____       _
|  _ \ ___ | | _____ _ __ ___   ___  _ __
| |_) / _ \| |/ / _ \ '_ ` _ \ / _ \| '_ \
|  __/ (_) |   <  __/ | | | | | (_) | | | |
|_|   \___/|_|\_\___|_| |_| |_|\___/|_| |_|
____                           _   _ _   _
/ ___|___  _ __ ___  _ __   ___| |_(_) |_(_)_   _____
| |   / _ \| '_ ` _ \| '_ \ / _ \ __| | __| \ \ / / _ \
| |__| (_) | | | | | | |_) |  __/ |_| | |_| |\ V /  __/
\____\___/|_| |_| |_| .__/ \___|\__|_|\__|_| \_/ \___|
|_|
____        _   _   _ _
| __ )  __ _| |_| |_| (_)_ __   __ _
|  _ \ / _` | __| __| | | '_ \ / _` |
| |_) | (_| | |_| |_| | | | | | (_| |
|____/ \__,_|\__|\__|_|_|_| |_|\__, |
|___/
____       _     _
/ ___|_   _(_) __| | ___
| |  _| | | | |/ _` |/ _ \
| |_| | |_| | | (_| |  __/
\____|\__,_|_|\__,_|\___|
The Guide to Competitive Battling
by KholdStare
kholdstare_mud@yahoo.com
Version 1.0
Added I-XII
Need to do: Double Battles
Status: I have it written out, but I want this posted ASAP.
Version 1.1
Fixed some minor punctuations
Added information about "Thief"
Need to do: Double Battles
Status: I have it written out, but I want this posted ASAP.
Version 2.0
Added Double Battles as Section XII
Credits is now Section XIII
Need to do: Example Movesets
Status: I've wrote so much about them separately that it will be easy to do.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Table of Contents
I.    Preface
II.   The Basics
III.  Moves
IV.   Items
V.    Individual Values (IVs)
VI.   Effort Values (EVs)
VII.  Traits (Abilities)
VIII. Natures
IX.   The Job System
X.    Move Combinations
XI.   Making a Team
XII.  Credits
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
I. Preface
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
"I, the author of this guide, hereby release it into the public domain. This
applies worldwide. In case this is not legally possible: I grant anyone the
right to use it for any purpose, without any conditions, unless such
conditions are required by law."
First, I would like to describe the work below. This section can be skipped,
but it might be interesting to read. This work is a compilation of my five
years of Pokémon knowledge, and I will try my best to convey this information
to the younger generations when I retire. I consider myself to be a good
Pokémon battler, but not in any case the best. Even chess engines creators
consider themselves mediocre chess players when they write programs that beat
grandmasters, and I shall use this case to justify my ability in writing this
guide. With the right knowledge, patience, and creativity, anyone who reads
this guide can greatly improve their battling abilities, and possibly even
beating me. I will however give you a fair warning. To many people, this
guide will be boring if you're not committed into learning the art of
battling Pokémon. I will admit that even I cannot consider every factor in
this guide when creating my team. The strategy is to use as much of the below
information as you can. The more you use, the better battler you will be.
Pokémon Competitive Battling is an art that many has discovered. This does
not include beating the game and become "the Pokémon master." This guide will
focus on player(s) vs. player(s) battles, for which this guide was designed
to do. It might be harsh to say this, but beating the game does not make you
a Pokémon master, because the game is truly programmed for eight years olds
to beat. When taking the skills you know to reach over battlers all over the
world, you will learn the wondrous and complex beauty of Pokémon battling and
you will recognize the many strategies it uses. If Nintendo were to make a
Pokémon game for the sole purpose of connecting to people online, then I
would truly think that its genre should be Strategy, not Role Playing.
This guide will cover all three generations, but it's best if you know what
they are. Red, Blue, Green, and Yellow versions consist of the First
Generation, also called RBY. Gold, Silver, and Crystal versions consist of
the Second Generation, usually called GSC. And finally, Ruby, Sapphire,
Emerald, Fire Red, and Leaf Green consists of the Third Generation, which are
called RSE and FRLG separately. When I refer to a ___ Generation, then you
should know which versions I am talking about.
Finally, I have decided to make this guide public. It would be nice to give
me credit for this guide, but you can put it on your websites or send it to
your friends without asking me for permission. Although I do not encourage
plagiarism, my goal is to have as many people read this guide as possible.
Therefore, I will be happier knowing that people will read this, not being
busy enforcing who has what on whose site(s). As a final note, I am happy to
say that I wrote this with the least amounts of typos possible and I use the
most correct English grammar that I know. I'm really tired to reading guides
that are full of errors, so consider this my gift to your eyes and brain.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
II. The Basics
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Without legal restrictions, Pokémon Battling is basically pitting 6 of your
own Pokémon against 6 of your opponent's Pokémon over a link cable. Level 100
is the highest you can go, so it's best to train your Pokémon to level 100.
Use your best Pokémon! It's recommended that two of the same type of Pokémon
is not a good idea, but if you think that it gives you an advantage, do so!
First, we will talk about the two commands to battle. If you have battled
many times before, you can skip this section.
Attack: This is where you attack the enemy. Choose one move from a movepool
of up to four moves, and you will attack your opponent with that move.
Depending on the move you have chosen, it could hit or miss, not attack right
away, or not have any obvious or immediate effect.
Change: If you want to exchange Pokémon, simply go to Change and choose a
Pokémon from your party of up to six Pokémon. Note that when you switch, your
opponent's selected move (this is turn-based, after all) will strike while
your action is switching, so make sure that you don't make a bad switch.
Now, we will talk about the stats of each Pokémon. There are six in total:
HP, Attack, Defense, Special Attack, Special Defense, and Speed. Pokémon
attacks are split into three types: Physical, Special, and ???. Seriously,
Nintendo classifies the third type as ???. For the sake of simplicity, we
will only focus on the first two types. The damage moves that deal Physical
damage, which are Normal, Fighting, Poison, Ground, Flying, Bug, Rock, Ghost,
and Steel, are determined by a) the power of the attack, and b) your Attack
stat. How much damage you take from a Physical move is determined by your
Defense stat. So far simple, right? If you have a low Attack, then you will
have trouble dealing a lot of damage with Physical moves; if you have a low
Defense, you will have trouble surviving Physical moves; and vice-versa. The
other type (besides Physical) is Special. The damage moves that deal Special
damage, which are Fire, Water, Electric, Grass, Ice, Psychic, Dragon, and
Dark, are determined by a) the power of the attack, and b) your Special
Attack stat. How much damage you take from Special move is determined by your
Special Defense stat. Again, very simple. We now take the Pokémon Alakzam as
an example. Alakazam has a very low Attack and very high Special Attack. With
the information that you were provided above, it is best to give Alakazam a
Special attack, such a Confusion (type: Psychic), rather than giving it a
Physical attack, such a Dig (type: Ground). Now, you know to find Special
Attacks for Alakazam and not Physical Attacks.
I mentioned "the power of the attack," so what is it? An attack has four
characteristics: a) power, b) accuracy, c) type, and d) special effects.
Let's take the move Ice Punch. Ice Punch's characteristics are a) 75 base
power, b) 100% accuracy, c) type: Ice, and d) has a 10% change of inflicting
the status Freeze to the opponent. Now, what does 75 base power mean? For a
rough explanation, base power shows the strength of an attack originally.
Once again, let's take Alazakam as an example. Mega Punch (type: Normal) has
a base power of 85. However, if you look at your Alakazam's stats, you will
once again see that its Special Attack is most likely more than double its
Attack. In this case, even though Mega Punch has a higher base power than Ice
Punch, it is a Physical Attack so it will deal less damage than Ice Punch if
Alakazam uses them.
I mentioned "base power," so what is it? Base power is the power that is
officially given to us. Several things can change this. First, there is
something called Same Type Attack Bonus, or in short, STAB. If the type of
the move you are uses matches (one of) the type of the Pokémon using it, then
the attack receives a 1.5x move bonus. Confusion's base power is 50, but if
used Alakazam (Confusion's type is Psychic, Alakazam's type is Psychic), then
Confusion's power will be: 50 x 1.5 = 75 power. Second, there are Type
Alignment Advantages. Third, there moves that temporarily raise a type's
power. Fourth, there are items that temporarily raise a type's power when
attached. And finally, there are Abilities that raises a type's power under
special conditions. We will attack about all of these later.
We have gone over Attack, Defense, Special Attack, and Special Defense. Now,
it's time for Speed. Speed is not complicated at all, since for most cases,
the Pokémon with the higher Speed moves first. In case of a tie, it will be a
coin flip. In Red, Blue, Green, and Yellow versions, Speed is a major
contribution to Critical Hits. A Critical Hit is simply a chance that your
attack will hit a gap in your opponent's defenses and deal double the damage
that it was supposed to do. The higher the Pokémon's Speed, the more chance
it has of dealing double damage. Note that this only applies to the First
Generation.
Finally, there is HP. HP stands for Hit Points, or Health Points. With either
interpretation, if your HP reaches 0, then your Pokémon will be fainted. This
means that you must switch out this Pokémon without the penality of you
opponent having an extra move, and that this Pokémon cannot fight in the same
battle again. Note that for player(s) vs. player(s) battles, item usage are
not allowed but attached items can be allowed. As you get hit, you lose HP,
but there are moves and items that can raise your HP back up again. We will
talk about this later. The point is, if you think that your almost-fainted
Pokémon will be of some use later, switch it out so that it won't faint.
While we keep talking about Pokémon stats, we need to remember that they are
quite random. If then, how do we compare Pokémon if your Zapdos' Attack is
more than mine? There is a system called Base Stats. Base Stats are values to
compare stats easier. For example, your level 10 Charmander might have a
higher Attack than a level 10 Bulbasaur, but a level 10 Charmander could in
theory have a lower Attack than Bulbasaur also. When we check base stats,
Charmander's Base Attack stat is 52, and Bulbasaur's Base Attack stat is 49.
This means that most of the time, Charmander will have a higher Attack than
Bulbasaur but not all of the time. Another use is to compare stats within a
Pokémon. Alakazam's Base Attack stat is 50, and its Base Special Attack stat
is 135. What this means is that even if Alakazam uses a Physical Attack that
has a power which doubles a Special Attack, the Special Attack would still
deal more damage because its Base Special Attack stat is more than twice its
Base Attack stat. Yes, Fire Punch (damage: 75) will deal more damage than
Hyper Beam (damage: 150) coming from Alakazam. I cannot list the system
because every Pokémon has 6 Base Stats for HP, Attack, Defense, Special
Attack, Special Defense, and Speed. Almost every Pokédex out there has base
stats for each Pokémon though.
While we're on the subject, it is important to keep an eye on your move's
Power Point (PP). Every move has PPs that determine how many times you can
use that move. When a move's PP reaches zero, you cannot use that move
anymore. When all four of your moves' PPs reach zero, then you will use a
move called Struggle, a low-damage move that will hit all Pokémon and you
will even take damage from this move.
Items cannot be used during a player(s) vs. player(s) battle, but one item
could be attached. The item can either be a one-time usage (or two, but we
will get to this later) or permanent. After the battle, your one-time usage
item will reappear. Beware that in the Third Generation, there are moves that
can steal or knock away your item.
For all battles, these rules should (and sometimes set by your console) be
applied: 1) No Pokémon shall be over level 100. 2) No moves or combinations
of moves can be on a Pokémon that isn't legal. 3) No items can be used. 4) No
unofficial Pokémon. 5) No unofficial moves or items.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
III. Moves
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
This whole section is devoted to the different effects of Pokémon moves. So
far, I've only introduced moves that do damage. However, there are also moves
that do not do damage, or is said to deal indirect damage. A moveset is
defined as the four moves that your Pokémon have. This will be a long
section, but there are lots of information that needs to be known. After
reading this section, you will hopefully become better at selecting the moves
to go in your Pokémon's movesets. Note that we are now getting to the
analysis study of Pokémon.
1. Type Alignment Advantages
Don't be scares about the terminology, it merely means "which types have the
advantage over which types." For every type that your move is "super-
effective" against, the power of the attack is increased by 2x. If a move is
super-effective against a type, then the move's type is stronger than the
Pokémon's type that is taking the hit. For example, Ember is a Fire type.
Charmander (type: Fire) uses Ember against a Bulbasaur (type: Grass/Poison).
Ember's base power if 40. When used, Ember's power will become: 40 (base
power) x 1.5 (STAB) x 2 (Fire is strong against Grass) = 120 power. See how
chosing the right attacks can deal more damage to certain Pokémon? If your
move is "not very effective" against a Pokémon, then that means your move's
type is weak against the Pokémon's type that is taking the hit. In this
situation, the move's power is halved, or is multiplied by 0.5x. For example,
Charmander uses Ember against a Squirtle. When used, Ember's power will be:
40 (base power) x 1.5 (STAB) x 0.5 (Fire is weak against Water) = 30 power. x
0.5 is the same as ÷ 2. Be careful, as there are some moves that do no damage
(x 0) to a type. For example, Normal attacks are useless against a Ghost
Pokémon, such as Gengar. See how using the same move (Ember) deals different
amounts of damage to different Pokémon? Type Alignment Advantages must be
memorized, as they are very important when fighting a Pokémon. How do you
know which type is strong or weak against which? You would have to memorize
it. I will list them:
a) Normal:
-2x: None
-0.5x: Rock, Steel
-0x: Ghost
b) Fire:
-2x: Grass, Ice, Bug, Steel
-0.5x: Fire, Water, Rock, Dragon
c) Water:
-2x: Fire, Ground, Rock
-0.5x: Water, Grass, Dragon
d) Electric:
-2x: Water, Flying
-0.5x: Electric, Grass, Dragon
-0x: Ground
e) Grass:
-2x: Water, Ground, Rock
-0.5x: Fire, Grass, Poison, Flying, Bug, Dragon, Steel
f) Ice:
-2x: Grass, Ground, Flying, Dragon
-0.5x: Fire, Water, Ice, Steel
g) Fighting:
-2x: Normal, Ice, Rock, Dark, Steel
-0.5x: Poison, Flying, Psychic, Bug
-0x: Ghost
h) Poison:
-2x: Grass, (Bug RBY)
-0.5x: Poison, Ground, Rock, Ghost
-0x: Steel
i) Ground:
-2x: Fire, Electric, Poison, Rock, Steel
-0.5x: Grass, Bug
-0x: Flying
j) Flying:
-2x: Grass, Fighting, Bug
-0.5x: Electric, Rock, Steel
k) Psychic:
-2x: Fighting, Poison
-0.5x: Psychic, Steel
-0x: Dark
l) Bug:
-2x: Grass, Psychic, Dark, (Poison RBY)
-0.5x: Fire, Fighting, (Poison GSC/RSE/FRLG), Flying, Ghost, Steel
m) Rock:
-2x: Fire, Ice, Flying, Bug
-0.5x: Fighting, Ground, Steel.
n) Ghost:
-2x: (Psychic GSC/RSE/FRLG), Ghost
-0.5x: Dark, Steel
-0x: Normal, (Psychic RBY)
o) Dragon:
-2x: Dragon
-0.5x: Steel
p) Dark:
-2x: Psychic, Ghost
-0.5x: Fighting, Dark, Steel
q) Steel:
-2x: Ice, Rock
-0.5x: Fire, Water, Electric, Steel
It's a pain to memorize this chart if you're a starter, but if you know which
moves beats which types, then you will deal a lot more damage! Before we move
on, don't forget that some Pokémon have two types, and Type Alignment
Advantages can be stacked with each other and other damage multipliers. Let's
say Charmander uses Ember on a Paras (type: Bug/Grass) and scores a Critical
Hit. Ember's power will be: 40 (base power) x 1.5 (STAB) x 2 (Fire is strong
against Bug) x 2 (Fire is strong against Grass) x 2 (Critical Hit) = 480
damage. Wow, that's a lot of damage! If you encounter a Charmander with your
Paras, switch right away to a Fire, Water, Rock, or Dragon type immediately!
These types resist Fire, and Paras falls. Now that you know the basics are
Type Alignment Advantages, let's try to organize four moves that best fit
your Pokémon.
2. Move Variety
It is recommended that you vary your moves. If you do this, you will get more
coverage, meaning you will hit more Pokémon with super-effective attacks and
less Pokémon with not very effective attacks. If your Charmander was fighting
a Dratini (type: Dragon) and all Charmander have are Fire attacks, then they
will be very weak against Dratini! Let's say your teach your Charmander Body
Slam (type: Normal). This way, you have an attack that deals normal damage
against Dratini instead of not very effective damage. The point is, one Fire
move is enough. If you meet a Grass Pokémon, you only need one Fire attack,
not four. The more variable your moves are, the more cumulative damage output
it has. Although this section is very brief, the remaining sections of this
guide will constantly refer back to Move Variety.
3. Area Effects
It is important to talk about this before anything else. Area Effects affect
the game greatly. They can increase the power of certain types of moves,
decrease it, power up healing moves, prevent certain situations to happen, or
even do damage. There are six moves that inflict Area Effects. They are a)
Sunny Day, b) Rain Dance, c) Sandstorm, d) Hail, e) Mist, and f) Spikes.
a) Sunny Day
Using Sunny Day will:
-Give a 1.5x boost to all Fire Attacks
-Decrease all Water Attacks by half
-Solarbeam requires no charge (more on this later)
-Thunder’s accuracy is reduced to 60%
-The Status Effect "Freeze" cannot be inflicted (more on this later)
-The power of Moonlight, Morning Sun, and Synthesis is doubled (more on this
later)
-Pokémon with the Ability "Chlorophyll" has doubled Speed (more on this
later)
-The type of the attack "Weatherball" changes to Fire (more on this later)
-The last Area Effect is overridden
b) Rain Dance
Using Rain Dance will:
-Give a 1.5 boost to all Water Attacks
-Decrease all Fire Attacks by half
-Solarbeam's power is reduced in half (more on this later)
-Thunder will always hit
-The power of Moonlight, Morning Sun, and Synthesis is halved (more on this
later)
-Pokémon with the Ability "Swift Swim" has doubled Speed (more on this later)
-Pokémon with the Ability "Rain Dish" recovers some HP every turn (more on
this later)
-The type of the attack "Weatherball" changes to Water (more on this later)
-The last Area Effect is overridden
c) Sandstorm
Using Sandstorm will:
-Hurt all Pokémon on the field that are not Rock, Ground, and/or Steel
-The type of the attack "Weatherball" changes to Rock (more on this later)
-The last Area Effect is overridden
d) Hail
Using Hail will:
-Hurt all Pokémon on the field that are not Ice
-The type of the attack "Weatherball" changes to Ice (more on this later)
-The last Area Effect is overridden
e) Mist
Using Mist will:
-Prevent all Status Changes (more on this later)
-The last Area Effect is overridden
f) Spikes
Using Spikes will
-Hurt your opponent on switch-ins.
-Can be used up to three times, will not change current Area Effect
-One spikes will take away 1/12 of the opponent's HP on switch-ins, two will
take away 1/8, and three will take away 1/4
-Will stay indefinately unless "Rapid Spin" is used
Remember, if your Pokémon uses one of those moves listed above, then you
should be more careful about what the Area Effect is. Just as above, as more
information is revealed, these Area Effects will play a larger role.
4. Status Effects
Remember how Ice Punch's special effect was a 10% of inflicting the Freeze
status to your opponent? Besides Faint, there are five Status Effects:
Freeze, Burn, Sleep, Paralyze, and Poison. Status Effects stays with that
Pokémon even if it switches out, so beware of these effects. Note that while
you are inflicted with one Status Effect, your opponent cannot inflict
another Status Effect on you.
a) Freeze
When you have the Freeze status, you cannot attack at all and you have to
wait until you defrost or use certain moves to defrost yourself. Other
Pokémon (opponent or friendly) can also defrost you, and certain items when
attached can defrost you. If Sunny Day is in play, you cannot get Freeze
inflicted upon you. Also, switching to a Pokémon, use Sunny Day, then swithc
back to the frozen Pokémon, you will become defrosted. If Fire Spin, Flame
Wheel, or Sacred Fire is used by the frozen Pokémon or its opponent, then the
frozen Pokémon will be defrosted. If you have another Pokémon in your party
that knows Heal Bell or Aromatherapy, then you can switch to that Pokémon,
use that move, and your frozen Pokémon will be defrosted. This is the worse
Status Effect since there is little you can do to become defrosted. Having a
Burnt Berry, Miracleberry, Aspear Berry, or Lum Berry attached will cure this
Status Effect. More about Items Attachment later.
b) Burn
When you have the Burn status, your Attack halves and you lose HP every
round. This is a bad thing, since Pokémon that rely heavily on Physical
Attacks will not perform well at all. However, curing the Burn status is much
easier. As with the above, Heal Bell and Aromatherapy will work, but the
burned Pokémon can use it too since unlike the Freeze status, burned Pokémon
can still use moves. The move Refresh rids the user of Burn, Paralyze, and
Sleep (in special conditions). Also, using Rest would change you Status
Effect to Sleep and you no longer be burned. Information on the move "Rest"
will be provided later on. Note that you cannot use Refresh or Rest with the
Freeze status because you cannot move. Burn does not have a duration, so you
cannot wait it out. Having an Ice Berry, Miracleberry, Rawst Berry, or Lum
Berry attached will cure this Status Effect.
c) Sleep
Note: You can use the move "Rest" to inflict the Sleep Status Effect upon
yourself.
When you have the Sleep status, you go to sleep and cannot use most moves.
Just like the Freeze status, it is random how long you will be sleeping for,
but you'll be asleep for at least 2 turns and the most 5 turns. There are two
moves that you can use while sleeping. They are: Sleep Talk and Snore. Sleep
Talk randomnly uses a move in your moveset besdies Sleep Talk and you will
use it while being asleep. Snore (type: Normal) has a base power of 60. By
using Sleep Talk, you can Sleep Talk Heal Bell and Aromatherapy to get rid of
the Sleep Status Effect, but you cannot use those moves directly. More about
self-inflicted Sleep and the move "Rest" later on. Having a Mint Berry,
Miracleberry, Chesto Berry, or Lum Berry attached will cure this Status
Effect.
d) Paralyze
When you have the Paralyze status, you have a one in four chances of being
"fully paralyzed" and not attack. Paralysis cuts your Pokémon's speed to 25%
of its original speed, probably ensuring that you'll attack second! Just as
above, you can use Heal Bell, Aromatherapy, Refresh, or Rest to get rid of
this Status Effect. Paralysis doesn't have a duration, so you cannot wait it
out. Having PRZCureBerry, Miraclebery, Cheri Berry, or Lum Berry attached
will cure this Status Effect.
e) Poison
Note: Pokémon that has Poison as (one of) its type(s) cannot be poisoned
except by the move "Twinneedle."
This one splits into two categories: being poisoned or badly poisoned.
Besides Poisonpowder, there are moves that has a chance of infliting the
status Poison. This type of Poison are only normal Poison, and will steadily
decrease your HP every round. If you are poisoned by the move "Toxic," then
you are inflicted with Toxic Poison, just it will still show up as the Status
Effect Poison. This type of Poison is deadly, since you lose more HP for
every round you've been poisoned! Even if you switch out, the count does not
reset, but you do not lose HP if you are switched out. Just as above, you can
use Heal Bell, Aromatherapy, Refresh, or Rest to get rid of this Status
Effect. Having PSNCureBerry, Miracleberry, Pecha Berry, or Lum Berry attached
will cure this Status Effect.
5) Status Problems
Status problems are similar to Status Effects, but they can go away if you
switch out the inflicted Pokémon. Also, many Status Problems can be inflicted
upon a Pokémon at the same time. In summary, you can inflict one Status
Effect and many Status Problems on a single Pokémon, until their durations
expire. While Status Effects and Status Problems do not deal direct damage,
you can see how they can greatly hinder your opponent's ability to attack or
defend. Status Effects and Status Problems are usually refered together as
Status Abnormalities.
a) Confusion
Note: "Outrage" and "Petal Dance" will confuse the user. The move "Teeter
Dance" will confuse all Pokémon on the field, including your own.
Confusion is probably the most popular Status Problem. When you're confused,
you have a 50% chance of attacking, and if you don't attack, you hurt
yourself. To recap, you have a 50% chance of using a move successfully and
50% chance of hurting yourself. That's not a good thing at all. To clarify,
you do not attack yourself with the move you selected, but rather your own
Attack stat attacks your Defense stat. Knowing, this, Pokémon with a high
Attack tend to hurt themself more when confused and vice-versa. However,
unlike Paralysis, Confusion only lasts for 2 to 5 turns. You can use Heal
Bell or Aromatherapy to get rid of the Confusion Status Problem, but remember
that you don't have to switch to a Pokémon with these moves. When you switch
Pokémon, all Status Problems go away. Note that Refresh only works with
Paralyze, Poison, and Burn. Having a Bitter Berry, Miracleberry, Persim
Berry, or Lum Berry attached with cure this Status Problem.
b) Leech Seed
Note: Grass Pokémon cannot be inflicted with this Status Problem.
There's no doubt about it; this move is extremely annoying. While it reduces
your opponent's HP every turn, the user actually get healed by the HP that
the opponent loses. This is deadly especially if you leech high HP Pokémon
like Snorlax or Blissey. There is no way to get rid of Leech Seed unless you
switch out.
c) Attract
Note: You cannot infatuate a Pokémon that has the same gender as the user or
if the Pokémon has no gender.
When you use Attract on a Pokémon, it become infatuated, or attracted to the
user. Note that your opponent has to have the opposite gender from yours.
When you're charmed, you have a 50% chance of attacking and a 50% chance of
not attacking. There is no penalty for not attacking, but Attract lasts
indefinately. There is no way to get rid of Attract unless you switch out.
d) Disable
When you Disable a Pokémon, one of its move, chosen randomnly, cannot be used
for some amount of time. This can be frustrating because obviously, it limits
your movepool. However, you can wait until the Disable goes away or if that
Pokémon cannot function with that move disabled, then you most switch.
e) Taunt
When you Taunt a Pokémon, it can only use moves that deal damage. If you are
one of those people who only use attacking moves and not moves that deal
Status Abnormalities, then you won't mind. However, there are many strategies
with Taunt, and it will be described later on.
f) Imprison
When you Imprison a Pokémon, it cannot use moves that the user has. There is
no way to get rid of Imprison unless you switch out.
g) Encore
When you use Encore, your opponent will be forced to use the move it used
last again. If it works well, then keeping the encored Pokémon in will not be
an advantage, so you must switch. Encore only lasts 2 to 6 turns though, so
you can wear it out if you want.
6) Status Changes
(The term "Status Ailments" usually talks about both Status Effects and
Status Changes)
Status Changes deal with the actually stat of your Pokémon. If you guessed
it, Status Changing moves increase or decrease Attack, Defense, Special
Attack, Special Defense, and Speed. Other stats we haven't talked about yet
and can be changed are Accuracy, Evasion, Boost, and Resistance. Besides from
the last four, it should be obvious to you what Status Changes do. To
articulate on this subject, increasing a stat one stage multiplies the stat
by 1.5x, two stages = 2x, three stages = 2.5x, and the highest you can go is
six stages = 4x. Using this method, then the reverse is true. Decreasing a
stat one stage divides the stat by 1.5x, and etc.... This is simple for the
first five stats listed above. For these ones I'll just list the moves that
best increase or decrease that stat. I will give further details for the last
four. Note that None doesn't neccessarily mean that there are no moves that
do this, but it is not recommended that you do this or the moves have a lot
accuracy or are not worth using.
a) Attack
Increase: Swords Dance, Dragon Dance, Belly Drum, Bulk Up, Curse
Decrease: Charm, Featherdance, Tickle, Will-o-Wisp
b) Defense
Increase: Iron Defense, Acid Armor, Barrier, Cosmic Power, Bulk Up, Curse
Decrease: Screech, Tickle
c) Special Attack
Increase: Tail Glow, Calm Mind, (Amnesia RBY)
Decrease: None
d) Special Defense
Increase: Amnesia, Cosmic Power, Calm Mind
Decrease: Metal Sound, Fake Tears
e) Speed
Increase: Agility, Dragon Dance
Decrease: Cotton Spore, Scary Face
f) Accuracy
Accuracy is how well the opponent hits you. Decreasing Accuracy one stage
decreases the original accuracy of the incoming move to 67.4%, two stages to
53.3%, three stages to 42.5%, four stages to 40.4%, five stages to 32.9%, and
six stages to 28.4%. These values are experimental values, but they should be
a close estimate.
Increase: Foresight, Haze
Decrease: Mud Slap, Octazooka, Smokescreen, Sand-Attack
e) Evasion
Evasion is how well you evade or dodge an attack. Increasing Evasion one
stage decreases the original accuracy of the incoming move to 65.9%, to
stages to 50.0%, three stages to 44.2%, four stages to 59.6%, five stages to
67.1%, and six stages to 71.6%. These values are experimental values, but
they should be a close estimate.
Increase: Double Team, Minimize
Decrease: Foresight, Haze
f) Boost
Boost is when you raise the power of one type of move. For example, "Charge"
increases the power of Electric attacks. It is not recommended that you use
boosting moves, since unlike moves that raises Attack or Special Attack, this
only benefits one type.
g) Resistance
Resistance is when you resist the power of one type of move. For example,
"Mud Sport" decreases the power of Electric attacks used against you.
Resistance moves are not entirely non-usable, since your opponent is more
likely to have more than one move.
7) Other Moves
There are other moves that do not fit the above descriptions. We will analyze
them here.
a) Haze
This is one of the most important concept in the game, although not the most
important move. Have you wondered what would happen if your opponent uses
Swords Dance six times? It would be impossible to beat that Pokémon. When you
use Haze, every Status Changes on the battling field go away. That annoying
Scyther's Swords Dances are gone and its attack are back to normal. Be
careful, since it also takes away your own Status Changes. That is why it is
not recommended to have Status Changing moves and Haze in a moveset.
b) Roar and Whirlwind
These moves are called Pseudo-Hazing or for short, PHazing. Pseudo-Hazing, if
you know what pseudo is, means to have the effects of Haze without using the
move "Haze." When you Roar, you force your opponent to switch (unless under
special circumstances, which we will talk about later) and if you recall from
above, Status Changes go away when you switch! This is a clever way to remove
your opponent's Status Changes without Hazing yourself also. Beware, though,
that your opponent will have a new Pokémon in, and that Roar and Whirlwind
almost always go last. This means you will take a hit from your opponent, so
PHaze fast before your opponent gets a chance to attack! Note that Roar will
not affect Pokémon with the ability "Soundproof" (more on this later).
c) Baton Pass
Baton Pass is a handy move that could be impossible to beat or could deal you
a lot of trouble depending on what Pokémon you have. Baton Pass applies the
Status Changes (listed above) to another Pokémon in your party and then
automatically switches to that Pokémon. This could be useful, since what if a
Pokémon with a good Attack doesn't have Swords Dance to raise its Attack some
more? Simple! You use Swords Dance on another Pokémon that knows Baton Pass,
then Baton Pass to the Pokémon you want its Attack to increase . While this
is very useful and can produce unstoppable Pokémon, you have to remember the
strategies above (Hazing and PHazing) and not overdo this tactic. One thing
to note though. Baton Pass also pass some of the Status Problems, Substitute
(more on this later), Perish Song (more about this later) and Mean Look (more
on this later). It's not very nice to Baton Pass Leech Seed to the next
Pokémon, since only switching, not Baton Passing, will get rid of Leech Seed.
d) Mean Look and Spider Web
Mean Look is a useful move that does not allow your opponent to switch out.
Spider Web does the same thing, but most battler refer to both as Mean Look
or Trapping. Its strategies will be dealt with later, but there are a few
things that you should know about this move. Baton Pass on both sides will
keep the Mean Look status. If the user uses Baton Pass to another Pokémon,
then the opponent is still trapped. If your trapped opponent Baton Pass to
another Pokémon, then that new Pokémon will still be trapped. This is a good
way to prevent Hazing or PHazing, since your opponent cannot switch to a
Pokémon with Haze, Roar, or Whirlwind. If you switch out the user, then the
trapped opponent will no longer become trapped.
e) Substitute
Oh my, what a wonderful move. Substitute will sacrifice one-fourth of your HP
and create another copy of that Pokémon. The copy will have the same stats as
the original, but all hits will be taken by the copy until the so-called
Substitute breaks. While not very appealing to many beginners, this could
save you a lot of time and especially good if you predict that your opponent
will switch. If you use Baton Pass with a Substitute in play, then the
Substitute will be transfered to the next Pokémon but with the latter
Pokémon's stats.
f) Fire Spin, Whirlpool, Wrap, etc...
These moves are very special because they prevent the opponent from switch
for 2 to 5 turns. While doing little dammage, it takes a away a fraction of
your opponent's HP until your opponent is released.
g) Rapid Spin
I've already explained that Rapid Spin will blow away Spikes. I will clarify
that it only blow away the Spikes hurting you, not the Spikes you used to
hurt the opponent. Also, Spikes will release you from restraining moves such
as Fire Spin and Wrap. It also has a little bonus of doing 20 base damage to
the enemy.
h) Perish Song
Perish Song can be a weak, easy to avoid move or it can be very deadly. When
Perish is used, 3 turns later, both sides will faint no matter what! This
might sound bad, but you can switch out at any time during the count to save
your Pokémon. Further strategies about Perish Song will be explained later
on.
i) Protect and Detect
These moves protect the user from any damage done that round. Of course, it
won't protect the damage taken by Wrap (and other restrianing moves), Hail,
Sandstorm, Poison, Burn, and Leech Seed. It seems like a move that stalls
time, but it can be used to predict your opponent's move without losing a lot
of HP if that move is indeed super-effective. For example, Magneton uses
Protect against a Venusaur. Venusaur uses Earthquake, and Magneton is
protected! It is not a waste of move, since you will now probably switch out
Magneton to prevent being eradicated by Earthquake, which Magneton has a 4x
weakness against.
j) Double Slap, Rock Blast, Bullet Seed, etc...
These moves are very weak but they attack several times randomnly, 2 to 5, in
one turn. It seems like a risk only, but these moves are mainly used to break
Substitute. Let's say use you Rock Blast and you attack four times. The
Substitute breaks on the second Rock Blast, meaning that the last two Rock
Blasts will hit your opponent, not the Substitute.
k) Fly, Dig, and Dive
Fly is a two-turn attack, first flying up into the air to avoid most attacks,
then attack the enemy for 70 damage. Dig and Dive does almost the same for 60
damage. These moves are mainly used with the item Leftovers attached (more
about this later) to slowly heal the user's HP. Beware that some moves do hit
while you're Flying and Diving.
l) Thunder, Twister, and Gust
These moves hit Flying Pokémon. That is about it.
m) Earthquake and Magnitude
These moves hit Diving and Digging Pokémon. That is about it.
n) Endure
Endure makes sure no matter what that you will have at least 1 HP left after
your opponent strikes you. However, Sandstorm, Hail, Leech Seed, Poison, and
Burn will not protect you.
o) Swift and Faint Attack
Swift hits no matter what, besides Pokémon using Protect, Detect, Substitute,
Pokémon using Endure and is at 1 HP, and Ghost Pokémon. Faint Attack hits any
Pokémon that is visible on the field, meaning that it hits what Swift hits
besides Flying, Digging, and Diving Pokémon.
p) Dream Eater and Nightmare
Dream Eater can only be used if your opponent is asleep. It is a Psychic
attack that does 100 damage while 50% of the HP that your opponent lost heals
you. Nightmare is the same, but for every round that your opponent is asleep,
it will lose one fourth of its HP. You only need to use Nightmare once.
q) Counter and Mirror Coat
Counter retaliates with double the damage when you are hit by a Physical
Attack. Mirror Coat retaliates with double the damage when you are hit by a
Special Attack. This sounds great, but if you use Counter and your opponent
uses a Special attack, then Counter does nothing. The key here is to predict
what your opponent will do. Note that if you faint, you cannot Counter to
faint you opponent. Just a little reminder.
r) Headbutt, Rock Slide, Crunch, etc...
These moves has a chance of flinching the opponent, making them not able to
attack for that round only. In order to flinch, you need to strike first.
s) Future Sight and Doom Desire
These moves deal damage in the future, or in several rounds. They do not get
STAB, and they do not consider Type Alignment Advantages.
t) Quick Attack, Mach Punch, and Extremespeed
These moves always attack first, unless both Pokémon uses one of these three,
then their Speed comes into play. Even though Quick Attack and Mach Punch
does little damage, it could be use quite effectively with strategy.
u) Heal Bell and Aromatherapy
These move are almost on the bottom of the list mainly because I've talked so
much about them. As described many times before, they get rid of Status
Effects and Status Problems on your entire party.
v) Refresh
Like above, I've talked about this move. It heals the Burn, Poison, and
Paralyze Status Effects.
w) Aeroblast, Slash, Cross Chop, etc...
These moves have a higher chance of dealing a Critical Hit. In fact, their
chances of dealing a Critical Hit are doubled.
x) Rest
Rest fully recovers your HP and Status Effects (except Freeze) and you go to
sleep for the next 2 turns. You are under the Status Effect "Sleep."
y) Outrage, Thrash, and Petal Dance
These moves will attack for 2 or 3 turns with that same move, then the user
is confused. The user during these attacks is uncontrollable, not having a
choice of using another move or switching out. Even though the user attacks
two or three times, it only uses up 1 PP.
z) Toxic
I've talked about this move but I want to review it. When you are Toxic
Poisoned, you lose more HP per round for every round you're not cured. This
is a deadly attack indeed.
Now, you have learned mostly all you know about moves. This section should
give you the idea that attacking relentlessly is not the only strategy out
there. Even though I've given you these moves and what they do, I do not
expect you to use them effectively...yet. These moves work well together, and
you will be taught how to. For now, try to memorize some of these moves, or
constantly refer back to them instead of just saying "I don't have to worry
since this move doesn't do damage." This is especially true for the Second
Generation, where most battle stalls, or are so long because these above
moves are so effective at preventing your opponent from using only damaging
moves effectively.
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IV. Items
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The only way items can be used is for attachment. You can only attach one
item to a Pokémon in the Second and Third generation, so that means RBY
Pokémon will not use Items in player vs. player battles. There are several
items are that very good to attach, there are items that you shouldn't even
bother with, and there are some items that people think are good but in
reality they are not. This section will list some recommended items to attach
and some items to avoid. Of course, this mostly applies only for competitive
battling, and some items that are extremely bad can become useful ingame
because it is easy to get and NPCs do not think very much by themselves.
Generally, items that boost one stat (like X Attack or Guard Spec. in GSC) or
items that boosts one type (such as Twistedspoon or Charcoal) are bad. This
is because they do not benefit the Pokémon entirely, but just a stat or one
or two attacks. The old saying is, "When in doubt, use Leftovers." The reason
why is below.
1) Recovery Items
a) Leftovers
This item is great. Every turn, it heals one-sixteenth (1/16) of your maximum
HP. This does not sound very good, but think about it. If you last 8 moves,
then your HP has healed by half of your maximum HP! If you end up in the
yellow or red zone after 8 turns, then you know that Leftovers has saved you.
This is the most used item on every competitive team, since between 4 and 5
out of 6 Pokémon will hold Leftovers. To recap, you heal automatically
without using a healing move.
b) Shell Bell
This is another healing item, but it acts quite differently. When you attack
someone, Shell Bell will restore one-eighth (1/8) of the damage taken by your
opponent back to you. While this sounds wonderful, it's not. First, it can
only recover HP if you use a move that damages your opponent. Second, for
Shell Bell to roughly equal the power of Leftovers, that move must take away
half of your opponent's HP. Since that is a hard quota to get to, Leftovers
is superior. However, Shell Bell is a good substitute for Leftovers on
Pokémon that you use to attack often and if you are too lazy (or have no way
to trade) to get 4 to 5 leftovers by trading.
c) Miracleberry or Lum Berry
These items heal every Status Effect and Confusion immediately on the user.
However, it can only be used once per battle. This item is mostly found on
attackers, who cannot be hindered by Paralysis killing its Speed or Burn
killing its Attack. Miracleberry is for GSC and Lum Berry is for RSE/FRLG.
d) Mint Berry or Chesto Berry
These items only heal the Sleep Status Effect, but they are sometimes
preferred over Miracleberries and Lum Berries. Pokémon with the move "Rest"
usually have this berry attached, since it is a free 100% HP Recovery move
and you wake up right away. If you have Miracleberry or Lum Berry attached,
an opponent might Paralyze you and you will cure the Paralysis, making
Miracleberry or Lum Berry not usable for Rest again. Remember that Rest also
recovers Status Effects such as Paralysis.
2) Stat Changing and Related Items
a) Scope Lens
This item increases the chance of getting a Critical Hit. When used properly
on certain Pokémon, each time you attack you will have a 50% chance of
dealing a Critical Hit.
b) Quick Claw
This item gives you a 10% chance of going first. True that a 10% chance is
bad and true that this item is generally not useful, but in some very rare
cases, it could be useful.
c) Brightpowder
This item gives you a 10% chance of evading your opponent's attack.
Basically, this item gives a 0.9x multiplier to every attack coming at you.
If your opponent attacks you with Heat Wave (accuracy: 90%), then Heat Wave's
accuracy is now 90% x 0.9 = 81%. It's really unreliable, but like Quick Claw,
there are some rare applications to it.
3) Pokémon-Specific Items
a) Thick Club
This item doubles the attack of Cubone and Marowak. It's only for Marowak,
but unlike X Attack, which gives s 10% boost to Attack, this gives a 100%
boost to Attack, so it's worth using.
b) Soul Dew
This item gives both Special Attack and Special Defense a 1.5x multiplier
when attached to Latias or Latios. Like Thick Club, it is Pokémon-specific,
and it makes Latias and Latios extremely powerful. Beware that some battlers
will forbid this item on Latias and Latios.
c) Metal Powder
This item gives both Attack and Defense a 1.5x multiplier when attached to
Ditto. Like Thick Club, it is Pokémon-specific.
4) Third Generation Items
k) Choice Band (RSE/FRLG only)
This item multiplies your Attack status (not Special Attack also) by 1.5x.
While doing so, you can only use one move from your moveset, unless you
switch out. This might sound appealing or pure unusable to some people, but
when used correctly, it works wonders.
l) White Herb (RSE/FRLG only)
This item rids Status Changes inflicted upon you either by your opponent, by
the user, or by a user's teammate (or party-mate if you so want to call it
that). However, this item can only be used once. If your opponent uses Charm,
then White Herb will cure your Defense decrease right away. If you use
Overheat, then White Herb will cure your Special Attack decrease right away.
If Umbreon uses Curse six times and Baton Passes to you, then White Herb will
cure your Speed decrease right away while keeping the Attack and Defense
increases. It is handy in a couple of situations.
m) Salac Berry, Petaya Berry, and Leichi Berry (RSE/FRLG only)
These items increase a certain stat by one stage when your health reaches
25%. Salac Berry increases Speed, Petaya Berry increases Attack, and Leichi
Berry increases Special Attack. There are other berries that increase
different stats, but those are usually not used so they will not be included.
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