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Want to be more competitive but not sure how :(

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goochsauce

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Hey everyone, I've played pokemon games for over a decade now and its one of the few franchises I can spend countless hours in and never get bored but only this past year really have I begun to realize just how complex the games are due to shinies and EV/IV's (not even 100% sure what that is). Now over the years I would simply play the games and battle and trade among friends but recently I've wanted to become a little bit more 'serious' about pokemon but am not exactly sure how to do so. I've done random match-ups online a handful of times in the past and they mostly end with me being one shotted like crazy :bawl: not sure if its because they are hacked pokemon or if its because I stink more than a trubbish (who are adorable btw). Well basically I was hoping for some direction on how exactly to begin making a competitive team and get into the game a bit more in that regard while hopefully still being able to use favorites of mine in White 2 like Conkeldurr, Gigalith, Absol, Cinccino, and theres more but you get the idea. So really if anyone can give me a sense of direction that be great because I'll admit I'm a little lost as to where to start :sweatlol:
 
Alright, first of all, sorry to disappoint you (it disappointed me too) but Absol is garbage. Cinccino is bad too, and Gigalith. BUT--Conkeldurr is awesome. Firstly, Playing the REAL GAMES competitively is annoying as hell. (Without AR / Pokegen / WHATEVER) I Would suggest using a simulator (Like Pokemon Showdown) to make life A LOT easier. Also, EVs and IVs, as well as Natures, are needed to raise stats to their Maximum (Which explains you One-Shots). A Good place to start on the world of competitive-ness is Black/White (B/W) - Smogon University If you have any Questions, feel free to ask / Pm me.
 
Pikmin1211 said:
Alright, first of all, sorry to disappoint you (it disappointed me too) but Absol is garbage. Cinccino is bad too, and Gigalith. BUT--Conkeldurr is awesome. Firstly, Playing the REAL GAMES competitively is annoying as hell. (Without AR / Pokegen / WHATEVER) I Would suggest using a simulator (Like Pokemon Showdown) to make life A LOT easier. Also, EVs and IVs, as well as Natures, are needed to raise stats to their Maximum (Which explains you One-Shots). A Good place to start on the world of competitive-ness is Black/White (B/W) - Smogon University If you have any Questions, feel free to ask / Pm me.
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First off thanks for the reply! I figured the EV's, IV's, and all of that are necessary to get the best out of your pokemon. From what I understand, and I can very well be wrong, you raise those by KOing specific pokemon and also it all has to do something with breeding and eggs lol. Now I understand why people get 'breeders' to raise EV's and I'm assuming that there is a specific type of EV you want to raise for each pokemon to get the best out of it. I'll definitely be checking out the site for a list of rankings and which pokemon are good in a specific type (eg. fire). It's a lot to take in at first so sorry if I'm coming off as a super noob...which I probably am hehe.
 
Speaking of "Breeders" i happen to be one. Anyway, we're all n00bs at one point, right? you gotta start somewhere. PS- You're welcome.
 
Pikmin1211 said:
Speaking of "Breeders" i happen to be one. Anyway, we're all n00bs at one point, right? you gotta start somewhere. PS- You're welcome.
Click to expand...

Ahh cool! Yea at first I wasn't sure what the whole breeder thing was but now I'm starting to get it. With the help of google and that smogon website I'm starting to get the idea of the whole EV thing. It doesn't seem as daunting anymore but still a lot of effort has to be put in to get the pokemon where they have to be at so I get that. Also another thing I was curious about in general is whether it is better to use a shiny version of a particular pokemon to battle or if that's more of a collector thing.
 
Because shinies only change the appearance and not the Base Stats, it's more of a collector thing.
Also, the task IS long without cheats/hacks so i recommend using a simulator (as i said earlier)
 
Just messed around with the simulator! Also thanks now I know what to do when bored on campus haha. I'm thinking I'm a make an ideal team...mess around with them on that thing see if i like its dynamic, and then try to actually create the team in game with all the proper EVs and what not.
 
@goochsauce ; It's not really something you can learn overnight. But, a great place to look is Smogon. Just browse through articles, Rate My Teams, Warstories, discussion threads and you'll get a feel for it in no time. Bulbapedia is also a very reliable tool when it comes to learning about EVs/IVs/Natures/Pokemon/Moves and what not.

In future, though, please post in the simple questions thread instead of making a new one!
 
@Synthesis, I Already told him about smogon! lul.
Actually, it IS something you learn overnight.
 
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It took me a long time to "fully" learn the competitive side, I use quote marks because I can still be surprised. As well as Smogon you could try watching a few competitive battlers on YouTube. I found it helped me to have a more visual example of the competitive scene.
 
having a good moveset, items, and a balaned team is always a good idea. For example, my reuniclus is armed with shadow ball and focus blast to defend from dark-, ghost-, and bug-types while psychic and energy ball counter most other types.
 
Also ii just remember you can try this progran called pokemon online where you can design teams ande test them out live here's a link: Pok
 
Glad to know I am not the only one struggling in this department. It's just so time consuming.
 
O.O Cincinno is most definitely NOT garbage. Either that or you've never faced a DW one.

Otehr than that, I'd agree with what's already been said; learn natures, EV's, IV's and then fiddle around with some battle simulators. After a while, you learn to anticipate what most people are running and what works and it's easier to make effective teams. It takes time, but if you're a quick learner it shouldn't be too bad.
 
Absol isn't garbage, necessarily. I've successfully used him. Super Luck, holding Razor Claw, Night Slash/Psycho Cut/Slash/Shadow Claw and up his speed and attack like a mother and he fared pretty well against some decent threats.
Breeding is something you fall in love with and never get out of the habit of. When first starting, just remember that competitive teams and in game teams are two different things. What would work against the Elite 4 is not necessarily what would work against an opponent. I had to revamp my entire view of how I play my games when I got into competitive.
Good luck!
 
I'd recommend to start just picking a tier on showdown, building a team based on reading and then playing a tonne of games. Adjust as you go and you'll learn pretty quickly.
 
Well technically(IIRC) a scarfed Absol can beat an unboosted(speed) Rayquaza by using a me-first Outrage.
 
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