENT][/INDENT]
[INDENT][INDENT][INDENT]( 7.1.3 ) Mixed Sweepers[/INDENT][/INDENT][/INDENT]
[INDENT][INDENT]( 7.2 ) Walls[/INDENT][/INDENT]
[INDENT][INDENT][INDENT]( 7.2.1 ) Physical Walls[/INDENT][/INDENT][/INDENT]
[INDENT][INDENT][INDENT]( 7.2.2 ) Special Walls[/INDENT][/INDENT][/INDENT]
[INDENT][INDENT][INDENT]( 7.2.3 ) Tanks[/INDENT][/INDENT][/INDENT]
[INDENT][INDENT][INDENT][INDENT]( 7.3.3.1 ) Bulky Waters[/INDENT][/INDENT][/INDENT][/INDENT]
[INDENT][INDENT]( 7.3 ) Supporters[/INDENT][/INDENT]
[INDENT][INDENT][INDENT]( 7.4.1 ) Spikers [/INDENT][/INDENT][/INDENT]
[INDENT][INDENT][INDENT]( 7.4.2 ) Spinners[/INDENT][/INDENT][/INDENT]
[INDENT][INDENT][INDENT]( 7.4.3 ) Baton Passers[/INDENT][/INDENT][/INDENT]
[INDENT][INDENT][INDENT]( 7.4.4 ) P/Hazers[/INDENT][/INDENT][/INDENT]
[INDENT][INDENT][INDENT]( 7.4.5 ) Clerics / Healers[/INDENT][/INDENT][/INDENT]
[INDENT][INDENT][INDENT]( 7.4.6 ) Trappers[/INDENT][/INDENT][/INDENT]
Now I will list a more indepth explaination for every archetype and sub-type, along with an example or two.
[INDENT][INDENT][SIZE="3"]( 7.1 ) Sweepers [/SIZE]
These are your team's main offenive players of your team. They are USUALLY (read: most of the time) fast, strong, and can't take more than 3 hits. Exceptions to this "guideline" are (but not limited to) Metagross, Tyranitar, and Suicune. The three different kinds of sweepers are Physical, Special, and Mixed. You want too choose Pokemon that Max in the stat of the style you want to sweep in, so you don't want a Special Sweeping Gyrados, or a Physical Sweeping Alakazam.[/INDENT][/INDENT]
( 1.1 ) Wi-Fi Playing
You now know the basics of the Pokemon Battling mechanics, and now you are wondering, how do I get those EVs and IVs onto my Pokemon. Well, fortunatly for you, this part of the guide explains how to get good IVs and EVs onto your Pokemon.
Basic knowledge: Types of attacks:
In D/P/P, there are two kinds of attacks, special and physical. Physcial moves depends on the attacking Pokemon’s Attack, and the defending Pokemon’s Defence, while Special moves depend on the attacking Pokemon’s Special Attack, and the defending Pokemon’s Special Defence. You want to use moves that deal with your stronger attacking stat, so that means giving your Scizor X-Scissor instead of Bug Buzz, and your Heatran Earth Power over Earthquake, even though Bug Buzz and Earthquake have higher Base damage.
Basic knowledge: Stats
There are 6 relevant stats: Hit Points, Attack, Defense, Special Attack, Special Defense, and Speed.
- HP: determines how many life, or hit points a Pokemon has.
- Attack: determines the amount of damage a physical move does.
- Defense: determines the amount of damage a Pokemon receives from physical moves.
- Special Attack: determines the amount of damage a special move does.
- Special Defense: determines the amount damage a Pokemon receives from special moves.
- Speed: determines which Pokemon gets to attack first.
Part One: Getting the best stats.
1.1 Natures:
Okay, clearly not all pokemon of the same type share the same stats. Part of the reason is because of natures. In D/P/P, there are 25 different natures, some of which have identical effects. What these natures do is to raise one stat by 10 percent, and lower another by 10 percent. For instance, the Adamant nature raises attack and lowers special attack, while the Timid nature raises speed and lowers attack. Since these stats work by percentage, the highest stat will see the largest benefit from a favorable nature. If you're serious about battling, you need to find a nature that helps you the most. Below is the list of natures and their effects.
Serebii Natures List
1.2 EVs (Effort Values):
Everyone knows that trained pokemon are stronger than wild ones. Why? Because of EVs. Every time you defeat another pokemon and receive exp. points, you get a certain number of EVs in a stat. By controlling which Pokemon you face, you can control which stat receives the boost. For instance, defeating a Graveller will get you 2 defense EVs, while defeating a Starly will get you 1 speed EV. For every 4 EVs in a stat, you will get +1 in your stat by level 100. You can only get 255 EVs per stat, and only 510 EVs total, but since 255 is not divisible by 4, 252 Evs are what you should aim for in a single stat.
For a more detailed description, go here.
1.3 IVs (Individual Values):
Even with identical natures and EVs, two pokemon that are the same species and level will still have different stats. This is because each one is assigned a random value between 0 and 31 in every stat when it is created. This will determine how strong your pokemon will be in that particular stat. This value is known as its Individual Value, or IV.
Serebii IV guide
Knowing those 3 things allows you to make your pokemon as powerful as possible.
Part 2: Moves:
Like I stated earlier, there are 2 kinds of attacks, physical and special. But not all moves do damage. For the most part, those moves are commonly referred to as support moves.
A short list of the more commonly used support moves:
- Stealth Rock: Deals 1/8 of your HP when you switch in. Can do more or less depending on whether your weak or resistant to rock.
- Baton Pass: Switches to another pokemon. Useless, you might think, until you consider that it also passes stat boosts.
- Swords dance: Increases your attack by 100 percent.
- Nasty Plot: Increases your special attack by 100 percent.
- Dragon Dance: Increases speed and attack by 50 percent.
- Curse: Increases attack and defense by 50 percent, decreases speed by 50 percent
- Will-O-wisp: burns the opponent.
- Substitute: Creates a substitute with 1/4 of your HP. While the substitute is up, you cannot be status'd or flinched.
2.1 Priority Moves:
So now you know there are 3 types of moves, support, physical attack, and special attack. There is another subgroup for attacks called priority attacks. These attacks bypass the normal ‘whoever has higher speed goes first,’ or the ‘whoever is slower goes last,’ deal. It is how a Quick Attack from a Pikachu hits before an EQ from and Aerodactal’s EQ, or how a Aerodactal using Whilwind goes after a Bronzong using Gyro Ball. Here is a list of priority moves and their order.
7? Pursit (if the opposing Pokemon switches, but normally in tier 0.)
6 Switching
5 Helping Hand
4 Magic Coat, Snatch
3 Detect, Endure, Follow Me, Protect
2 Feint
1 Aqua Jet, Bide, Bullet Punch, Extremespeed, Fake Out, Ice Shard, Mach Punch, Quick Attack, Shadow Sneak, Sucker Punch, Vacuum Wave
0 Everything else
-1 Vital Throw
-2 Focus Punch
-3 Avalanche, Revenge
-4 Counter, Mirror Coat
-5 Roar, Whirlwind
-6 Trick Room
And moves that use other moves (Sleep Talk) turn that move into the priority the changing move is, so a Skarmory using Sleep Talk and uses Whilwind has 0 priority. Quick Claw just gives you an 18.75% chance of going first, giving that both moves are in the same priority. Trick Room makes the slower Pokemon go first, but priority is still the same.
Part 3: Abilities
Some pokemon have only one ability, while others may have more than one to choose from, but all Pokemon have an ability. What ability your pokemon has can vastly affect its use. For a list of abilities and their effects, go here.
Part 4: Items
Items are a huge part of competitive battling, and the item a pokemon is holding can determine its role. A defensive pokemon typically goes with a healing item like Leftovers, while an attacking pokemon has many different options to increase its respective attacking stat. Some of the more commonly used items are:
- Leftovers: at the end of every turn, and 1/16 of your max health is recovered.
- LifeOrb: all attacking moves have their attack multiplied by 1.3, but you suffer a recoil of 10% of your max health every turn.
- Choice Band: All physical moves have their attack multiplied by 1.5, but you can’t switch moves, unless you switch out.
- Choice Scarf: A Pokemon’s speed is multiplied by 1.5, but you can’t switch moves, unless you switch out.
- Choice Specs: All special moves have their attack multiplied by 1.5 but you can’t switch moves, unless you switch out.
- Lum Berry: Removes any status. (one time use)
Part 5: Statuses
A pokemon can be statused by a variety of moves, and you can only be statused with one move at a time.
- Burn: Attack is reduced by half, and the user takes 1/8 hit points per turn. Fire pokemon can't be burned.
- Sleep: The pokemon can't use any moves (except snore and sleep talk) until it wakes up in 1-7 turns.
- Paralyze: Speed is reduced to 25 percent, and cannot attack 25 percent of the time.
- Freeze: Cannot attack (except with Flame Wheel or Sacred Fire) until it thaws, with a chance of 25 percent each turn. Ice pokemon cannot be frozen.
- Poison: The pokemon loses 1/8 every turn. If the opponent is badly poisoned, the damage begins at 1/16 but grows by an additional 1/16 every turn. Poison and steel types are immune to poisoning.
- The next two statuses can overlap with any status.
- Confusion: Attacks itself 50 percent of the time. Cures in 1-4 turns, or when switched out.
- Attract: Cannot attack 50 percent of the time. Cured upon switching out.
Part 6: Rules
When battling competitively, there are several rules that people like to play by. It is usually a good idea to know what kind of rules you are going to be using before you start.
6.1: Tiers
Pokemon are divided into tiers, based on their stats and movesets. Some people enjoy battling with ridiculously unbalanced pokemon in the Ubers, while others prefer playing with the rarely seen pokemon of the Under Used. Most people, however, battle in the standard metagame, also known as the Over Used. You can always use pokemon from a lower tier, but never from a higher one. The tiers are as follows:
- Ubers: These pokemon all have ridiculous stats and movesets. The pokemon of this tier dominate to the extent that they are usually banned from competitive play. Examples include: Mewtwo, Rayquaza, and Kyogre.
- Over Used (OU): This is the tier in which most people play. The pokemon in this tier all have fairly strong stats and movepools, and are widely regarded as 'good' pokemon. Common examples: Scizor, Latias, and Heatran.
- Under Used (UU): For one reason or another, these pokemon have fairly serious weaknesses. Perhaps a bad movepool, or a very unfortunate stat, prevent these pokemon from being as good as the upper tiers. Examples: Absol, Hitmonlee, Honkrow.
6.2: Other Rules
There are other rules that people use when they play. Some of these for the Standered OU play include:
-Sleep clause: a maximum of 1 pokemon can be asleep on each team. Not including resting pokemon.
-Freeze clause: Only one pokemon can be frozen per team.
-Self-KO clause: If there is only one pokemon left per team, you cannot use moves like perish song, destiny bond, explosion, or selfdestruct. This is to prevent ties.
-Evasion Clause: Moves like double team or minimize are banned.
-OHKO Clause: One-hit kill moves, like Horn Drill, Fissure, or Sheer Cold, are banned.
-Soul Dew Clause: This one is kinda new, no Pokemon can have the item Soul Dew.
Part 7: Pokemon Roles: [size="3] INCOMPLETE[/size]
In this game, there are several roles that give a Pokemon a purpose. The main Archetypes of Pokemon are Sweeper, Wall, and Supporter. If you are more of a visual learner, here is a table of contents thingy:
[INDENT][INDENT]( 7.1 ) Sweepers[/INDENT][/INDENT]
[INDENT][INDENT][INDENT]( 7.1.1 ) Physical Sweepers[/INDENT][/INDENT][/INDENT]
[INDENT][INDENT][INDENT]( 7.1.2 ) Special Sweepers[/INDENT][/INDENT][/INDENT]
[INDENT][INDENT][INDENT]( 7.1.3 ) Mixed Sweepers[/INDENT][/INDENT][/INDENT]
[INDENT][INDENT]( 7.2 ) Walls[/INDENT][/INDENT]
[INDENT][INDENT][INDENT]( 7.2.1 ) Physical Walls[/INDENT][/INDENT][/INDENT]
[INDENT][INDENT][INDENT]( 7.2.2 ) Special Walls[/INDENT][/INDENT][/INDENT]
[INDENT][INDENT][INDENT]( 7.2.3 ) Tanks[/INDENT][/INDENT][/INDENT]
[INDENT][INDENT][INDENT][INDENT]( 7.3.3.1 ) Bulky Waters[/INDENT][/INDENT][/INDENT][/INDENT]
[INDENT][INDENT]( 7.3 ) Supporters[/INDENT][/INDENT]
[INDENT][INDENT][INDENT]( 7.4.1 ) Spikers [/INDENT][/INDENT][/INDENT]
[INDENT][INDENT][INDENT]( 7.4.2 ) Spinners[/INDENT][/INDENT][/INDENT]
[INDENT][INDENT][INDENT]( 7.4.3 ) Baton Passers[/INDENT][/INDENT][/INDENT]
[INDENT][INDENT][INDENT]( 7.4.4 ) P/Hazers[/INDENT][/INDENT][/INDENT]
[INDENT][INDENT][INDENT]( 7.4.5 ) Clerics / Healers[/INDENT][/INDENT][/INDENT]
[INDENT][INDENT][INDENT]( 7.4.6 ) Trappers[/INDENT][/INDENT][/INDENT]
Now I will list a more indepth explaination for every archetype and sub-type, along with an example or two.
[INDENT][INDENT][SIZE="3"]( 7.1 ) Sweepers [/SIZE]
These are your team's main offenive players of your team. They are USUALLY (read: most of the time) fast, strong, and can't take more than 3 hits. Exceptions to this "guideline" are (but not limited to) Metagross, Tyranitar, and Suicune. The three different kinds of sweepers are Physical, Special, and Mixed. You want too choose Pokemon that Max in the stat of the style you want to sweep in, so you don't want a Special Sweeping Gyrados, or a Physical Sweeping Alakazam.[/INDENT][/INDENT]
( 2.2.1 ) Physical Sweepers
These Pokemon usually have a high base attack and base speed, or have acesses to some powerful priority move(s). Here is a classic example of a "broken" Physical sweeper:
Scizor @ Life Orb
Adamant: Technitian
4 HP/ 252 Atk / 252 Speed
~Bullet Punch
~SuperPower
~Swords Dance
~X-Scissor
With a Technitian Boost and STAB, it raises Bullet Punch's laughable base 40 base attack move into a Respectable base 90. Combine that with a Attack boosting nature, max Attack EVS, and maybe an SD or two, and you have yourself a monster of a Pokemon, who is capable of wrecking whole teams with it's base 90 priority move, (usually) out-prioritizing and OHKOing everything that normally can wreck it, and smacking everything that is slower and bulky with a Super Power or a STABed X-Scissor. The best Pokemon in the current OU metagame by far.
These Pokemon usually have a high base attack and base speed, or have acesses to some powerful priority move(s). Here is a classic example of a "broken" Physical sweeper:
Scizor @ Life Orb
Adamant: Technitian
4 HP/ 252 Atk / 252 Speed
~Bullet Punch
~SuperPower
~Swords Dance
~X-Scissor
With a Technitian Boost and STAB, it raises Bullet Punch's laughable base 40 base attack move into a Respectable base 90. Combine that with a Attack boosting nature, max Attack EVS, and maybe an SD or two, and you have yourself a monster of a Pokemon, who is capable of wrecking whole teams with it's base 90 priority move, (usually) out-prioritizing and OHKOing everything that normally can wreck it, and smacking everything that is slower and bulky with a Super Power or a STABed X-Scissor. The best Pokemon in the current OU metagame by far.
( 2.2.2 ) Special Sweepers
A Special Sweeper is a Pokemon that maxes in Speed and Special Attack to "sweep" your opponent. Meaning taking down multiple Pokemon. These are essential, as are Physical sweepers, to have on your team. All the moves should be Special Moves, with the exception of possibly a Status Move raising your Speed or Special Attack. A good Pokemon for a Special Sweeper is Heatran.
Heatran @ Choice Scarf
Timid: Flash Fire
4 HP/ 252 Sp. Atk / 252 Speed
Fire Blast
Earth Power
Explosion
HP Ice
This is probably the best Revenger in the current metagame, capable of dealing with those problematic and ever common Scizor, Salamence, other Heatran by reaching a massive 417 speed and 359 Special attack. Fire Blast is your main move, destroying every single Steel pokemon that comes in your way. Earth Power is to wreck opposing Heatran and mostly everything else that resists Fire. HP Ice is to hurt the Salamence that could threaten to demolish your team. Explosion is for when your fun is done, and you want to go out with a bang.
A Special Sweeper is a Pokemon that maxes in Speed and Special Attack to "sweep" your opponent. Meaning taking down multiple Pokemon. These are essential, as are Physical sweepers, to have on your team. All the moves should be Special Moves, with the exception of possibly a Status Move raising your Speed or Special Attack. A good Pokemon for a Special Sweeper is Heatran.
Heatran @ Choice Scarf
Timid: Flash Fire
4 HP/ 252 Sp. Atk / 252 Speed
Fire Blast
Earth Power
Explosion
HP Ice
This is probably the best Revenger in the current metagame, capable of dealing with those problematic and ever common Scizor, Salamence, other Heatran by reaching a massive 417 speed and 359 Special attack. Fire Blast is your main move, destroying every single Steel pokemon that comes in your way. Earth Power is to wreck opposing Heatran and mostly everything else that resists Fire. HP Ice is to hurt the Salamence that could threaten to demolish your team. Explosion is for when your fun is done, and you want to go out with a bang.
( 2.2.3 ) Mixed Sweepers
Yes, though you would think there's only two types of sweepers, Mixed Sweepers also exist inside the Pokemon Realm. These are Pokemon that Specialize in not only Special Attack, but also Attack. They generally have High Speed along too, making them a force to be reckoned with. While they normally don't do as much damage as Sweepers meant for only one type of Attack, they get the job done with mindgames. You opponent won't expect it. A good Mixed Sweeper is Infernape.
Salamence@ Life Orb
Rash/Mild: Intimidate
80 Atk / 252 SpA / 176 Spe
~ Draco Meteor
~ Earthquake
~ Fire Blast
~ Outrage
This set just ***** ***. It focuses on it's 2 amazing STAB attacks: Draco Meteor and Outrage. The other two moves support Outrage and Draco Meteor, hitting the Steels that could potentially wall you. That being said, this set can OHKO the standered Hippodown set with Draco Meteor if it has substained ANY prior damage and SR is out, OHKO Skarmory with Fire Blast, or even Flamethrower if you wanted, and the stupid blue bell is 2HKOed by FireBlast. Few things can switch in on this guy's amazing attacks. Mild is recomened, because Intimidate weakens physical attacks.
All the stuff below is very out-of-date
Steelix @ Wide Lens
Nature - Impish
EV 252 HP / 252 Defense
Block
Roll Out
Defense Curl
Giga Impact / Explosion / Screech
Right here is a great Physical Wall Steelix. Though 400x weak to Earthquake, a very common move, it holds fairly well to everything else. When you find a target you want you attack with Steelix, use Block. It acts like Mean Look, making them unable to escape until Steelix faints or you switch Pokemon. Then use Rollout until you miss, but Wide Lens will help that, as it keeps getting stronger. Finally, when things look bleak for Steelix, us something like Explosion for Max Damage.
Yes, though you would think there's only two types of sweepers, Mixed Sweepers also exist inside the Pokemon Realm. These are Pokemon that Specialize in not only Special Attack, but also Attack. They generally have High Speed along too, making them a force to be reckoned with. While they normally don't do as much damage as Sweepers meant for only one type of Attack, they get the job done with mindgames. You opponent won't expect it. A good Mixed Sweeper is Infernape.
Salamence@ Life Orb
Rash/Mild: Intimidate
80 Atk / 252 SpA / 176 Spe
~ Draco Meteor
~ Earthquake
~ Fire Blast
~ Outrage
This set just ***** ***. It focuses on it's 2 amazing STAB attacks: Draco Meteor and Outrage. The other two moves support Outrage and Draco Meteor, hitting the Steels that could potentially wall you. That being said, this set can OHKO the standered Hippodown set with Draco Meteor if it has substained ANY prior damage and SR is out, OHKO Skarmory with Fire Blast, or even Flamethrower if you wanted, and the stupid blue bell is 2HKOed by FireBlast. Few things can switch in on this guy's amazing attacks. Mild is recomened, because Intimidate weakens physical attacks.
All the stuff below is very out-of-date
( 7.2 ) Walls
These are your team's main defensive players of your team. They USUALLY (read: not always **** it) have access to a recover move, have high HP, high Defensive stats, and hit like a girl. A general rule of thumb is to Max out HP, and dump the rest into the defensive stat the you want to wall in. There are 3 kinds of walls, Physical, Special, and Mixed. Just like the sweeper.
These are your team's main defensive players of your team. They USUALLY (read: not always **** it) have access to a recover move, have high HP, high Defensive stats, and hit like a girl. A general rule of thumb is to Max out HP, and dump the rest into the defensive stat the you want to wall in. There are 3 kinds of walls, Physical, Special, and Mixed. Just like the sweeper.
Steelix @ Wide Lens
Nature - Impish
EV 252 HP / 252 Defense
Block
Roll Out
Defense Curl
Giga Impact / Explosion / Screech
Right here is a great Physical Wall Steelix. Though 400x weak to Earthquake, a very common move, it holds fairly well to everything else. When you find a target you want you attack with Steelix, use Block. It acts like Mean Look, making them unable to escape until Steelix faints or you switch Pokemon. Then use Rollout until you miss, but Wide Lens will help that, as it keeps getting stronger. Finally, when things look bleak for Steelix, us something like Explosion for Max Damage.
( 2.2.1.1 ) Bulky Waters
This is a Role that isn't mentioned much, or known about really. The Pokemon that is in this category is used all the time though. Who are these? These are the Water Type Pokemon with abnormally high stats. An Example of that is Milotic. Who is VERY Common among EV Trainers. A well known moveset for a Milotic would be as follows:
Milotic @ Leftovers
Nature - Bold
EV 148 HP / 240 Def / 120 Sp. Atk
Surf
Ice Beam
Recover
Hypnosis
This marveled Milotic can put your opponent to sleep, to keep it from attacking. Then attack it while its asleep. Or switch. It's massive defenses will keep it from getting OHKO'd my most attacks, but Critical hits can happen. Have fun with this evil Milotic!
This is a Role that isn't mentioned much, or known about really. The Pokemon that is in this category is used all the time though. Who are these? These are the Water Type Pokemon with abnormally high stats. An Example of that is Milotic. Who is VERY Common among EV Trainers. A well known moveset for a Milotic would be as follows:
Milotic @ Leftovers
Nature - Bold
EV 148 HP / 240 Def / 120 Sp. Atk
Surf
Ice Beam
Recover
Hypnosis
This marveled Milotic can put your opponent to sleep, to keep it from attacking. Then attack it while its asleep. Or switch. It's massive defenses will keep it from getting OHKO'd my most attacks, but Critical hits can happen. Have fun with this evil Milotic!
( 2.3.2 ) Special Walls
Like a Physical Wall, except meant to take Special Attacks. These are moves like Ice Beam, Surf, Fire Blast, and so on. The best, and most well known Pokemon to cover Special attacks is the infamous Blissey.
Blissey @ Leftovers
Nature - Bold
EV 152 HP / 252 Def / 104 Sp. Atk
Seismic Toss
Thunder Wave / Sing
Soft Boiled
Ice Beam / Blizzard
The basic Blissey is show right above you. First using ThunderWave or Sing, to give you a Status Ailment. Remember if the Pokemon already has one, these won't work. Then you can use Physical moves, such as Seismic Toss and Earthquake. When it's feeling weak, use Soft Boiled to annoy your enemy, as this is the essence of Blissey.
Like a Physical Wall, except meant to take Special Attacks. These are moves like Ice Beam, Surf, Fire Blast, and so on. The best, and most well known Pokemon to cover Special attacks is the infamous Blissey.
Blissey @ Leftovers
Nature - Bold
EV 152 HP / 252 Def / 104 Sp. Atk
Seismic Toss
Thunder Wave / Sing
Soft Boiled
Ice Beam / Blizzard
The basic Blissey is show right above you. First using ThunderWave or Sing, to give you a Status Ailment. Remember if the Pokemon already has one, these won't work. Then you can use Physical moves, such as Seismic Toss and Earthquake. When it's feeling weak, use Soft Boiled to annoy your enemy, as this is the essence of Blissey.
( 2.3.3 ) Tanks
A Tank. No no, not the army kind. A Tank is a Pokemon with High Defenses in both Defense and Special Defense. Now while these are very useful, most of them lack Attack and Speed, so they rely on Healing themselves and setting Status Ailments on the enemy. A great Special Wall would be Dusknoir.
Dusknoir @ Leftovers
EV 252 Sp. Def / 200 Def / 52 Atk
Shadow Sneak
Will-O-Wisp
Pain Split
Brick Break / Other Move
In this set we see Dusknoir being a major hassle. Using Will-O-Wisp to Burn the foe, and Pain Split to steal life. Shadow Sneak ALWAYS moves first and doesn't miss, unless the enemy used Fly or Dig of course. Its always nice to OHKO Gengars and Alakazams this way. The last move is yours to choose, it just depends on it's strategy of battle.
A Tank. No no, not the army kind. A Tank is a Pokemon with High Defenses in both Defense and Special Defense. Now while these are very useful, most of them lack Attack and Speed, so they rely on Healing themselves and setting Status Ailments on the enemy. A great Special Wall would be Dusknoir.
Dusknoir @ Leftovers
EV 252 Sp. Def / 200 Def / 52 Atk
Shadow Sneak
Will-O-Wisp
Pain Split
Brick Break / Other Move
In this set we see Dusknoir being a major hassle. Using Will-O-Wisp to Burn the foe, and Pain Split to steal life. Shadow Sneak ALWAYS moves first and doesn't miss, unless the enemy used Fly or Dig of course. Its always nice to OHKO Gengars and Alakazams this way. The last move is yours to choose, it just depends on it's strategy of battle.
( 2.4 ) Supporters
Supporters are Pokemon that don't necessarily attack your enemy nor Wall against them, but use Status Affects and Stat Changes to your advantage. There are a few different types, with newer ones being discovered all the time. So far the most useful ones are the ones listed below, but there are others.
Supporters are Pokemon that don't necessarily attack your enemy nor Wall against them, but use Status Affects and Stat Changes to your advantage. There are a few different types, with newer ones being discovered all the time. So far the most useful ones are the ones listed below, but there are others.
( 2.4.1 ) Spikers / Stealth Rockers
This is a Pokemon that uses the moves Spikes, Toxic Spikes, or Stealth Rock to damage you foe when they come into play. They can also use a combination of the moves, such as Spikes and Toxic Spikes so they take multiple layers of damage. A Pokemon that uses this needs to have High Defenses, HP, or many resistants. My personal favorite Spiker would be Cloyster.
Cloyster @ Leftovers / Life Bell
Nature - Relaxed
EV - 252 Defense / 252 HP / 6 Sp. Defense
Spikes
Toxic Spikes
Rapid Spin
Surf / Ice Beam / Explosion
This set utilizes the Double Spikes concept. Use Toxic Spikes two times to give it the Toxic affect. Then use Spikes. If your still alive use any move EXCEPT Spikes or Toxic Spikes, there will be no effect. Rapid Spin takes out the Spikes if you need too. I prefer Explosion over the others, that way if your about do die you can take your enemy with you, but it's not always legal, so find out the rules before the match.
This is a Pokemon that uses the moves Spikes, Toxic Spikes, or Stealth Rock to damage you foe when they come into play. They can also use a combination of the moves, such as Spikes and Toxic Spikes so they take multiple layers of damage. A Pokemon that uses this needs to have High Defenses, HP, or many resistants. My personal favorite Spiker would be Cloyster.
Cloyster @ Leftovers / Life Bell
Nature - Relaxed
EV - 252 Defense / 252 HP / 6 Sp. Defense
Spikes
Toxic Spikes
Rapid Spin
Surf / Ice Beam / Explosion
This set utilizes the Double Spikes concept. Use Toxic Spikes two times to give it the Toxic affect. Then use Spikes. If your still alive use any move EXCEPT Spikes or Toxic Spikes, there will be no effect. Rapid Spin takes out the Spikes if you need too. I prefer Explosion over the others, that way if your about do die you can take your enemy with you, but it's not always legal, so find out the rules before the match.
( 2.4.2 ) Spinners
These are the counter to Spikers/Stealth Rockers, as they are Pokemon that use Rapid Spin to clear the field and discard the Spikes, meaning there will no longer be any. This Pokemon shouldn't be in every party unless you know the person your battling is using a Spiker as a main part of their strategy. The most famous example of a Spinner is Starmie is:
Starmie @ Leftovers
Nature - Timid
EV - 172 HP / 120 Sp. Atk / 216 Speed
Recover
Thunder Bolt
Rapid Spin
Surf
Starmie is a very effective Pokemon in the Spinner aspect, as if it was made for it. When someone uses Spikes, Toxic Spikes, or Stealth Rock, use Rapid Spin to negate them and make them disappear. Recover when your health is low, and Thunder Bolt and Surf for damage. You can switch Thunder Bolt with an Ice or Psychic type move too.
These are the counter to Spikers/Stealth Rockers, as they are Pokemon that use Rapid Spin to clear the field and discard the Spikes, meaning there will no longer be any. This Pokemon shouldn't be in every party unless you know the person your battling is using a Spiker as a main part of their strategy. The most famous example of a Spinner is Starmie is:
Starmie @ Leftovers
Nature - Timid
EV - 172 HP / 120 Sp. Atk / 216 Speed
Recover
Thunder Bolt
Rapid Spin
Surf
Starmie is a very effective Pokemon in the Spinner aspect, as if it was made for it. When someone uses Spikes, Toxic Spikes, or Stealth Rock, use Rapid Spin to negate them and make them disappear. Recover when your health is low, and Thunder Bolt and Surf for damage. You can switch Thunder Bolt with an Ice or Psychic type move too.
( 2.4.3 ) Baton Passers
One of the most wildly used Supporter Pokemon would be Baton Passers. They are Pokemon that raise their Attack, Special Attack, Speed, or other stats, then use the move Baton Pass to switch to another Pokemon, the new one getting all the added stats. A wildly affective Pokemon, due to its ability, would be Ninjask.
Ninjask @ Leftovers
Nature - Jolly
EV - 176 HP / 252 Atk / 80 Speed
Substitue
Swords Dance
Baton Pass
X - Scissor / Aerial Ace
Thanks to Ninjasks amazing ability, Speed Boost, which Raises it's speed every turn, Ninjask is the best choice as a Baton Passer. Use Substitute. If it doesn't get broken, use Swords Dance to raise your attack. Keep doing that strategy until your about to die, or are ready to switch. So basically you could add an extra 4,000 Speed to the Pokemon you switch out on, if you last that long.
One of the most wildly used Supporter Pokemon would be Baton Passers. They are Pokemon that raise their Attack, Special Attack, Speed, or other stats, then use the move Baton Pass to switch to another Pokemon, the new one getting all the added stats. A wildly affective Pokemon, due to its ability, would be Ninjask.
Ninjask @ Leftovers
Nature - Jolly
EV - 176 HP / 252 Atk / 80 Speed
Substitue
Swords Dance
Baton Pass
X - Scissor / Aerial Ace
Thanks to Ninjasks amazing ability, Speed Boost, which Raises it's speed every turn, Ninjask is the best choice as a Baton Passer. Use Substitute. If it doesn't get broken, use Swords Dance to raise your attack. Keep doing that strategy until your about to die, or are ready to switch. So basically you could add an extra 4,000 Speed to the Pokemon you switch out on, if you last that long.
( 2.4.4 ) Hazers / Phazers
Just as Spikers have a Counter, so do Baton Passers. Only makes it fair, right? A Hazer is a Pokemon that uses Haze, a move which negates all status effects, such as Ninjask's Speed Boost ability or moves like Nasty Plot and Swords Dance. They only last a certain amount of time though, so don't lose track. I think you know who the best Hazer would be, here's a clue, First Generation.
Weezing @ Black Sludge
Nature - Bold
EV - 252 HP / 252 Def. / 4 Speed
Smudge Bomb
Will-O-Whisp
Haze
Pain Split
Use Haze when your Enemy starts with the annoying Status Affect Moves. Otherwise, this Pokemon acts like a Physical Wall, Using Smudge Bomb to deal damage, Will-O-Wisp to Burn enemies, and Pain Split to gain life.
Just as Spikers have a Counter, so do Baton Passers. Only makes it fair, right? A Hazer is a Pokemon that uses Haze, a move which negates all status effects, such as Ninjask's Speed Boost ability or moves like Nasty Plot and Swords Dance. They only last a certain amount of time though, so don't lose track. I think you know who the best Hazer would be, here's a clue, First Generation.
Weezing @ Black Sludge
Nature - Bold
EV - 252 HP / 252 Def. / 4 Speed
Smudge Bomb
Will-O-Whisp
Haze
Pain Split
Use Haze when your Enemy starts with the annoying Status Affect Moves. Otherwise, this Pokemon acts like a Physical Wall, Using Smudge Bomb to deal damage, Will-O-Wisp to Burn enemies, and Pain Split to gain life.
( 2.4.5 ) Clerics / Healers
This is blatantly obvious, isn't it? A Healer is a Pokemon that heals itself or the entire team, using multiple moves and items. Not much I really can say here, and as much as I hate to use Legends as examples, the best is easily Celebi.
Celebi @ Leftovers
Nature - Bold
EV - 252 HP / 220 Def / 36 Speed
Grass Knot
Leech Seed
Recover
Heal Bell
Obviously use it to heal Celebii and your other Pokemon when needed. Leech Seed can be used to gain life by all your team, not just Celebii.
This is blatantly obvious, isn't it? A Healer is a Pokemon that heals itself or the entire team, using multiple moves and items. Not much I really can say here, and as much as I hate to use Legends as examples, the best is easily Celebi.
Celebi @ Leftovers
Nature - Bold
EV - 252 HP / 220 Def / 36 Speed
Grass Knot
Leech Seed
Recover
Heal Bell
Obviously use it to heal Celebii and your other Pokemon when needed. Leech Seed can be used to gain life by all your team, not just Celebii.
( 2.4.6 ) Trappers
Trappers, my favorite type of supporter. They are Pokemon that use moves to screw your opponent over, such as Toxic then Mean Look or something. There are multiple kinds, so I can't just name them all... but I'll name my Trapper Crobat. It's amazing.
Crobat @ Quick Claw / Razer Fang
Nature - Jolly
EV - 252 HP / 252 Speed / 4 Attack
Hypnosis
Poison Fang
Mean Look
U-Turn
Put your Enemy asleep, then use Mean Look so they can't run. U-Turn to switch to a Pokemon who has an advantage over them. Hopefully they stay sleeping before you lay the hit on them. If sleep clauses are enabled though, you won't be able to use it more than once, so find out the rules.
Trappers, my favorite type of supporter. They are Pokemon that use moves to screw your opponent over, such as Toxic then Mean Look or something. There are multiple kinds, so I can't just name them all... but I'll name my Trapper Crobat. It's amazing.
Crobat @ Quick Claw / Razer Fang
Nature - Jolly
EV - 252 HP / 252 Speed / 4 Attack
Hypnosis
Poison Fang
Mean Look
U-Turn
Put your Enemy asleep, then use Mean Look so they can't run. U-Turn to switch to a Pokemon who has an advantage over them. Hopefully they stay sleeping before you lay the hit on them. If sleep clauses are enabled though, you won't be able to use it more than once, so find out the rules.
( 1.1 ) Wi-Fi Playing
You now know the basics of the Pokemon Battling mechanics, and now you are wondering, how do I get those EVs and IVs onto my Pokemon. Well, fortunatly for you, this part of the guide explains how to get good IVs and EVs onto your Pokemon.
( 1.1 ) CompetitiveTraining
Okay, it stated earlier in the guide how you obtain EVs, but it didn't really explain the steps to get specific EVs onto your Pokemon. Well first off, the process is called "EV Training," and it allows your Pokemon to reach it's fullest potential.
Okay, it stated earlier in the guide how you obtain EVs, but it didn't really explain the steps to get specific EVs onto your Pokemon. Well first off, the process is called "EV Training," and it allows your Pokemon to reach it's fullest potential.
( 1.3 ) Things that you need.
The first thing to do before you want to start EV training is to know what you want to train. Let us just say that we want this UT (untouched, meaning has no current EVs currently)
to have 252 attack and 252 speed EVs. Next should be to have some EV training items. They ideal ones are listed:
Power Anklet Reduces the Pokemon's Speed by 1/2, but you gain 4 aditional EVs in Speed.
Power Band Reduces the Pokemon's Speed by 1/2, but you gain 4 aditional EVs in Special Defense.
Power Belt Reduces the Pokemon's Speed by 1/2, but you gain 4 aditional EVs in Defense.
Power Bracer Reduces the Pokemon's Speed by 1/2, but you gain 4 aditional EVs in Attack.
Power Lens Reduces the Pokemon's Speed by 1/2, but you gain 4 aditional EVs in Special Attack.
Power Weight Reduces the Pokemon's Speed by 1/2, but you gain 4 aditional EVs in HP.
Another thing that you would want is Pokerus. What is Pokerus? It is a rare condition that appeared in all the Pokemon games since Pokemon Gold and Pokemon Silver. There is a 1 in 21,845 chance that one of your Pokemon will catch the virus; by defeating a wild Pokemon with the ability. What it does is double all the stat gain your Pokemon earns while leveling up. In Diamond/Pearl, a Pokemon infected with Pokerus will have a image in their summary that says "Pokerus", meaning that Pokemon is currently infected and may share it with other Pokemon in your party. The virus only has about a day before a Pokemon's immune system fights it off, but you can stall the time by placing the Pokemon in the PC. Even if your game is off, if an infected Pokemon is in your party it still counts as the time has passed. Next you need a plan on where to fight. Lucky for you, Umbreon can through for you and made a plan for you.
has a Quiet Nature and terrible IVs, 12/15/10/29/10/0 (all IVs are listed HP/Attack/Defense/Special Attack/Special Defence/ Speed). How do you get good natures and IVs? That is easiley explained, but takes an assload of time to do. It is called breeding btw. But since Smogon does it much better I'll just link you. http://www.smogon.com/dp/articles/breeding_guide_part1
*moar later*
The first thing to do before you want to start EV training is to know what you want to train. Let us just say that we want this UT (untouched, meaning has no current EVs currently)
Power Anklet Reduces the Pokemon's Speed by 1/2, but you gain 4 aditional EVs in Speed.
Power Band Reduces the Pokemon's Speed by 1/2, but you gain 4 aditional EVs in Special Defense.
Power Belt Reduces the Pokemon's Speed by 1/2, but you gain 4 aditional EVs in Defense.
Power Bracer Reduces the Pokemon's Speed by 1/2, but you gain 4 aditional EVs in Attack.
Power Lens Reduces the Pokemon's Speed by 1/2, but you gain 4 aditional EVs in Special Attack.
Power Weight Reduces the Pokemon's Speed by 1/2, but you gain 4 aditional EVs in HP.
Another thing that you would want is Pokerus. What is Pokerus? It is a rare condition that appeared in all the Pokemon games since Pokemon Gold and Pokemon Silver. There is a 1 in 21,845 chance that one of your Pokemon will catch the virus; by defeating a wild Pokemon with the ability. What it does is double all the stat gain your Pokemon earns while leveling up. In Diamond/Pearl, a Pokemon infected with Pokerus will have a image in their summary that says "Pokerus", meaning that Pokemon is currently infected and may share it with other Pokemon in your party. The virus only has about a day before a Pokemon's immune system fights it off, but you can stall the time by placing the Pokemon in the PC. Even if your game is off, if an infected Pokemon is in your party it still counts as the time has passed. Next you need a plan on where to fight. Lucky for you, Umbreon can through for you and made a plan for you.
Then you need to make sure that this Pokemon has good IVs and a good nature. You check and find out thatUmbreon said:
*moar later*
