15 Smart Things Pro Pokémon Players Do (And 15 Mistakes Careless Trainers Make)
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Pokémon is more nuanced than most players realize — these are tips from the pros.
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Category : Pokemon
Sometimes, it’s just not easy being an adult Pokémon fan. There’s a little lingering feeling out there; like being back in sixth grade and having your classmates discover that you still sleep with your pink teddy bear named Mr. Snuggletums.
These days, of course, all the super-cool kids are all about Fortnite. Pokémon is for little kids, we sometimes hear, despite the fact that Fortnite is as toon-tastic and cutesy as Pokémon (albeit with more explosives and firearms).
At first glance, I suppose you can see where this recess mentality may come from. After all, the Pokémon franchise has always been beginner-friendly and accessible. You know, in a My First RPG sort of way.
Don’t be fooled, though: the main game itself may be on the more accessible end of the RPG spectrum, but there’s a whole ocean of hidden depth to explore here. We’re talking all the way down in the dang ocean, where anglerfish and all kinds of other creepy-looking guys and gals live.
So, Fire-types beat Grass-types? Water-types beat Fire? Yep, that’s certainly true (coverage aside, which we’ll get into later), but there’s so much more going on here. If you want to be the very best, like no-one ever was, you’re going to have to fully commit to learning the finer points of Pokémon play and battling. Whole in-depth guides full of impossible jargon have been written on that subject, but I’m not going to subject you to that.
Instead, let’s take a look at tips to take to heart from the pros and amateur mistakes to leave far behind.
30 PRO: Talk To EVERYONE!
If you’re well-versed in the ways of RPGs, this one’s probably second nature to you. Sadly, so many players just don’t take the time to gather that crucial information.
When entering a new town, you probably want to scout out the stores for new equipment, and rest to restore your HP. Alongside that, though, there’s often a bounty of NPCs who are really worth your while. True enough, lots of them will simply repeat the same line of prattling dialogue, but some of them will give you important items and quests.
In Pokémon, they may even offer a trade or some other service you can’t get elsewhere.
29 CARELESS: Skipping Dialogue And Non-Essentials
By contrast, impatient trainers will not have time for any of those sorts of shenanigans. There’s the Pokémon Center, there’s the store, I’ll just grab a few more Potions and Repels and be on my dang way.
Granted, if you’re not the backstory and lore type, this approach will serve you perfectly well. It can become problematic, though, especially if you’re playing through some of the older Pokémon titles which were a little less user-friendly.
In thirty hours’ time, you might need to find that one Move Tutor, item or NPC with a specific TM, and have to rely on the internet to find it.
28 PRO: Fight EVERYONE
Speaking of the importance of NPCs, there’s one interesting Pokémon-specific point to bear in mind. A large number of them won’t want to talk or give you items. They’ll just want to tell you that shorts are comfy and easy to wear and then IMMEDIATELY BATTLE.
Not that there’s anything wrong with this. Trainer battles are a super-important source of experience and cash (with Amulet Coins and other methods of boosting prize money stacked together, you’ll be surprised how much). If you’re a true pro playing a Nuzlocke, for instance, you really will want all the experience you can get.
27 CARELESS: Skipping Those Battles
Now, don’t get me wrong here. I have absolutely zero beef with players who want to deftly dodge locking eyes with some of those trainers.
There are, let’s not kid ourselves, far too dang many trainers in some areas.
It’s just that it’s totally worth the time. Not only do you keep yourself nicely on-par with everybody this way (giving you the most balanced experience), but there are all kinds of other boons too. In the seventh generation games, there are all kinds of items and TMs you can only get by clearing out every trainer on that route.
26 PRO: The Old-School Pen And Paper Approach
If you really want to prove your chops as a Pokémon pro, you’re going to need to get yourself into the competitive scene. Local grassroots tournaments, big official regional ones, even the worldwide finals…being the very best requires a commitment, friends.
To truly perform in a tournament setting, you’re going to need to gather all the information about the opponent’s team you can. In order to do this, players tend to keep a notebook with them, to keep a record of moves, held items and such as they’re revealed.
25 CARELESS: Don’t Trust The Bank Of Mom
I understand, Johto Mom. I totally do. You’re just looking out for your child. You don’t want them spending all their cash on candy, video games, and rock n’ roll. I can appreciate that, I really can.
The only problem is, I don’t really want Super Potions when I’m about to tackle the Elite 4. Get with the program, mom. I’m a better investor than you, and I’m eleven years old.
The moral of the story is, have a long hard think before you agree to let mom look after some of your cash in Pokémon Gold and Silver. And then don’t do it.
24 PRO: Super Repels Are Much More Super Than You Might Think
As we know, thanks to the Pokémon franchise’s family-friendly nature, it’s quite simple to grasp how items work. Great Balls are more effective than Poké Balls, while Ultra Balls have a higher catch rate than Great Balls.
Don’t let those sneaky Repels trip you up, though. For the amount you’re paying, and the steps you’re protected for, Super Repels are the more cost-effective choice.
Don’t be deceived by the sometimes-lame bank of mom, and don’t be strong-armed by rambunctious Max Repel salesmen either.
23 CARELESS: When You Really Want To Repel EVERYBODY
Following on from that last point, it’s only logical to assume that a Max Repel would be the most effective choice. As I say, that’s the way with Poké Balls, Potions and other commodities.
Not that it’s the biggest of deals, with the rate the game can throw money at you (if you’re set up for that), but still.
Many pro players like to play with additional restrictions of their own choosing, and in challenge runs, the difference in the cost-effectiveness of items can make all the difference.
It’s about being as efficient as possible.
22 PRO: Surprise! Critical Hit!
We’ve all been there. You’re happily in a commanding position of a battle. Just a couple more turns to go. Suddenly, the inevitable critical hit destroys your chances on a whim, and you want to roundhouse kick someone’s grandma right in the dentures.
If you’re playing a Nuzlocke, for instance (fainted Pokémon are perma-gone), you’ve got to try to take those dreaded critical hits into account. You’ve got to think in terms of surviving moves even if they do 1.5 damage (after the nerf to criticals), wherever possible.
21 CARELESS: When Lady Luck Just Isn’t That Into You
If you’ve had much experience with the Pokémon franchise over the years, you’ll know that there’s a whole heaping helping of luck involved with the whole thing. Sometimes moves will miss at essential moments, paralysis or flinches will kick in at the worst possible time, you’ll be frozen solid for seventeen centuries…
It can be a bad time, is what I’m getting at. You can never just assume that a turn will play out as you planned. You’ve got to try to anticipate those critical hits (difficult as that can be), as I say.
20 PRO: Wait, Poison Is Weak To WHAT? What World Are We Living In?
So, yes. We all know the basics. Water-types are weak to Grass moves, Ice-types are weak to Fire moves and so forth. A lot of this totally makes sense. Why don’t the fire service want you to have barbecues in wooded areas? Because grass and trees tend to have mixed feelings about ANGRY FLAMING FIERY FIRE, that’s why.
Al of this is simple enough, but truly pro Pokémon players have memorized every obscure weakness and resistance on the type chart. Does Bug resist Ground, for instance? Yes, yes it does.
19 CARELESS: When That Pikachu’s Been In The Daycare So Long, It’s Grown Up And Gotten A Mortgage
Now, this next entry is in no way inspired by my own Pokémon mistakes back in the late 90s. Oh, heckles no.
Now that we’re all clear on that, one of the funniest youthful Poké-mistakes you can make is to deposit a Pokémon in the daycare and entirely forget all about it.
Pokémon Sun and Moon did away with this issue by removing the level gains from the daycare, but back then, this was a real problem. It was also an impossibility to replace moves you’d erased in the process, too.
18 PRO: Ditto Army, Assemble!
Speaking of the daycare, that’s another aspect that pro Pokémon players have perfected. The art of breeding can be a long, painstaking process, but it’s only the way to create battle-ready Pokémon.
It’s a system that’s far more intricate than you may think. It’s not just about leaving a Skitty and a Wailord in there and awaiting the unspeakable acts betwixt them that make an egg. You’re breeding for abilities, genders, specific Poké Balls, moves, natures, and IVs, all at once in some cases. Does it still sound simple?
17 CARELESS: Winging It Is Not The Way To Go
We’ve all been guilty of this awful Poké-crime. It looks as though that move should take the opponent out (or shouldn’t, if it’s a wild Pokémon you’re trying to catch). You decide to YOLO it, select the move, and watch in horror as the opponent barely survives the attack (or doesn’t).
Here in the Pokémon world, luck very rarely decides to bless us. More often, it decides to give us the finger, push our beloved pet in front of a speeding SUV, cackle and run off into the sunset with our significant other. Don’t leave things to chance.
16 PRO: Those Precise Damage Calculations
So, what’s the answer, then? How do we avoid the pitfalls of damage? How do we mitigate the dangers of critical hits, max and minimum rolls, all the luck-based factors that come with the game calculating the final damage you deal?
With a damage calculator of your own, that’s how. In competitive battles, players will often input the Pokémon, the opposing Pokémon, the sets they’re using and such into a dedicated program, which will then show the exact damage (in terms of percentages) they’re going to deal. Knowing that you have a 90% chance to OHKO, for instance, makes all the difference.
15 CARELESS: That Powerful Ember/Flamethrower/Fire Blast/Fly Charizard
Of course, when it comes to simply playing through the main story, absolutely anything goes.
You could roll with a full team of six Luvdisc if you fancied, so long as you’d kept them high-leveled enough to be able to compete.
Generally speaking, of course, a Pokémon’s level-up moveset is going with clogged with lots of moves related to its typing. As such, uninformed trainers will end up with a Charizard with four Fire moves, completely redundant and lame. I myself rocked an Articuno with Peck, Ice Beam, Blizzard and Fly back in the 90s, foolish child that I was.
14 PRO: Mix Things Up A Little Already
Needless to say, that Articuno I was so proud of at the age of 11 was just beyond questionable. To make an effective Pokémon moveset, you’ve got to consider STAB (Same Type Attack Bonus) as well as coverage. The most basic example of good coverage is Ice Beam on a Water-type, giving it a chance against the Grass-types that would usually send them crying for their grandmas.
Generally, two different moves of the same type are redundant, unless one is a status or priority move (Mach Punch and Close Combat/Flamethrower and Will-O-Wisp are totally fine together, say).
13 CARELESS: Don’t Be The ‘Legendaries For The Sake Of It’ Guy
Back when Battle Spot was new, and we finally had insta-access to other battlers online, it was… well, not the best time. We certainly can’t expect every random player online ever to be competitively-minded, but still. It wasn’t pretty.
If you had the guts to hop into an unrestricted match, you’d usually be up against a team of six legendaries. Arceus, Kyogre, Groudon, Reshiram… you know what these teams looked like.
The trouble is, while these Pokémon boast hungover-Godzilla-rampaging-through-Tokyo-looking-for-some-aspirin levels of power, they still need competitive sets and decent use. Things most of these people seemed to lack entirely.
12 PRO: Getting That Balance Right
The all-powerful gods of the Poké-verse are one thing, but they can only get you so far. The key to effective play is not just throwing something strong onto your team for the sake of it, but making sure it can be as effective as possible.
A sun-based team with a Kyogre shoehorned in isn’t the smartest of the super-smarts, say, because it’ll rain all over that darn parade as soon as it switches in. it’s about the best Pokémon for the job, not simply the best Pokémon.
11 CARELESS: And, Lo, The Internet Said, “Too Stronk, Plz Nerf”
On a similar note, another common pitfall newer players can fall into is the matter of more powerful moves. A lot of the time in Pokémon, the choice for each of your limited moveslots comes down to power versus accuracy.
Fire Blast, for instance, is a good deal stronger than Flamethrower, but Flamethrower has the advantage of being 100% accurate.
In a game that just delights in making your moves miss at the most crucial moments, it’s not usually a gamble that more experienced players want to take.
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