**Note: I will be using the competitive
aspect Pokemon X & Y as my main
point because I will be mentioning breeding and what not, however that doesn’t
make this limited to Pokemon X & Y as this can be used for places like Pokemon
Showdown. Anywho…
What
is Pokemon?
Pokemon began as
a video game sometime in the 1990s, and is essentially mythically creatures
battling each other. The series has since branched off into things such as an anime,
manga,
and trading
card game, among other things. Pokemon is great because it is
something many people have grown up with, and it’s still going strong so they
can still experience it.
Right now there
are 718 Pokemon, and counting (have
a look for yourself). Every Pokemon is going to have their
strengths and weakness, but we’ll save that for another time.
Competitive
Battling
I think
competitive battling is one thing that really keeps a lot of the fans attached to
Pokemon. It may seem complicated, but once a person understands the mechanics
of the game it can be a lot of fun. Well unless you’re the type of person who
believes winning is everything and doesn’t know how to have fun (I kid). Some
people may say Pokemon is childish, but I like to think Competitive Pokemon
takes more skill than games like Call of
Duty, it may be a different kind of skill but it’s skill nonetheless.
If you’ve never seen
a Competitive Pokemon Battle be sure to look some up on YouTube. That’s where I
started, and I think it’s a great way to learn.
Here’s a guy who has some
really nice battles (Caution Strong Language)
The
Basics
If you’ve played
through any main series Pokemon game, like X & Y, then you should already
know some, if not all, of the basics. For the sake of competitive battling it
would be a good idea to have this memorized. I hope I don’t forget anything. :)
Types
With the
introduction of Gen
VI there has been the introduction of the Fairy
type, and the last time a new type was added was in Gen II with the
introduction of Dark and Steel. When it comes down to it, type matchups are
like a big game of paper, rock, scissors;
there’s always going to be one type that’s better than the other.
Pokemon,
Moves, and Types
Every Pokemon
will have at least one type, and in
some cases a Pokemon can have two types. Just like Pokemon, moves have types but moves only have one type (Exceptions, the
move Flying Press and Hidden Power, which is a move that
varies depending on the Pokemon). When a Pokemon of one type uses a move of the
same type then that move will receive a Same
Type Attack Bonus (STAB).
Pokemon of two types can benefit from having two STAB moves, but having two
types opens up different weaknesses, which could be a good or bad thing. (What STAB does is found under chart)
Type
Chart
·
If the attacking type is stronger than
the defending type, the attack will deal 2x
damage (Super Effective)
·
If the attacking type is weaker than the
defending type, the attack will deal ½x
damage (Not Very Effective)
·
If the attacking type is stronger than
both types of a defending Pokemon, the attack will do 4x damage (Super Effective)
o
Ex: Fire attack vs. a Grass/Steel type Pokemon
·
If the attacking type is weaker than
both types of a defending Pokemon, the attack will do ¼x damage (Not Very Effective)
o
Ex: Bug
attack vs. a Flying/Fairy type Pokemon
·
STAB
adds 1.5x damage to the attack
·
If a Pokemon receives STAB and the
attack is Super Effective, the damage will multiply resulting in 3x damage or even up to 6x damage!
·
If the Pokemon receives STAB and the
attack is Not Very Effect, the damage will do 1x (normal) damage
·
If there is no number in the type chart
the attack does 1x damage
·
If there is a “0” in the type chart the
attack does NO DAMAGE (Doesn’t Effect)
o
Ex: If a Fighting type attack was used
against a Ghost/Ice type there will be no damage despite Fighting
being Super Effective against Ice
Critical
Hits!
Critical Hits
will add 1.5x damage to the attack.
(Critical Hits used to add 2x damage to the attack but that was prior to Gen
VI)
·
Critical Hits have a 6.25% chances of happening and ignore all stat changes
Stats
Every Pokemon is
unique, for the most part, not only in appearance but also in what they’re able
to do. Some are better attackers and some are better at taking a hit, it all
depends on their stats.
·
HP
(Hit
Points) – How long a Pokemon will survive, once their HP reaches 0 they have
fainted and are unable to battle
·
Attack
(Atk) – Physical damage, this determines how much damage a Pokemon will do to
the other Pokemon’s HP while considering the Pokemon’s Defense
·
Defense
(Def) – Physical Defense, this determines how well a Pokemon can take an Attack
·
Special
Attack (Sp. Atk)– Special damage, this determines how much
damage a Pokemon will do to the other Pokemon’s HP while considering the
Pokemon’s Special Defense
·
Special
Defense (Sp. Def)– Special Defense, this determines how well
a Pokemon can take a Special Attack
·
Speed
– (Spe)This determines you goes first in a turn, if the speed of Pokemon A is
higher than the speed of Pokemon B then Pokemon A will go first, unless
otherwise effected
·
Accuracy
(Acc)– The chances of an attack hitting the Pokemon
·
Evasion
(Eva)– The chances of a Pokemon avoiding an
attack
Stat
Modifiers
Besides moves
that do damage there are also moves that can increase or decrease a Pokemon’s
stats. Stat changes happen in Stages with
the max/minimum Stage being +6/-6. Moves vary by how many Stages they can
change a stat, and Stage for Accuracy/Evasion are different from the other
stats (except HP, the base HP can’t be
raised or lower during a battle).
Stages
for Atk/SpAtk/Def/SpDef/Spe
·
Stage 1 – 1.5x
·
Stage 2 – 2x
·
Stage 3 – 2.5x
·
Stage 4 – 3x
·
Stage 5 – 3.5x
·
Stage 6 – 4x
Stages
for Accuracy/Evasion
·
Stage 1 – 1.33x
·
Stage 2 – 1.66x
·
Stage 3 – 2x
·
Stage 4 – 2.33x
·
Stage 5 – 2.66x
·
Stage 6 – 3x
Status
Conditions
Stat Modifiers
aren’t the only thing that can change a Pokemon’s stats. Status Condition can
be from Status causing moves, an added effect from attacking moves, or an
ability (Further down).
·
Burn
– Halves damage done by Physical Attacks and Pokemon loses 1/8 of its HP every
turn, Fire types can’t be burned
·
Freeze
– Pokemon cannot move, there’s a 20% chance of unfreezing every turn unless a
Pokemon uses a Fire type move that can unfreeze, Ice
types can’t be Frozen
·
Paralysis
– Speed is lowered by 75% and the Pokemon has 25% chance of not moving, Electric type Pokemon
cannot be Paralyzed
·
Poison/Badly
Poisoned – Poison deal 1/8 damage every turn, and Badly
Poison’s damage gradually increases every turn the Pokemon stays in starting
from 1/16 damage and increasing by 1/16 every turn after, Poison and Steel type Pokemon can’t be Poisoned
·
Sleep
– A Pokemon will randomly sleep from anywhere between 1 to 5 turns, every time
the Pokemon switches out and comes back in the counter is reset, all Pokemon
can sleep
**Note:
Only one of these status conditions can apply to a Pokemon at a time
Natures
Every Pokemon
has a nature, and depending on the Nature the Pokemon’s stats will be affected.
Natures will either have no effect on the Pokemon’s stats, or will increase one stat by 10% and lower another by 10%. This is really
important in competitive battling because you want to get the most out of a
Pokemon’s best stat and at the same time you can lower its worst stat so all
the other stats are affected. (HP is a
stat that is not affected by Natures)
List
of Natures
Next
Time Trainers
This information
is just the basics of what Pokemon is about, but if you don’t know this you
aren’t going to make it very far. Depending on how you take this in it may seem
like a lot, or you may have already known this stuff, but this plus what’s to
come is going to start shaping the competitive battling scene. Once I add in
the abilities and items, and touch more on the specifics on some of the things
I already address the wheels will start turning, but for now I leave you with
the fundamentals.
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