Raising Competitive Pokemon Guide Part 1
Raising Competitive Pokémon: A Blitzle Primer
Introduction
In this guide, I hope to cover the entire process of putting together a competitive Pokémon. There will be a number of topics, with helpful hints on how to get better results in each step of the process. The methods discussed here can all be accomplished with just a Nintendo DS and a copy of your favorite Pokémon game, no external devices required. Please keep in mind, though, that while many of these methods do work in previous games, the guide is designed with the intent to help trainers playing Pokémon Black and White versions. With that, let the training begin!
Step 1: Choosing a Pokémon
This is where the whole process begins. Before any sort of breeding or catching, you need to figure out what you’re looking for in a Pokémon and choose a character that will serve that purpose. In competitive play, there are some common terms used for the main jobs that members of a team may have. Deciding on a role for your Pokémon to play is a great way to narrow down the options and know exactly what strengths to look for. Here are just a few examples.
Common Roles in Competitive Play
Sweeper - Perhaps one of the most common and necessary roles, a sweeper hits hard and fast, often scoring the most KO’s in a match. Choose Pokémon with high base Speed and Attack (or Special Attack). Archeops is an example of this.
Tank - A juggernaut that can take a beating and retaliate, a tank needs to have good defenses and strong offences. Many Pokémon assume this role because they have powerful attacks but low speed. Escavalier fits this description well.
Wall - This is more of a support role that specializes in absorbing damage meant for other team members. High HP and Defense (or Special Defense) help this, and healing ability is common. Audino can pull this off nicely.
Annoyer - Some characters focus on neither attack nor defense, instead having very specific jobs to support the team or screw with the competition. They often lack high stats overall but are fast or have enough endurance to do their thing. Whimsicott can often employ such tactics.
Choosing a role also helps down the line, as it determines which of the Pokémon’s stats are most important. That way, a good nature and the right stats to invest EVs in can be determined.
*Tip! There are many very specific roles in the Pokémon metagame that you’ll get used to seeing with experience. Spinblockers are Ghost-types designed to scare away users of Rapid Spin. Clerics are users of Heal Bell or Aromatherapy designed for long-term support.
Step 2: Creating a Build
Now that you’ve decided on a Pokémon, it needs to be fine-tuned. You need to select a nature, ability, four moves, the EV spread and consider what item it will be holding. The order in which you make these decisions doesn’t matter, so feel free to do so in a different order than explained in this guide. This is all still part of the planning phase.
Step 2a: Nature
The most commonly used natures are ones that lower an attacking stat. This is because most competitive Pokémon only use attacks from one side of the physical-special spectrum, so that they can get the most power by putting all of their investment into one attacking stat. Since the other attacking stat is not even used, choosing a nature that lowers the unused stat gets rid of the penalty entirely. Here are the natures that can be used this way.
Natures Lowering Special Attack
Adamant - boosts Attack
Jolly - boosts Speed
Impish - boosts Defense
Careful - boosts Special Defense
Natures Lowering Physical Attack
Modest - boosts Special Attack
Timid - boosts Speed
Bold - boosts Defense
Calm - boosts Special Defense
While other natures are used, they are done so for more specific builds. A good example of this is a Pokémon using a nature that lowers Speed because it is a member of a Trick Room team. In choosing a nature, remember that the increase is done by mathematical percentage. This means that a nature boosting a high base stat will make a bigger numerical difference than a nature boosting a low base stat. You generally want a nature that amplifies your Pokémon’s strong point rather than trying to make up for a weak point.
*Tip! When playing the game, look at your Pokémon’s stats screen. The stat being boosted by its nature will be highlighted red. The stat being lowered by its nature will be highlighted blue.
Step 2b: Ability
Each Pokémon has a choice of up to four (4) different abilities. Generally, these are one or two abilities available normally plus a hidden ability that can be obtained from the Dream World. If your Pokémon has more than one ability available, make sure you’re using the one that compliments your moves and strategy best.
Many abilities are very easy to exploit, simply requiring you to use compatible moves or just put the Pokémon into play. For example, the Blaze ability ups the power of Fire-type attacks when at low health, so a Pokémon with Blaze should obviously know a Fire-type attack. The Intimidate ability will instantly lower the Attack of opposing Pokémon upon switching in, making it useful on a Pokémon that jumps into and out of battle often.
Other abilities are useful because they provide additional resistances. The Levitate ability is a famous example, making any Pokémon with it have the same Ground-based immunities as a Flying-type. Some of these abilities come with even more benefits, such as Storm Drain boosting a Pokémon’s Special Attack when hit with a Water-type move. In this case, having Special moves to abuse the boost would be ideal.
There are also abilities that give a Pokémon an edge in a specific situation. The Sand Rush ability doubles the Pokémon’s Speed while there is a sandstorm in play, making this Pokémon very effective on a Sandstorm-based team. A Pokémon with Inner Focus will never flinch, which can provide useful insurance in double battles, where moves like Fake Out and Rock Slide are prevalent. Know your Pokémon’s ability and plan ways to make its effect work for you.
*Tip! There is no way to encourage a certain ability to pass down when breeding, so this part of the process is all up to chance. In order to have Eggs hatch with a hidden ability, you must be breeding with a female Pokémon that has the hidden ability.
Step 2c: Moves
All Pokémon can know up to four (4) moves at one time. The selection of these moves is very important and goes hand-in-hand with the role you want the Pokémon to fill in your team. There are physical moves such as Earthquake, which are powered by the user’s Attack stat. There are special moves such as Surf, which are powered by the user’s Special Attack stat. Also, there are status moves such as Protect that have a wide variety of non-damaging effects.
Choose moves that are compatible with your Pokémon’s nature. An Adamant Pokémon should be using physical attacks and a Modest Pokémon should be using special attacks. Then pick from the available options based on the Pokémon’s role. Many Pokémon also learn moves that work well with their abilities or with other moves.
When choosing attack moves, make sure to cover as many bases as possible. Most Pokémon can learn attacks of a few different types, so use combinations that can do effective damage to the most opponents. Some common combinations that offer good coverage are Rock/Ground, Water/Normal, Dragon/Fire, and Fighting/Dark. Also remember that moves of the same type as the Pokémon using them get a 1.5x power boost known as STAB, or Same Type Attack Bonus.
When choosing status moves, consider ones that will benefit your Pokémon’s role in the party. If it is meant to be a powerful attacker, a setup move like Swords Dance could make it more effective. A defensive Pokémon should consider moves such as Recover or Reflect, to help it last longer. Moves like Thunder Wave that cause status conditions are also common in order to wear down specific threats, and can be used well by Pokémon of almost any role.
Step 2d: EV Spread
Every competitive Pokémon should have a planned distribution of Effort Values, or EVs for short. Put simply, EVs are bonus points that a Pokémon collects to increase its stats, and you as a Trainer can choose which stats these bonus points are placed into. Each Pokémon can collect up to 510 EVs, but each stat can only hold up to 255 EVs. Therefore, you are always going to invest EVs into at least two of your Pokémon’s stats. Make sure you choose the most important ones!
252/252/6 Spread
The classic 252/252/6 EV spread simply means that you are choosing two of your Pokémon’s stats to be boosted to their maximum possible values, and putting the spare change into a third stat just so it doesn’t go to waste. The way that stats are calculated at Level 100, 4 EVs translate into 1 stat point, so 252 EVs will give you the highest number of points since the remaining 3 points before you reach 255 just aren’t enough for one last click. Putting 252 EVs into two stats leaves a remainder of 6 before you reach the 510 limit for the Pokémon, meaning you can put one extra point into another stat, leaving only 2 of those 6 EVs to waste. Many offensive Pokémon use this EV spread to boast maximum Attack and Speed, hitting as hard and as fast as possible. The extra stat point is commonly used to control whether the Pokémon’s maximum HP is an even or odd number.
Dynamic Spread
Competitive communities often describe EV spreads that are more complicated than 252/252/6, calling for specific things like 16 Speed or 80 Defense. It is important to note that these are highly specialized spreads used in high-end competitive play where pretty much all Pokémon have flawless stats. These precise amounts allow specific Pokémon to outpace, knock out or survive hits from specific opponents, in an “ideal” play setting. Use them if you like, but remember that they may not always apply in a more realistic environment. On the other hand, if you know for a fact that your Pokémon needs to be able to handle a specific foe, tailoring EVs to that purpose is certainly a good idea. The most common case of this is in reference to the Speed stat. If you determine what the maximum Speed stat for your opponent is, you can plan your EVs so that your Pokémon’s Speed sits right above it. In this case, you know exactly what Speed stat you need, so investing additional EVs would not be necessary, and you can put them towards another stat instead. Similarly, if you want to hit a specific HP value for utility purposes, such as having a “101 Substitute”, you can distribute as needed. Remember, the EVs are bonus points used to augment your stats, so place them where you feel they are most needed.
*Tip! A Pokémon’s maximum HP count can be very important in specific situations. Because damage calculations generally round down, a Pokémon with odd-numbered maximum HP can switch into entry hazards an extra time assuming no other damage. “101 Substitutes” created by a Pokémon with 404 HP or more will not be broken in one hit by Night Shade and Seismic Toss.
Step 2e: Hold Item
The item you give to your Pokémon can have a profound effect on the way you use it in battle. Most Pokémon simply use their item to enhance something they do, while other Pokémon base their entire strategy around it. Pokémon Black and White added a number of new hold items to the list as well. Let’s take a look at a few different kinds.
Many items boost the effectiveness of a Pokémon’s attacks. The Expert Belt increases the damage of moves when they are super-effective. The Life Orb increases the damage of all moves significantly, but hits the user with recoil. Items of this style are good for offensive Pokémon that want to hit as hard as possible.
Other items are more defensive in nature, and work well on Pokémon that want to survive longer. The Leftovers is a staple example, restoring a small portion of the user’s HP at the end of each turn. The Focus Sash will let the user survive an attack that would take it out in one hit. There are also berries that will reduce the damage taken from super-effective attacks.
Remember that depending on the environment you are playing in, rules concerning items may vary. Official tournaments usually adopt the Item Clause, which states that no two Pokémon on the same team can enter holding the same item. Many competitive communities also disallow specific items at times. The Quick Claw and BrightPowder are often targets of this. When building a team, you may want to plan accordingly so that your Pokémon can still do their jobs in different play environments.
*Tip! Your Pokémon’s hold item is by far the easiest thing to change, so don’t be afraid to experiment. If you look carefully, you may notice that there is an item that compliments your Pokémon’s ability or move very nicely. Beware of accidentally losing single-use hold items, though! Avoid using them outside of multiplayer and the Battle Subway.
Step 3: Obtaining Your Pokémon
The planning phase is over and it is now time to do some work, so things are going to be a bit meatier from here on. How you obtain your Pokémon depends mostly on what kind of Pokémon it is. For legendary Pokémon, you only need to go catch it and hope for good stats. The tried-and-true method of saving beforehand and bringing a Master Ball still works just fine. However, for most other Pokémon, spending some time breeding is the best way to get good stats. You’ll need to obtain the right parents and have a little bit of patience, but more on that later. We will start with tips on catching wild Pokémon.
Step 3a: Catching
For obtaining legendaries or breeding parents, you’re going to have to buy some balls and head outside. The important things you can control in this stage are the nature and gender of the Pokémon you are trying to catch. As will be explained later, a breeding parent can pass a nature down to its Egg, and the Egg will always hatch into the same family as its mother. Therefore, you will almost always need a female of the Pokémon you are creating, and getting a parent of the right nature makes the process much easier. Of course, in the case of legendaries, no breeding is required and the one you catch will be the one you train.
A Pokémon with the ability Cute Charm will make it more likely to encounter a Pokémon of the opposite gender. Minccino has this ability and is very easy to capture. A Pokémon with the ability Synchronize will make it more likely to encounter a Pokémon of the same nature. Munna has this ability, and with very little effort can be mass-bred until you’ve collected a nice assortment of natures with the Synchronize ability.
Unfortunately, these can be controlled only one at a time, so it’s generally best to control the nature as the Pokémon’s gender is clearly visible beforehand anyway. Make sure your Synchronize Pokémon is in the lead of your party. If you don’t enjoy sending out a Level 1 Munna for every encounter, the Synchronize ability still works if the Pokémon is fainted. The Smoke Ball item is extremely useful for this step as you may find yourself running from a lot of encounters until meeting the right Pokémon of the right gender. Also, have one or more empty slots in your party so that you can immediately check your catch. Once you’ve gotten the right nature, you’re ready for the next step.
*Tip! Once you obtain some useful natures to Synchronize, try taking them to the Giant Chasm and hunting for Ditto of those natures. This can make it even easier to get breeding parents of the right nature, especially for genderless Pokémon.
Step 3b: Breeding
Preparation for breeding is very important when attempting to get good results. There are a number of things that can be done beforehand to make it a much easier process. First off, parent compatibility determines how quickly the Pokémon Eggs roll out. The Day Care Man on Route 3 will gladly tell you how compatible the Pokémon you’ve left with his wife are, and he does so with the following blurbs:
“The two prefer to play with other Pokémon than with each other.”
This means that the Pokémon are not going to produce Eggs. They are in different breeding groups or their genders don’t connect. Remember that genderless Pokémon can only breed with Ditto and many other Pokémon simply cannot breed, such as “baby” Pokémon (Pichu, Riolu, etc.) and most legendaries.
“They don’t really seem to like each other much.”
This couple will produce Eggs, but relatively slowly. They are compatible by breeding group and gender, but that’s it. They are also from the same Trainer ID. Remember that Pokémon with different original Trainers will be more compatible. Also, Pokémon of the same species will be more compatible. A female Patrat will produce more Eggs with a male Patrat than with a male Watchog.
“They seem to get along.”
This couple will produce Eggs at a moderate rate. They are compatible by breeding group and gender, plus they are either from different Trainer IDs or of the same species of Pokémon. This is actually the ideal compatibility, because it is easy to accomplish on your own and generally gives enough Eggs to keep you busy.
“They seem to get along very well!”
This is the highest level of compatibility. The parents are compatible in breeding group and nature, they are the same species of Pokémon and they come from different Trainer IDs. This is generally hard to obtain on your own since it requires trading, but if you can manage it, this will produce Eggs at the fastest rate.
*Tip! The quickest way to get good compatibility is simply to use the same species of Pokémon. If egg moves are needed, breed for a male of the Pokémon that has the moves first, and then breed that male with a female. Two short steps are better than one long step, especially if you are breeding down a lot of different factors!
The next thing to consider is item placement. There are a number of items that can be used to enhance breeding results. They are practically necessary when aiming to hatch a competitive Pokémon, so plan accordingly to make the best use of them.
First up is the Everstone. If either parent is holding the Everstone, then it has a 50% chance of passing its nature to the Egg. This is new in Black and White, as in previous generations the Everstone only worked if held by females or Ditto. This is the reason for hunting down a parent with the desired nature, so it can hold this item while in the Day Care.
Next up are the Power Items. These are the items that lower the holder’s Speed but promote the growth of specific stats. They are vital items to get as they are involved not just in breeding but in EV training as well, and should be the first things you trade for at the Battle Subway. In breeding, a parent holding a power item will pass down the IV for the power item’s specific stat, guaranteed. The Power Weight will pass down the HP IV, the Power Bracer will pass down the Attack IV, the Power Belt will pass down the Defense IV, the Power Lens will pass down the Special Attack IV, the Power Band will pass down the Special Defense IV and the Power Anklet will pass down the Speed IV. Remember, though, that only one parent can hold a power item at a time. The effect won’t work if both parents are holding one, even if they are for different stats.
Lastly, there are the Incenses. While they are used in breeding, I will not go into detail about them in this guide. They can be bought in the Driftveil Market and need to be held by specific Pokémon while in Day Care in order to produce Eggs of their pre-evolutions. This may be important for breeding those Pokémon as some moves can only be learned by those pre-evolutions, but otherwise there isn’t a reason to worry about them.
*Tip! The best way to influence breeding results is to have both parents hold an item. Have a parent with the desired nature hold an Everstone and have the other parent hold a power item for a desirable IV.
Once compatible parents are chosen and items are set in place, all that’s left to do is put them into the Day Care and patiently await results. Remember to have a Pokémon in your party that has either Flame Body or Magma Armor as its ability, as this will cut the time it takes for Eggs to hatch by half. A Pokémon with Fly will also be useful so you can quickly go back and forth between the Day Care and the Battle Subway, which will be mentioned a little later. Volcarona is notable as it has Flame Body and can learn Fly. As the Eggs hatch, though, keep checking on the results and you may notice a few things.
Any Egg produced in the Day Care will inherit three IVs from its parents. That’s three in total, not three from each. You may even end up with only one or two because one selection can overwrite another, such as the mother’s Attack IV being selected but then the father’s Attack IV also being selected and thus replacing it. HP and Defense IVs have fewer chances to pass down than the other stats. The IV being passed down with a power item is included in this total, meaning you can potentially breed for up to three IVs, one of which is guaranteed to pass while the other two are good luck waiting to happen. You can easily help this process along by choosing parents that both have the IVs you’d like to pass down. That way, it will be passed down if selected from either parent. As the Eggs hatch, you can also swap the Pokémon in the Day Care if you hatch something that would be a better parent than what is already breeding. But just like in real life, beware of accidently fostering a bad IV if you decide to inbreed.
*Tip! Based on this info, the ideal breeding setup is one parent with the proper nature and two perfect stats, and another parent with the same two perfect stats plus a third perfect stat. The proper natured parent holds the Everstone and the parent with the third perfect stat holds the power item for that stat.
Remember to evaluate any hatchlings that look promising by taking them to the Judge in the Battle Subway. He will tell you some information about the Pokémon’s IVs, which can be used to determine if you have the perfect specimen, a good candidate for further breeding, or a runt that needs to be released. He will describe the Pokémon’s potential in one of the following ways:
“Decent all around”
The Pokémon has IVs that, when added all together, give a total of less than 91. This is obviously the least desirable rating. A Pokémon with this rating cannot have more than two perfect stats, and even then, the remaining distribution would be just bad.
“Above average”
This Pokémon has IVs that, when added all together, give a total between 91 and 120. This is fair, but you can do better. A Pokémon with this rating can have no more than three perfect stats, with a little bit left over for the others.
“Relatively superior”
This Pokémon has IVs that, when added all together, give a total between 121 and 150. Now we’re talking. Depending on how exactly the IVs are placed, this can easily be a top-grade team member. A Pokémon with this rating can have up to four perfect stats, which is nice as most Pokémon only even make use of four or five stats.
“Outstanding”
This Pokémon has IVs that, when added together, give a total greater than 150. This is the highest rating, and will be the rating for a Pokémon that has all perfect stats. If an Egg hatches into something with outstanding potential, it is practically guaranteed to serve you well, especially if you used a power item to make sure its most important stat came through.
After that, the Judge will explain which of the Pokémon’s IVs is the highest. If he mentions more than one, then the IVs are the same. A “rather decent” IV is between 0 and 15. A “very good” IV is between 16 and 25. A “fantastic” IV is between 26 and 30. If the Judge states that the stat “can’t be better” then it is a perfect stat with a 31 IV.
*Tip! Breeding with a power item that is passing down a perfect IV makes it easy to see when other perfect IVs pop up. The Judge will always mention them since they’d be tied with the perfect IV you are passing down.
( Continued in next post...)
Introduction
In this guide, I hope to cover the entire process of putting together a competitive Pokémon. There will be a number of topics, with helpful hints on how to get better results in each step of the process. The methods discussed here can all be accomplished with just a Nintendo DS and a copy of your favorite Pokémon game, no external devices required. Please keep in mind, though, that while many of these methods do work in previous games, the guide is designed with the intent to help trainers playing Pokémon Black and White versions. With that, let the training begin!
Step 1: Choosing a Pokémon
This is where the whole process begins. Before any sort of breeding or catching, you need to figure out what you’re looking for in a Pokémon and choose a character that will serve that purpose. In competitive play, there are some common terms used for the main jobs that members of a team may have. Deciding on a role for your Pokémon to play is a great way to narrow down the options and know exactly what strengths to look for. Here are just a few examples.
Common Roles in Competitive Play
Sweeper - Perhaps one of the most common and necessary roles, a sweeper hits hard and fast, often scoring the most KO’s in a match. Choose Pokémon with high base Speed and Attack (or Special Attack). Archeops is an example of this.
Tank - A juggernaut that can take a beating and retaliate, a tank needs to have good defenses and strong offences. Many Pokémon assume this role because they have powerful attacks but low speed. Escavalier fits this description well.
Wall - This is more of a support role that specializes in absorbing damage meant for other team members. High HP and Defense (or Special Defense) help this, and healing ability is common. Audino can pull this off nicely.
Annoyer - Some characters focus on neither attack nor defense, instead having very specific jobs to support the team or screw with the competition. They often lack high stats overall but are fast or have enough endurance to do their thing. Whimsicott can often employ such tactics.
Choosing a role also helps down the line, as it determines which of the Pokémon’s stats are most important. That way, a good nature and the right stats to invest EVs in can be determined.
*Tip! There are many very specific roles in the Pokémon metagame that you’ll get used to seeing with experience. Spinblockers are Ghost-types designed to scare away users of Rapid Spin. Clerics are users of Heal Bell or Aromatherapy designed for long-term support.
Step 2: Creating a Build
Now that you’ve decided on a Pokémon, it needs to be fine-tuned. You need to select a nature, ability, four moves, the EV spread and consider what item it will be holding. The order in which you make these decisions doesn’t matter, so feel free to do so in a different order than explained in this guide. This is all still part of the planning phase.
Step 2a: Nature
The most commonly used natures are ones that lower an attacking stat. This is because most competitive Pokémon only use attacks from one side of the physical-special spectrum, so that they can get the most power by putting all of their investment into one attacking stat. Since the other attacking stat is not even used, choosing a nature that lowers the unused stat gets rid of the penalty entirely. Here are the natures that can be used this way.
Natures Lowering Special Attack
Adamant - boosts Attack
Jolly - boosts Speed
Impish - boosts Defense
Careful - boosts Special Defense
Natures Lowering Physical Attack
Modest - boosts Special Attack
Timid - boosts Speed
Bold - boosts Defense
Calm - boosts Special Defense
While other natures are used, they are done so for more specific builds. A good example of this is a Pokémon using a nature that lowers Speed because it is a member of a Trick Room team. In choosing a nature, remember that the increase is done by mathematical percentage. This means that a nature boosting a high base stat will make a bigger numerical difference than a nature boosting a low base stat. You generally want a nature that amplifies your Pokémon’s strong point rather than trying to make up for a weak point.
*Tip! When playing the game, look at your Pokémon’s stats screen. The stat being boosted by its nature will be highlighted red. The stat being lowered by its nature will be highlighted blue.
Step 2b: Ability
Each Pokémon has a choice of up to four (4) different abilities. Generally, these are one or two abilities available normally plus a hidden ability that can be obtained from the Dream World. If your Pokémon has more than one ability available, make sure you’re using the one that compliments your moves and strategy best.
Many abilities are very easy to exploit, simply requiring you to use compatible moves or just put the Pokémon into play. For example, the Blaze ability ups the power of Fire-type attacks when at low health, so a Pokémon with Blaze should obviously know a Fire-type attack. The Intimidate ability will instantly lower the Attack of opposing Pokémon upon switching in, making it useful on a Pokémon that jumps into and out of battle often.
Other abilities are useful because they provide additional resistances. The Levitate ability is a famous example, making any Pokémon with it have the same Ground-based immunities as a Flying-type. Some of these abilities come with even more benefits, such as Storm Drain boosting a Pokémon’s Special Attack when hit with a Water-type move. In this case, having Special moves to abuse the boost would be ideal.
There are also abilities that give a Pokémon an edge in a specific situation. The Sand Rush ability doubles the Pokémon’s Speed while there is a sandstorm in play, making this Pokémon very effective on a Sandstorm-based team. A Pokémon with Inner Focus will never flinch, which can provide useful insurance in double battles, where moves like Fake Out and Rock Slide are prevalent. Know your Pokémon’s ability and plan ways to make its effect work for you.
*Tip! There is no way to encourage a certain ability to pass down when breeding, so this part of the process is all up to chance. In order to have Eggs hatch with a hidden ability, you must be breeding with a female Pokémon that has the hidden ability.
Step 2c: Moves
All Pokémon can know up to four (4) moves at one time. The selection of these moves is very important and goes hand-in-hand with the role you want the Pokémon to fill in your team. There are physical moves such as Earthquake, which are powered by the user’s Attack stat. There are special moves such as Surf, which are powered by the user’s Special Attack stat. Also, there are status moves such as Protect that have a wide variety of non-damaging effects.
Choose moves that are compatible with your Pokémon’s nature. An Adamant Pokémon should be using physical attacks and a Modest Pokémon should be using special attacks. Then pick from the available options based on the Pokémon’s role. Many Pokémon also learn moves that work well with their abilities or with other moves.
When choosing attack moves, make sure to cover as many bases as possible. Most Pokémon can learn attacks of a few different types, so use combinations that can do effective damage to the most opponents. Some common combinations that offer good coverage are Rock/Ground, Water/Normal, Dragon/Fire, and Fighting/Dark. Also remember that moves of the same type as the Pokémon using them get a 1.5x power boost known as STAB, or Same Type Attack Bonus.
When choosing status moves, consider ones that will benefit your Pokémon’s role in the party. If it is meant to be a powerful attacker, a setup move like Swords Dance could make it more effective. A defensive Pokémon should consider moves such as Recover or Reflect, to help it last longer. Moves like Thunder Wave that cause status conditions are also common in order to wear down specific threats, and can be used well by Pokémon of almost any role.
Step 2d: EV Spread
Every competitive Pokémon should have a planned distribution of Effort Values, or EVs for short. Put simply, EVs are bonus points that a Pokémon collects to increase its stats, and you as a Trainer can choose which stats these bonus points are placed into. Each Pokémon can collect up to 510 EVs, but each stat can only hold up to 255 EVs. Therefore, you are always going to invest EVs into at least two of your Pokémon’s stats. Make sure you choose the most important ones!
252/252/6 Spread
The classic 252/252/6 EV spread simply means that you are choosing two of your Pokémon’s stats to be boosted to their maximum possible values, and putting the spare change into a third stat just so it doesn’t go to waste. The way that stats are calculated at Level 100, 4 EVs translate into 1 stat point, so 252 EVs will give you the highest number of points since the remaining 3 points before you reach 255 just aren’t enough for one last click. Putting 252 EVs into two stats leaves a remainder of 6 before you reach the 510 limit for the Pokémon, meaning you can put one extra point into another stat, leaving only 2 of those 6 EVs to waste. Many offensive Pokémon use this EV spread to boast maximum Attack and Speed, hitting as hard and as fast as possible. The extra stat point is commonly used to control whether the Pokémon’s maximum HP is an even or odd number.
Dynamic Spread
Competitive communities often describe EV spreads that are more complicated than 252/252/6, calling for specific things like 16 Speed or 80 Defense. It is important to note that these are highly specialized spreads used in high-end competitive play where pretty much all Pokémon have flawless stats. These precise amounts allow specific Pokémon to outpace, knock out or survive hits from specific opponents, in an “ideal” play setting. Use them if you like, but remember that they may not always apply in a more realistic environment. On the other hand, if you know for a fact that your Pokémon needs to be able to handle a specific foe, tailoring EVs to that purpose is certainly a good idea. The most common case of this is in reference to the Speed stat. If you determine what the maximum Speed stat for your opponent is, you can plan your EVs so that your Pokémon’s Speed sits right above it. In this case, you know exactly what Speed stat you need, so investing additional EVs would not be necessary, and you can put them towards another stat instead. Similarly, if you want to hit a specific HP value for utility purposes, such as having a “101 Substitute”, you can distribute as needed. Remember, the EVs are bonus points used to augment your stats, so place them where you feel they are most needed.
*Tip! A Pokémon’s maximum HP count can be very important in specific situations. Because damage calculations generally round down, a Pokémon with odd-numbered maximum HP can switch into entry hazards an extra time assuming no other damage. “101 Substitutes” created by a Pokémon with 404 HP or more will not be broken in one hit by Night Shade and Seismic Toss.
Step 2e: Hold Item
The item you give to your Pokémon can have a profound effect on the way you use it in battle. Most Pokémon simply use their item to enhance something they do, while other Pokémon base their entire strategy around it. Pokémon Black and White added a number of new hold items to the list as well. Let’s take a look at a few different kinds.
Many items boost the effectiveness of a Pokémon’s attacks. The Expert Belt increases the damage of moves when they are super-effective. The Life Orb increases the damage of all moves significantly, but hits the user with recoil. Items of this style are good for offensive Pokémon that want to hit as hard as possible.
Other items are more defensive in nature, and work well on Pokémon that want to survive longer. The Leftovers is a staple example, restoring a small portion of the user’s HP at the end of each turn. The Focus Sash will let the user survive an attack that would take it out in one hit. There are also berries that will reduce the damage taken from super-effective attacks.
Remember that depending on the environment you are playing in, rules concerning items may vary. Official tournaments usually adopt the Item Clause, which states that no two Pokémon on the same team can enter holding the same item. Many competitive communities also disallow specific items at times. The Quick Claw and BrightPowder are often targets of this. When building a team, you may want to plan accordingly so that your Pokémon can still do their jobs in different play environments.
*Tip! Your Pokémon’s hold item is by far the easiest thing to change, so don’t be afraid to experiment. If you look carefully, you may notice that there is an item that compliments your Pokémon’s ability or move very nicely. Beware of accidentally losing single-use hold items, though! Avoid using them outside of multiplayer and the Battle Subway.
Step 3: Obtaining Your Pokémon
The planning phase is over and it is now time to do some work, so things are going to be a bit meatier from here on. How you obtain your Pokémon depends mostly on what kind of Pokémon it is. For legendary Pokémon, you only need to go catch it and hope for good stats. The tried-and-true method of saving beforehand and bringing a Master Ball still works just fine. However, for most other Pokémon, spending some time breeding is the best way to get good stats. You’ll need to obtain the right parents and have a little bit of patience, but more on that later. We will start with tips on catching wild Pokémon.
Step 3a: Catching
For obtaining legendaries or breeding parents, you’re going to have to buy some balls and head outside. The important things you can control in this stage are the nature and gender of the Pokémon you are trying to catch. As will be explained later, a breeding parent can pass a nature down to its Egg, and the Egg will always hatch into the same family as its mother. Therefore, you will almost always need a female of the Pokémon you are creating, and getting a parent of the right nature makes the process much easier. Of course, in the case of legendaries, no breeding is required and the one you catch will be the one you train.
A Pokémon with the ability Cute Charm will make it more likely to encounter a Pokémon of the opposite gender. Minccino has this ability and is very easy to capture. A Pokémon with the ability Synchronize will make it more likely to encounter a Pokémon of the same nature. Munna has this ability, and with very little effort can be mass-bred until you’ve collected a nice assortment of natures with the Synchronize ability.
Unfortunately, these can be controlled only one at a time, so it’s generally best to control the nature as the Pokémon’s gender is clearly visible beforehand anyway. Make sure your Synchronize Pokémon is in the lead of your party. If you don’t enjoy sending out a Level 1 Munna for every encounter, the Synchronize ability still works if the Pokémon is fainted. The Smoke Ball item is extremely useful for this step as you may find yourself running from a lot of encounters until meeting the right Pokémon of the right gender. Also, have one or more empty slots in your party so that you can immediately check your catch. Once you’ve gotten the right nature, you’re ready for the next step.
*Tip! Once you obtain some useful natures to Synchronize, try taking them to the Giant Chasm and hunting for Ditto of those natures. This can make it even easier to get breeding parents of the right nature, especially for genderless Pokémon.
Step 3b: Breeding
Preparation for breeding is very important when attempting to get good results. There are a number of things that can be done beforehand to make it a much easier process. First off, parent compatibility determines how quickly the Pokémon Eggs roll out. The Day Care Man on Route 3 will gladly tell you how compatible the Pokémon you’ve left with his wife are, and he does so with the following blurbs:
“The two prefer to play with other Pokémon than with each other.”
This means that the Pokémon are not going to produce Eggs. They are in different breeding groups or their genders don’t connect. Remember that genderless Pokémon can only breed with Ditto and many other Pokémon simply cannot breed, such as “baby” Pokémon (Pichu, Riolu, etc.) and most legendaries.
“They don’t really seem to like each other much.”
This couple will produce Eggs, but relatively slowly. They are compatible by breeding group and gender, but that’s it. They are also from the same Trainer ID. Remember that Pokémon with different original Trainers will be more compatible. Also, Pokémon of the same species will be more compatible. A female Patrat will produce more Eggs with a male Patrat than with a male Watchog.
“They seem to get along.”
This couple will produce Eggs at a moderate rate. They are compatible by breeding group and gender, plus they are either from different Trainer IDs or of the same species of Pokémon. This is actually the ideal compatibility, because it is easy to accomplish on your own and generally gives enough Eggs to keep you busy.
“They seem to get along very well!”
This is the highest level of compatibility. The parents are compatible in breeding group and nature, they are the same species of Pokémon and they come from different Trainer IDs. This is generally hard to obtain on your own since it requires trading, but if you can manage it, this will produce Eggs at the fastest rate.
*Tip! The quickest way to get good compatibility is simply to use the same species of Pokémon. If egg moves are needed, breed for a male of the Pokémon that has the moves first, and then breed that male with a female. Two short steps are better than one long step, especially if you are breeding down a lot of different factors!
The next thing to consider is item placement. There are a number of items that can be used to enhance breeding results. They are practically necessary when aiming to hatch a competitive Pokémon, so plan accordingly to make the best use of them.
First up is the Everstone. If either parent is holding the Everstone, then it has a 50% chance of passing its nature to the Egg. This is new in Black and White, as in previous generations the Everstone only worked if held by females or Ditto. This is the reason for hunting down a parent with the desired nature, so it can hold this item while in the Day Care.
Next up are the Power Items. These are the items that lower the holder’s Speed but promote the growth of specific stats. They are vital items to get as they are involved not just in breeding but in EV training as well, and should be the first things you trade for at the Battle Subway. In breeding, a parent holding a power item will pass down the IV for the power item’s specific stat, guaranteed. The Power Weight will pass down the HP IV, the Power Bracer will pass down the Attack IV, the Power Belt will pass down the Defense IV, the Power Lens will pass down the Special Attack IV, the Power Band will pass down the Special Defense IV and the Power Anklet will pass down the Speed IV. Remember, though, that only one parent can hold a power item at a time. The effect won’t work if both parents are holding one, even if they are for different stats.
Lastly, there are the Incenses. While they are used in breeding, I will not go into detail about them in this guide. They can be bought in the Driftveil Market and need to be held by specific Pokémon while in Day Care in order to produce Eggs of their pre-evolutions. This may be important for breeding those Pokémon as some moves can only be learned by those pre-evolutions, but otherwise there isn’t a reason to worry about them.
*Tip! The best way to influence breeding results is to have both parents hold an item. Have a parent with the desired nature hold an Everstone and have the other parent hold a power item for a desirable IV.
Once compatible parents are chosen and items are set in place, all that’s left to do is put them into the Day Care and patiently await results. Remember to have a Pokémon in your party that has either Flame Body or Magma Armor as its ability, as this will cut the time it takes for Eggs to hatch by half. A Pokémon with Fly will also be useful so you can quickly go back and forth between the Day Care and the Battle Subway, which will be mentioned a little later. Volcarona is notable as it has Flame Body and can learn Fly. As the Eggs hatch, though, keep checking on the results and you may notice a few things.
Any Egg produced in the Day Care will inherit three IVs from its parents. That’s three in total, not three from each. You may even end up with only one or two because one selection can overwrite another, such as the mother’s Attack IV being selected but then the father’s Attack IV also being selected and thus replacing it. HP and Defense IVs have fewer chances to pass down than the other stats. The IV being passed down with a power item is included in this total, meaning you can potentially breed for up to three IVs, one of which is guaranteed to pass while the other two are good luck waiting to happen. You can easily help this process along by choosing parents that both have the IVs you’d like to pass down. That way, it will be passed down if selected from either parent. As the Eggs hatch, you can also swap the Pokémon in the Day Care if you hatch something that would be a better parent than what is already breeding. But just like in real life, beware of accidently fostering a bad IV if you decide to inbreed.
*Tip! Based on this info, the ideal breeding setup is one parent with the proper nature and two perfect stats, and another parent with the same two perfect stats plus a third perfect stat. The proper natured parent holds the Everstone and the parent with the third perfect stat holds the power item for that stat.
Remember to evaluate any hatchlings that look promising by taking them to the Judge in the Battle Subway. He will tell you some information about the Pokémon’s IVs, which can be used to determine if you have the perfect specimen, a good candidate for further breeding, or a runt that needs to be released. He will describe the Pokémon’s potential in one of the following ways:
“Decent all around”
The Pokémon has IVs that, when added all together, give a total of less than 91. This is obviously the least desirable rating. A Pokémon with this rating cannot have more than two perfect stats, and even then, the remaining distribution would be just bad.
“Above average”
This Pokémon has IVs that, when added all together, give a total between 91 and 120. This is fair, but you can do better. A Pokémon with this rating can have no more than three perfect stats, with a little bit left over for the others.
“Relatively superior”
This Pokémon has IVs that, when added all together, give a total between 121 and 150. Now we’re talking. Depending on how exactly the IVs are placed, this can easily be a top-grade team member. A Pokémon with this rating can have up to four perfect stats, which is nice as most Pokémon only even make use of four or five stats.
“Outstanding”
This Pokémon has IVs that, when added together, give a total greater than 150. This is the highest rating, and will be the rating for a Pokémon that has all perfect stats. If an Egg hatches into something with outstanding potential, it is practically guaranteed to serve you well, especially if you used a power item to make sure its most important stat came through.
After that, the Judge will explain which of the Pokémon’s IVs is the highest. If he mentions more than one, then the IVs are the same. A “rather decent” IV is between 0 and 15. A “very good” IV is between 16 and 25. A “fantastic” IV is between 26 and 30. If the Judge states that the stat “can’t be better” then it is a perfect stat with a 31 IV.
*Tip! Breeding with a power item that is passing down a perfect IV makes it easy to see when other perfect IVs pop up. The Judge will always mention them since they’d be tied with the perfect IV you are passing down.
( Continued in next post...)