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islandshore) wrote2012-01-24 01:00 pm
islandshore) wrote2012-01-24 01:00 pm
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Pokémon Training for Dummies
There are a lot of misconceptions about training and the way this world works. I've been here for almost two years, so I figured I should clear things up. This guide will cover everything from basic training to gym battles. Take it from someone who's collected all the Johto badges and has more than ten level 100 Pokémon; I know what I'm talking about.
Introduction:
* If you can read this, chances are you're either in Johto or Kanto. Yes, it's another world. No, you're not dreaming, and so far there's no way out. Gym badges will not get you out of here. Anyone still spreading that rumor is totally clueless. So far, people leave at random. Nobody knows how or why. Better get used to the waiting game.
* If you used to be a pony, alien, or anything nonhuman, you're gonna have to get used to your new bodies. All powers are gone and weapons are illegal, so you better get used to using your Pokémon to fight.
* People here come from different times. Just because one of your friends is here doesn't mean they're on the same page as you. And if somebody's left and returned, they usually won't remember this place.
* Sometimes people end up in comas for about a week. They'll wake up soon enough, usually with some new memories intact.
* Everyone starts out with one Pokémon, usually in New Bark Town. You're gonna want to make the most of your supplies because it takes a few days to reach the next town. It's a good time to start training your Pokémon and catching others to add to your team. Trust me, it comes in handy.
* You should probably form a travel group, unless you're a loner. Even then, it's not a bad idea. Traveling on foot takes time, and unless you've got a bike or a Pokémon to carry you around, it'll take you anywhere from a few days to a week to reach most towns. Sometimes longer.
* Stock up on potions, antidotes, camping gear, and food. The berries will make you sick, and bug type Pokémon between Cherrygrove and Violet can poison you and your team. Once you get further in, you'll want to pick up other healing items. I'll explain those a bit later.
* Johto's seasons are pretty severe. You'll want a fire type to keep warm and a water or ice type to cool down. You can probably pick one up for free from the Breeding Center or head over to Mt. Mortar and the Lake of Rage. Fire types also help once you reach the ice path.
* Don't forget to visit Sprout Tower if you want the TM for Flash. It makes travel through caves a lot easier.
* Save at least some money if you plan on staying in town. A job's not a bad idea if you need pocket change.
* The background music never ends. Better get used to it.
Think that covers your basic facts for this world. Time to actually move on to the training.
Battle Basics:
* Pokémon typically start at level 5. At this point they know one, maybe two moves, and they usually don't do much damage. They're small and get tired easily. Sticking to one Pokémon is a bad idea unless you're feeling gutsy. Battles help toughen them up, but they've got limits. Push them too far, and they'll run out of steam.
* Wild Pokémon hang around tall grass, and they'll attack without warning. They start out at low levels, making them good training fodder. If you're heading down Route 29, I recommend catching at least a flying type. You can carry up to six Pokémon, but you can get by with two or three early on.
* Once you encounter a wild Pokémon, it's time to battle. Battles involve pitting your Pokémon against an opponent. First one to faint loses. Sounds easy, right? Well, it's not just a matter of hitting hard. There are a lot of factors to keep in mind.
* When you battle against trainers, the goal is to beat your opponent's team. Winner usually gets money, but if you lose, you better pay up. Some people order their Pokémon around, others let them do their own thing. If you want, you could do a double battle.
* Every Pokémon has a specific typing. Each type has its ups and downs. All attacks fit into these types, making them crucial in battle.
Fire: Super effective against bug, ice, grass and steel types, not very effective against water, fire, rock, and dragon types. Their weaknesses are rock, water, and ground type attacks. They resist steel, ice, bug, grass, and fire type moves. Seeing a pattern here?
Fire types pack a punch, but you have to watch their weaknesses, since they're pretty common. If you're looking for a fire type, I recommend Charizard and Typhlosion. Arcanine gets an honorable mention for its size and speed. Try to avoid Flareon and Slugma.
Water: Super effective against fire, rock, and ground types. Not very effective against grass, water, and dragon types. Weak to electric and grass, resist fire, steel, water, and ice.
You should catch at least one water type. They're useful for travel and cooling down on hot days. They only have two real weaknesses, and they tend to have high defense and attack stats. They can almost always learn ice moves, making it easy to take out one of their weaknesses. Recommendations: Gyarados, Blastoise, Feraligatr, and Tentacruel. Just be careful with water/ice types. Most are average at best.
Grass: Effective against water, rock, and ground. Not very effective against... just about everything else. Bug, flying, dragon, fire, grass, poison, steel. Sure they resist electric, water, ground, and grass, but they're also weak to fire, flying, bug, ice, and poison.
If there's any type I'd stay away from, grass is it. There are other Pokémon that can pick up grass moves pretty easily. Solarbeam can be learned by fire types, and their stat moves are nothing to brag about. Moves that poison, paralyze, and put Pokémon to sleep can be learned by much better types. Overall, it takes work to use a grass type effectively. If you have to have one, go for a Venusaur, Torterra, or Sceptile. Don't even bother with Paras.
Electric: Effective against flying and water, not very effective against electric, dragon, and grass. No effect on ground types. They're weak against ground and resist electric, flying, and steel moves.
Electric Pokémon are useful offensively because they learn some devastating moves and they're usually quick on their feet. Plus they can paralyze. They only have one weakness, and moves like Thunderbolt can take their toll on just about any type. Their defenses are pretty average, but power and paralysis makes up for it. I recommend Jolteon, Rotom, and maybe Raichu. Ampharos is pretty sturdy for its type. Just don't expect to last long with a Pikachu.
Psychic: Super effective against poison and fighting, not very effective against psychic and steel. No effect on dark. Weak against dark, ghost, and bug types, and they resist psychic and fighting type moves.
Psychic types usually have a high special attack stat and speed, but their defenses almost always suck. These Pokémon are glass cannons. They hit hard, but the right physical moves can take them out in one or two hits tops. They can learn moves from other types, but I'd avoid physical moves. Special's where it's at.
Alakazam's pretty reliable as a psychic type, but most are pretty solid. Just don't put them against dark types or heavy hitters.
Ice: Effective against grass, flying, dragon, and ground. Not very effective against water, steel, fire, and ice. Weak against fire, fighting, steel, and rock, and their only resistance is ice.
Basically, ice types have terrible defenses. Seriously, they have one resistance, and their weaknesses are all pretty common. They have some tough moves, but you'd probably be better off teaching a water type ice moves. Still, Weavile's a useful Pokémon to have due to its high speed and attack stats. It's the evolved form of Sneasel, and you can get it using a razor claw. Just thought I'd point that out.
Dragon: Super effective against dragon, not very effective against steel. They resist fire, water, electric, grass, and their only weaknesses are dragon and ice.
The thing you should know about dragon types is that they're almost all dual-type, and you shouldn't rely on dragon type moves alone. They're heavy hitters that can learn moves from almost all elemental types, and their stats are insane. Go for Dragonite, Garchomp, Salamence, or Kingdra. They're all useful, and all you need to watch out for is ice and other dragons. Kingdra doesn't even have an ice weakness.
Dark: Effective against psychic and ghost, weak against steel, fighting, and dark. Weak to bug and fighting, resist dark and ghost.
Dark types are useful against psychic and ghost types, but they're more geared towards physical moves than special attacks. Tyranitar and Weavile are easily the strongest dark types to pick from, but Umbreon's pretty sturdy. I've got all three, and they're all useful for different reasons. Tyranitar's slow, but it can take a lot more punishment than a Weavile, plus they create sandstorms for added damage.
Normal: They aren't super effective against anything, do next to nothing against rock and steel, have no effect on ghosts, and are weak against fighting. The upside is that they're resistant to ghost moves. Still, this type is... pretty average. Seriously, even their stats are average at best.
They don't have many weaknesses, and only a few types resist them. Stats determine how much damage they do, so a move like Mega Punch is pretty dangerous when paired with a Kangaskhan. Helps that some can pick up elemental moves, but they're still not the greatest type. They're just okay for the most part. If you really want one, I'd go for a Kangaskhan or Blissey.
Fighting: Strong against rock, normal, steel, ice, and dark. Weak against poison, flying, bug, and psychic. Resist bug, dark, and rock, and they're weak to flying and psychic. No effect on ghost types.
Fighting types are heavy hitters. One of the best offensive types, hands down. Their attack stats are high, and if you combine that with moves like Close Combat or Aura Sphere, they're a force to be recommend with. You just have to watch their weaknesses. Pure fighting types are easy to nail with flying and psychic moves. That's why I recommend Lucario. Its steel typing gives it added resistance, and it's great with both physical and special moves. Machamp gets an honorable mention for its high attack stat.
Flying: Good against grass, bug, and flying, but don't expect them to do much to electric, rock, and steel types. They're weak against rock, ice and electric moves, but they resist grass, fighting, and bug attacks. Plus ground attacks do nothing to them.
Flying types tend to have high attack and speed stats, but their defenses are pretty average. Doesn't help that most are part normal type, so that resistance to fighting? Consider it gone. I don't think I've seen any monotype flyers. Only a few flying type moves do decent damage. Fly, Air Slash, and Sky Attack are pretty good. They can heal using Roost, making up for their low defenses. Flying types are best for transportation and battles where they have a type advantage. I'd aim for a Pidgeot, Skarmory, or Charizard.
Poison: Poison types only do serious damage to grass types, and plenty of types can resist them. Ghost, ground, poison, and rock come to mind. Plus steel is unaffected. They're weak to ground and psychic, but they've got a few resistances under their belt. Mainly poison, bug, fighting, and grass.
The thing about poison types is that they're mainly good for status inflictions. They have pretty solid defenses, and their immunity to poison comes in handy, but don't expect them to have amazing movepools unless you go dualtype. If you want a good poison type, try Nidoking. They've got a pretty flexible movepool and can learn elemental attacks if you use TMs or the move tutors. Tentacruel is another good dual-type. Been up against one before, and it was a pain.
Ground: Good against electric, rock, fire, poison, and ice. Weak against bug and grass, does nothing to flying. Resists poison and rock, weak to ice, water, and grass. Immune to electric.
Ground types are powerful. They're great with physical moves, and some have pretty heavy defenses. The real problem is that their weaknesses are common. Even other ground types can pick up Surf, a powerful water type attack. How does it work? Beats me, but the point is, you need to watch their weaknesses.
On the plus side, they've got some great moves, like Earthquake and Earth Power that'll take down a steel type with ease. And steel's one of the best defensive types out there. I'd say most ground types will work, but I'd suggest Nidoking or Dugtrio. Rock/ground combo is risky.
Rock: Good against bug, fire, flying, and ice. Weak against fighting, ground and steel. They resist normal, fire, flying, and poison, but fighting, grass, ground, steel, and water will tear them apart.
Rock types are strong, but they're almost always dualtype with ground. That means water and grass do twice as much damage than it would to a pure rock type. Defenses are alright... at least on the physical side of things.
But, hey, rock type attacks are heavy-hitting, and plenty of powerful Pokémon are open to full-on assault. Put a Charizard up against a rock type, and you won't last long. Not unless you've got Solarbeam on your side. If you want a rock type, go for Tyranitar, Aerodactyl, or Steelix.
Bug: Good against psychic, dark, and grass... and resisted by fire, poison, flying, fighting, ghost, and steel. Have fun with that. They might resist ground, fighting, and grass, but they're weak against fire, rock, and flying. These are all common types.
Most bug types have awful defenses and are mostly good for status inflictions. Usually poison. Key word being most. Scizor is part steel type, giving it a long list of resistances and only one weakness: fire. If you want a bug type, Scizor's easily your best bet.
The worst bug types are the Paras line. They take severe damage from fire and flying types, making them completely useless.
Ghost: They only do heavy damage to psychic and ghost types, and dark and steel types completely resist them. I already mentioned how normal types have an edge when fighting ghosts, since powerful moves like Shadow Ball do nothing. They resist bug and poison and are usually immune to fighting and normal moves until you use Foresight on 'em. Problem is, dark and ghost moves can really do them in. And with Pokémon like Gengar, even Psychic moves are an issue.
But you know what? Ghost types are awesome. Under the right circumstances, they can mess you up. Ghosts can inflict just about every status problem. Poison, paralysis, confusion, and sleep... Heck, they can Curse their opponents, trap them using Mean Look, and then heal using moves like Dream Eater.
You can pick up a ghost as early as Route 31 and Violet City, and I suggest you do it. Gastly's evolutions can learn a number of useful moves. Tutors can teach them elemental attacks, and they can use confuse ray and hypnosis early on. TMs in Goldenrod will teach them moves that burn and poison, and ThunderPunch has a chance of paralyzing.
Their defenses kind of stink, but they make up for it with speed and strength.
Steel: Best defensive type, hands down. I'm just gonna throw that out there. Super effective against ice and rock, weak against, electric, fire, steel, and water. Here's where it gets good... Pure steel types resist bug, dark, dragon, flying, grass, ice, normal, psychic, rock, and steel. They're immune to poison, and their only weaknesses are fire, ground, and fighting.
You really can't go wrong with steel types. They have great defenses, heavy resistances, and most of them have pretty strong attacking stats. You could get away with multiple steel types as long as you knock out their weaknesses or steer clear of them.
Steelix, Skarmory, Scizor, and Lucario are great additions to any team. Just keep in mind that steel types are pretty slow.
Type plays a huge role in battles. Knowing your types makes it easy to build the perfect team, pick moves for your Pokémon, and find holes in your opponent's battle style. Also, if your Pokémon uses moves that match their type, they do more damage.
* There's more to battles than types, though. One thing you need to keep in mind is that different Pokémon have different capabilities. Speed, strength, and defense are all important factors to consider. If you want specifics, just use your Pokédex, and it'll show:
Attack: How strong their physical attacks are. Moves that involve punching, kicking, biting, and tackles all count as physical.
Special Attack: Special attack strength. For example, the move flamethrower is special.
Special Defense: Defense against special attacks.
Defense: Defense against physical attacks.
Speed: Self explanatory.
Personally, I think it's important to have a Pokémon with a solid offensive stat, speed, and defense. Low or average defenses are alright if your Pokémon's fast and can make up for it with offensive power. Thing is, some Pokémon have awful stats all around. A lot of unevolved Pokémon can't stand up to a fully evolved enemy without a solid strategy, and then you've got Pokémon that never evolve and keep poor stats even at level 100.
If you're focusing on building a tough team, you'll need to be careful which Pokémon you catch. You're not gonna get very far with a Beedrill or Wigglytuff.
* Level is just a way of calculating your Pokémon's strength. The highest you can go is 100, and don't expect that to happen overnight. It takes me a few months to get a Pokémon from level 1 to 100. The most levels my Pokémon gain in a week is five, and that takes hours of nonstop training.
As Pokémon gain levels, they learn new moves, their stats improve, and eventually they evolve.
* Pokémon can also learn moves from items called TMs and HMs. You can find them in the Department Store and win them as prizes from facing Gym Leaders. There are also move tutors that travel all over Johto. They can teach your Pokémon some useful moves they'd never learn on their own.
* So how does evolution work? Basically, most Pokémon go through a transformation. Usually that means becoming bigger, stronger, and sometimes gaining a new type. The downside is that they don't learn moves as quickly, and if you evolve your Pokémon with a stone, they stop learning new moves on their own. Evee's an exception; its evolved forms actually learn better moves the sooner you use the stones.
Here are the main types of evolution:
Level: Basically, the Pokémon evolves through training. Some evolve three times, others just once. I'd say the average for a three-stage Pokémon's first evolution is 16 and the second at around 36. Dragon types evolve slowly, and Pokémon that evolve once usually don't do it until at least level 20.
Happiness: If you treat your Pokémon well, they'll evolve after about two months. I'll list some examples of Pokémon that evolve by hapiness...
Pichu, Riolu, Elekid, Magby, Eevee, Golbat, Chansey, Togepi, Buneary
Just keep in mind that these aren't the only Pokémon that evolve from happiness. Baby Pokémon always evolve this way, so if you've got a small Pokémon, and it hasn't evolved in over a month, it's usually because they just aren't feeling it.
Trade: Sometimes you have to trade a Pokémon for it to evolve. Most people do temporary trades just to get their Pokémon to evolve. Here's a list...
Haunter, Graveler, Machoke, Kadabra
Trade with an item: Sometimes you have to give your Pokémon a specific item and then trade them for them to evolve. Here are the ones I know about...
Scyther (metal coat), Onix (metal coat), Poliwhirl (King's Rock), Slowpoke (King's Rock), Porygon (Upgrade), Seadra (Dragon Scale)
Stones: Some Pokémon only evolve with stones. The upside is that stone evolutions are usually pretty powerful, but the downside's that they stop learning new moves after they evolve. You should probably wait to use stones until your Pokémon's at a high level. It's frustrating, but worth it. So, here's another list...
Eevee - uses water stone, thunder stone, fire stone, frozen rock, mossy rock.
Like I said, Eevee's evolved forms still learn moves. I'd use the stones right away.
Pikachu, Growlithe, Vulpix, Nidorino, Nidorina, Murkrow, Clefairy, Jigglypuff, Exeggcute, Misdreavus, Poliwhirl, Gloom, Staryu, Togetic, Weepinbell
I doubt that's all of them, just the ones I know off-hand.
Holding items while battling: Okay, so I've only seen one Pokémon evolve this way, and that's my Sneasel. Did it using the Razor Claw item from the Goldenrod Department Store. There's another item called Razor Fang that probably does the same thing.
Even if you prefer cute Pokémon, you should consider letting your team evolve at least once if you're serious about battling. It pays off.
* One more thing to keep in mind is status problems. They are a pain to deal with, but make battling a breeze if you're the one dishing them out. I'll give a quick summary of them.
Poison: Slowly weakens your Pokémon until they faint. Can be cured with an Antidote or a Pecha Berry. Doesn't affect poison or steel types.
Paralysis: Sometimes keeps your Pokémon from attacking. Can be cured with a Paralyze Heal or a Cheri Berry.
Burn: Like poison, but lowers attack power. Cured with Burn Heal or Aspear Berry.
Sleep: Pokémon falls asleep, can't attack, and is open to moves like Dream Eater and Nightmare. Some attacks let you fight while sleeping, like Sleep Talk, but most require a move tutor or TM. Cured with Awakening and Chesto Berry.
Confusion: Sometimes your Pokémon attacks itself. Wears off on its own if you switch out or wait long enough. You can cure it with a Persim Berry.
Other moves like Curse and Nightmare are close to status problems and drain your Pokémon's health constantly.
* I'll wrap this up by explaining how to catch Pokémon. All you have to do is weaken them and catch them in some kind of Pokéball. There are different types, and some work better than other. I recommend Ultra Balls, but they're pretty expensive. If the enemy Pokémon faints, you can still catch it, and sometimes status problems help.
Gym Battles:
So what about gyms? Basically, they're a way to test your skills as a trainer. If you beat a Gym Leader, you earn a badge and usually another prize to go with it. Even if you're not big on battles, you should consider taking on the gyms because the prizes make traveling a whole lot easier. Tried of spending days on the road? Fly gets you to places in a fraction of the time. Thing is, you need badges to be able to use these moves out of battles.
Each Gym Leader focuses on a specific type, and they get stronger as you progress. Falkner's strongest is level 35, while Clair's is in the 70's. But don't let that scare you. They're easy enough if you've got the right team. I'll go over each one real quick, just to give you a basic idea.
* Falkner: Flying type trainer, uses Pokémon in the 30's. You should use a rock, ice, or electric type. Rock types can be found in the caves, and you can catch an electric type right outside Violet City. Beating Falkner's important if you want to use Fly outside of battles. Plus, he gives you the TM for roost.
* Bugsy: Uses bug types, strongest is level 40. Bring a fire type if you want to take down his Scizor easily. Otherwise, a flying type can cover the rest. Beat him and you get the TM for U-Turn.
* Whitney: Normal type trainer, and you fight her in Goldenrod. If you can, get a fighting type or something that can handle rock type moves. Trust me, you're gonna need it when she sends out her Miltank. Strongest is level 45, and you get a Squirtbottle if you beat her. Makes it easy to get past the Sudowoodo. Other prizes include the HM for Rock Smash, TM for Attract, and you can use Strength any time.
And just as a warning, she throws a fit whenever she loses. Just thought I'd throw that out there.
Morty: Ecruteak Gym Leader. Ghost type trainer, and his strongest is at level 50. Expect to deal with status problems, Shadow Balls, and Curse. You really should get a Psychic or Dark type if you're going up against him. At least something that knows Bite or Crunch. If you've got a normal type, here's a good place to use them.
He's not a sore loser like Whitney, and he gives some cool prizes as a reward. You get the TM for Shadow Ball, the HM for Strength, and you can use Surf any time.
Jasmine: Olivine Leader. Here's the thing about Jasmine. She's stronger than Cianwood's Gym Leader, but not by much. Problem is, she's a steel type trainer, making her a tough contender. Water type moves work on her Steelix, and you can use electric moves on her Skarmory. Ground or fire should handle her Magneton. Fighting types help with her Steelix. Strongest is level 60.
So, as far as prizes go, you get the HM for Surf.
Chuck: Cianwood Gym Leader. His specialty's fighting types. By now you should have at least one flying or psychic type. Personally, I found him almost too easy. He's got two pure fighting types and one water/fighting. They're strong, but with the right team, you can finish him before he can do too much damage. Strongest Pokémon is level 55. If you can beat Jasmine, you'll have no problem with Chuck.
You get the HM for Fly after beating him. About time.
Pryce: Prepare to be lectured. Anyway, Pryce is the leader of the Mahogany Gym, and he uses ice types. If you thought about using a fire type, well, you might want to hold back. He's got a Dewgong and a Lapras, and their part-water typing makes fire useless. I'd aim for an electric or fighting type for those two. Once you get to his Mamoswine, fire away. Just keep in mind that it's level 65.
You get the TM for Hail as a prize, and you can start using Waterfall outside of battle... once you get it, anyway.
Clair: Blackthorn Gym Leader. You better have at least one Pokémon with ice type moves because Clair's specialty is dragon types. She's the final Gym Leader in Johto, and her strongest Pokémon is a level 70 Dragonite. But I wouldn't worry about him. Instead, you should worry about her Kingdra. Unless you've got a Pokémon with dragon type moves, he's going to be a pain.
She's a sore loser like Whitney, and you'll probably have to follow her to the Dragon's Den to get your prize. Once you get through to her, she'll hand over the Waterfall HM, and you can use Rock Climb out of battle. ...Except I haven't seen that HM anywhere. Kind of pointless, if you ask me.
I'll add info on the Kanto Gym Leaders once I collect more badges. Right now I've only fought Sabrina, and I've got a hunch the team she used against me isn't her usual roster. Six level 100s? Not exactly easy.
Pokémon Care:
Okay, just adding this here to make things clear. Pokémon aren't exactly weapons. They're useful in battle, but they'll only reach their full potential if you help them get there. That means training them, making sure they stay healthy, and... yes, even giving them breaks when they need it. Get too hard on them, and they might fight back. They're smarter than they look.
Most Pokémon will eat berries or premade food. Personally, I prefer buying them raw meat, since most of my team's made up of predators. Human food's usually pretty harmless, but I doubt it's healthy for them.
You can't eat Pokémon, so don't even try. Seriously, it's not worth it.
And if you wake up to find eggs... just go with it. It's easy enough to sell them to other trainers.
Hope this clues some of you guys in. It sure took long enough to write this up. If you've got any questions, just let me know. I've got time.
Pokémon Training for Dummies
There are a lot of misconceptions about training and the way this world works. I've been here for almost two years, so I figured I should clear things up. This guide will cover everything from basic training to gym battles. Take it from someone who's collected all the Johto badges and has more than ten level 100 Pokémon; I know what I'm talking about.
Introduction:
* If you can read this, chances are you're either in Johto or Kanto. Yes, it's another world. No, you're not dreaming, and so far there's no way out. Gym badges will not get you out of here. Anyone still spreading that rumor is totally clueless. So far, people leave at random. Nobody knows how or why. Better get used to the waiting game.
* If you used to be a pony, alien, or anything nonhuman, you're gonna have to get used to your new bodies. All powers are gone and weapons are illegal, so you better get used to using your Pokémon to fight.
* People here come from different times. Just because one of your friends is here doesn't mean they're on the same page as you. And if somebody's left and returned, they usually won't remember this place.
* Sometimes people end up in comas for about a week. They'll wake up soon enough, usually with some new memories intact.
* Everyone starts out with one Pokémon, usually in New Bark Town. You're gonna want to make the most of your supplies because it takes a few days to reach the next town. It's a good time to start training your Pokémon and catching others to add to your team. Trust me, it comes in handy.
* You should probably form a travel group, unless you're a loner. Even then, it's not a bad idea. Traveling on foot takes time, and unless you've got a bike or a Pokémon to carry you around, it'll take you anywhere from a few days to a week to reach most towns. Sometimes longer.
* Stock up on potions, antidotes, camping gear, and food. The berries will make you sick, and bug type Pokémon between Cherrygrove and Violet can poison you and your team. Once you get further in, you'll want to pick up other healing items. I'll explain those a bit later.
* Johto's seasons are pretty severe. You'll want a fire type to keep warm and a water or ice type to cool down. You can probably pick one up for free from the Breeding Center or head over to Mt. Mortar and the Lake of Rage. Fire types also help once you reach the ice path.
* Don't forget to visit Sprout Tower if you want the TM for Flash. It makes travel through caves a lot easier.
* Save at least some money if you plan on staying in town. A job's not a bad idea if you need pocket change.
* The background music never ends. Better get used to it.
Think that covers your basic facts for this world. Time to actually move on to the training.
Battle Basics:
* Pokémon typically start at level 5. At this point they know one, maybe two moves, and they usually don't do much damage. They're small and get tired easily. Sticking to one Pokémon is a bad idea unless you're feeling gutsy. Battles help toughen them up, but they've got limits. Push them too far, and they'll run out of steam.
* Wild Pokémon hang around tall grass, and they'll attack without warning. They start out at low levels, making them good training fodder. If you're heading down Route 29, I recommend catching at least a flying type. You can carry up to six Pokémon, but you can get by with two or three early on.
* Once you encounter a wild Pokémon, it's time to battle. Battles involve pitting your Pokémon against an opponent. First one to faint loses. Sounds easy, right? Well, it's not just a matter of hitting hard. There are a lot of factors to keep in mind.
* When you battle against trainers, the goal is to beat your opponent's team. Winner usually gets money, but if you lose, you better pay up. Some people order their Pokémon around, others let them do their own thing. If you want, you could do a double battle.
* Every Pokémon has a specific typing. Each type has its ups and downs. All attacks fit into these types, making them crucial in battle.
Fire: Super effective against bug, ice, grass and steel types, not very effective against water, fire, rock, and dragon types. Their weaknesses are rock, water, and ground type attacks. They resist steel, ice, bug, grass, and fire type moves. Seeing a pattern here?
Fire types pack a punch, but you have to watch their weaknesses, since they're pretty common. If you're looking for a fire type, I recommend Charizard and Typhlosion. Arcanine gets an honorable mention for its size and speed. Try to avoid Flareon and Slugma.
Water: Super effective against fire, rock, and ground types. Not very effective against grass, water, and dragon types. Weak to electric and grass, resist fire, steel, water, and ice.
You should catch at least one water type. They're useful for travel and cooling down on hot days. They only have two real weaknesses, and they tend to have high defense and attack stats. They can almost always learn ice moves, making it easy to take out one of their weaknesses. Recommendations: Gyarados, Blastoise, Feraligatr, and Tentacruel. Just be careful with water/ice types. Most are average at best.
Grass: Effective against water, rock, and ground. Not very effective against... just about everything else. Bug, flying, dragon, fire, grass, poison, steel. Sure they resist electric, water, ground, and grass, but they're also weak to fire, flying, bug, ice, and poison.
If there's any type I'd stay away from, grass is it. There are other Pokémon that can pick up grass moves pretty easily. Solarbeam can be learned by fire types, and their stat moves are nothing to brag about. Moves that poison, paralyze, and put Pokémon to sleep can be learned by much better types. Overall, it takes work to use a grass type effectively. If you have to have one, go for a Venusaur, Torterra, or Sceptile. Don't even bother with Paras.
Electric: Effective against flying and water, not very effective against electric, dragon, and grass. No effect on ground types. They're weak against ground and resist electric, flying, and steel moves.
Electric Pokémon are useful offensively because they learn some devastating moves and they're usually quick on their feet. Plus they can paralyze. They only have one weakness, and moves like Thunderbolt can take their toll on just about any type. Their defenses are pretty average, but power and paralysis makes up for it. I recommend Jolteon, Rotom, and maybe Raichu. Ampharos is pretty sturdy for its type. Just don't expect to last long with a Pikachu.
Psychic: Super effective against poison and fighting, not very effective against psychic and steel. No effect on dark. Weak against dark, ghost, and bug types, and they resist psychic and fighting type moves.
Psychic types usually have a high special attack stat and speed, but their defenses almost always suck. These Pokémon are glass cannons. They hit hard, but the right physical moves can take them out in one or two hits tops. They can learn moves from other types, but I'd avoid physical moves. Special's where it's at.
Alakazam's pretty reliable as a psychic type, but most are pretty solid. Just don't put them against dark types or heavy hitters.
Ice: Effective against grass, flying, dragon, and ground. Not very effective against water, steel, fire, and ice. Weak against fire, fighting, steel, and rock, and their only resistance is ice.
Basically, ice types have terrible defenses. Seriously, they have one resistance, and their weaknesses are all pretty common. They have some tough moves, but you'd probably be better off teaching a water type ice moves. Still, Weavile's a useful Pokémon to have due to its high speed and attack stats. It's the evolved form of Sneasel, and you can get it using a razor claw. Just thought I'd point that out.
Dragon: Super effective against dragon, not very effective against steel. They resist fire, water, electric, grass, and their only weaknesses are dragon and ice.
The thing you should know about dragon types is that they're almost all dual-type, and you shouldn't rely on dragon type moves alone. They're heavy hitters that can learn moves from almost all elemental types, and their stats are insane. Go for Dragonite, Garchomp, Salamence, or Kingdra. They're all useful, and all you need to watch out for is ice and other dragons. Kingdra doesn't even have an ice weakness.
Dark: Effective against psychic and ghost, weak against steel, fighting, and dark. Weak to bug and fighting, resist dark and ghost.
Dark types are useful against psychic and ghost types, but they're more geared towards physical moves than special attacks. Tyranitar and Weavile are easily the strongest dark types to pick from, but Umbreon's pretty sturdy. I've got all three, and they're all useful for different reasons. Tyranitar's slow, but it can take a lot more punishment than a Weavile, plus they create sandstorms for added damage.
Normal: They aren't super effective against anything, do next to nothing against rock and steel, have no effect on ghosts, and are weak against fighting. The upside is that they're resistant to ghost moves. Still, this type is... pretty average. Seriously, even their stats are average at best.
They don't have many weaknesses, and only a few types resist them. Stats determine how much damage they do, so a move like Mega Punch is pretty dangerous when paired with a Kangaskhan. Helps that some can pick up elemental moves, but they're still not the greatest type. They're just okay for the most part. If you really want one, I'd go for a Kangaskhan or Blissey.
Fighting: Strong against rock, normal, steel, ice, and dark. Weak against poison, flying, bug, and psychic. Resist bug, dark, and rock, and they're weak to flying and psychic. No effect on ghost types.
Fighting types are heavy hitters. One of the best offensive types, hands down. Their attack stats are high, and if you combine that with moves like Close Combat or Aura Sphere, they're a force to be recommend with. You just have to watch their weaknesses. Pure fighting types are easy to nail with flying and psychic moves. That's why I recommend Lucario. Its steel typing gives it added resistance, and it's great with both physical and special moves. Machamp gets an honorable mention for its high attack stat.
Flying: Good against grass, bug, and flying, but don't expect them to do much to electric, rock, and steel types. They're weak against rock, ice and electric moves, but they resist grass, fighting, and bug attacks. Plus ground attacks do nothing to them.
Flying types tend to have high attack and speed stats, but their defenses are pretty average. Doesn't help that most are part normal type, so that resistance to fighting? Consider it gone. I don't think I've seen any monotype flyers. Only a few flying type moves do decent damage. Fly, Air Slash, and Sky Attack are pretty good. They can heal using Roost, making up for their low defenses. Flying types are best for transportation and battles where they have a type advantage. I'd aim for a Pidgeot, Skarmory, or Charizard.
Poison: Poison types only do serious damage to grass types, and plenty of types can resist them. Ghost, ground, poison, and rock come to mind. Plus steel is unaffected. They're weak to ground and psychic, but they've got a few resistances under their belt. Mainly poison, bug, fighting, and grass.
The thing about poison types is that they're mainly good for status inflictions. They have pretty solid defenses, and their immunity to poison comes in handy, but don't expect them to have amazing movepools unless you go dualtype. If you want a good poison type, try Nidoking. They've got a pretty flexible movepool and can learn elemental attacks if you use TMs or the move tutors. Tentacruel is another good dual-type. Been up against one before, and it was a pain.
Ground: Good against electric, rock, fire, poison, and ice. Weak against bug and grass, does nothing to flying. Resists poison and rock, weak to ice, water, and grass. Immune to electric.
Ground types are powerful. They're great with physical moves, and some have pretty heavy defenses. The real problem is that their weaknesses are common. Even other ground types can pick up Surf, a powerful water type attack. How does it work? Beats me, but the point is, you need to watch their weaknesses.
On the plus side, they've got some great moves, like Earthquake and Earth Power that'll take down a steel type with ease. And steel's one of the best defensive types out there. I'd say most ground types will work, but I'd suggest Nidoking or Dugtrio. Rock/ground combo is risky.
Rock: Good against bug, fire, flying, and ice. Weak against fighting, ground and steel. They resist normal, fire, flying, and poison, but fighting, grass, ground, steel, and water will tear them apart.
Rock types are strong, but they're almost always dualtype with ground. That means water and grass do twice as much damage than it would to a pure rock type. Defenses are alright... at least on the physical side of things.
But, hey, rock type attacks are heavy-hitting, and plenty of powerful Pokémon are open to full-on assault. Put a Charizard up against a rock type, and you won't last long. Not unless you've got Solarbeam on your side. If you want a rock type, go for Tyranitar, Aerodactyl, or Steelix.
Bug: Good against psychic, dark, and grass... and resisted by fire, poison, flying, fighting, ghost, and steel. Have fun with that. They might resist ground, fighting, and grass, but they're weak against fire, rock, and flying. These are all common types.
Most bug types have awful defenses and are mostly good for status inflictions. Usually poison. Key word being most. Scizor is part steel type, giving it a long list of resistances and only one weakness: fire. If you want a bug type, Scizor's easily your best bet.
The worst bug types are the Paras line. They take severe damage from fire and flying types, making them completely useless.
Ghost: They only do heavy damage to psychic and ghost types, and dark and steel types completely resist them. I already mentioned how normal types have an edge when fighting ghosts, since powerful moves like Shadow Ball do nothing. They resist bug and poison and are usually immune to fighting and normal moves until you use Foresight on 'em. Problem is, dark and ghost moves can really do them in. And with Pokémon like Gengar, even Psychic moves are an issue.
But you know what? Ghost types are awesome. Under the right circumstances, they can mess you up. Ghosts can inflict just about every status problem. Poison, paralysis, confusion, and sleep... Heck, they can Curse their opponents, trap them using Mean Look, and then heal using moves like Dream Eater.
You can pick up a ghost as early as Route 31 and Violet City, and I suggest you do it. Gastly's evolutions can learn a number of useful moves. Tutors can teach them elemental attacks, and they can use confuse ray and hypnosis early on. TMs in Goldenrod will teach them moves that burn and poison, and ThunderPunch has a chance of paralyzing.
Their defenses kind of stink, but they make up for it with speed and strength.
Steel: Best defensive type, hands down. I'm just gonna throw that out there. Super effective against ice and rock, weak against, electric, fire, steel, and water. Here's where it gets good... Pure steel types resist bug, dark, dragon, flying, grass, ice, normal, psychic, rock, and steel. They're immune to poison, and their only weaknesses are fire, ground, and fighting.
You really can't go wrong with steel types. They have great defenses, heavy resistances, and most of them have pretty strong attacking stats. You could get away with multiple steel types as long as you knock out their weaknesses or steer clear of them.
Steelix, Skarmory, Scizor, and Lucario are great additions to any team. Just keep in mind that steel types are pretty slow.
Type plays a huge role in battles. Knowing your types makes it easy to build the perfect team, pick moves for your Pokémon, and find holes in your opponent's battle style. Also, if your Pokémon uses moves that match their type, they do more damage.
* There's more to battles than types, though. One thing you need to keep in mind is that different Pokémon have different capabilities. Speed, strength, and defense are all important factors to consider. If you want specifics, just use your Pokédex, and it'll show:
Attack: How strong their physical attacks are. Moves that involve punching, kicking, biting, and tackles all count as physical.
Special Attack: Special attack strength. For example, the move flamethrower is special.
Special Defense: Defense against special attacks.
Defense: Defense against physical attacks.
Speed: Self explanatory.
Personally, I think it's important to have a Pokémon with a solid offensive stat, speed, and defense. Low or average defenses are alright if your Pokémon's fast and can make up for it with offensive power. Thing is, some Pokémon have awful stats all around. A lot of unevolved Pokémon can't stand up to a fully evolved enemy without a solid strategy, and then you've got Pokémon that never evolve and keep poor stats even at level 100.
If you're focusing on building a tough team, you'll need to be careful which Pokémon you catch. You're not gonna get very far with a Beedrill or Wigglytuff.
* Level is just a way of calculating your Pokémon's strength. The highest you can go is 100, and don't expect that to happen overnight. It takes me a few months to get a Pokémon from level 1 to 100. The most levels my Pokémon gain in a week is five, and that takes hours of nonstop training.
As Pokémon gain levels, they learn new moves, their stats improve, and eventually they evolve.
* Pokémon can also learn moves from items called TMs and HMs. You can find them in the Department Store and win them as prizes from facing Gym Leaders. There are also move tutors that travel all over Johto. They can teach your Pokémon some useful moves they'd never learn on their own.
* So how does evolution work? Basically, most Pokémon go through a transformation. Usually that means becoming bigger, stronger, and sometimes gaining a new type. The downside is that they don't learn moves as quickly, and if you evolve your Pokémon with a stone, they stop learning new moves on their own. Evee's an exception; its evolved forms actually learn better moves the sooner you use the stones.
Here are the main types of evolution:
Level: Basically, the Pokémon evolves through training. Some evolve three times, others just once. I'd say the average for a three-stage Pokémon's first evolution is 16 and the second at around 36. Dragon types evolve slowly, and Pokémon that evolve once usually don't do it until at least level 20.
Happiness: If you treat your Pokémon well, they'll evolve after about two months. I'll list some examples of Pokémon that evolve by hapiness...
Pichu, Riolu, Elekid, Magby, Eevee, Golbat, Chansey, Togepi, Buneary
Just keep in mind that these aren't the only Pokémon that evolve from happiness. Baby Pokémon always evolve this way, so if you've got a small Pokémon, and it hasn't evolved in over a month, it's usually because they just aren't feeling it.
Trade: Sometimes you have to trade a Pokémon for it to evolve. Most people do temporary trades just to get their Pokémon to evolve. Here's a list...
Haunter, Graveler, Machoke, Kadabra
Trade with an item: Sometimes you have to give your Pokémon a specific item and then trade them for them to evolve. Here are the ones I know about...
Scyther (metal coat), Onix (metal coat), Poliwhirl (King's Rock), Slowpoke (King's Rock), Porygon (Upgrade), Seadra (Dragon Scale)
Stones: Some Pokémon only evolve with stones. The upside is that stone evolutions are usually pretty powerful, but the downside's that they stop learning new moves after they evolve. You should probably wait to use stones until your Pokémon's at a high level. It's frustrating, but worth it. So, here's another list...
Eevee - uses water stone, thunder stone, fire stone, frozen rock, mossy rock.
Like I said, Eevee's evolved forms still learn moves. I'd use the stones right away.
Pikachu, Growlithe, Vulpix, Nidorino, Nidorina, Murkrow, Clefairy, Jigglypuff, Exeggcute, Misdreavus, Poliwhirl, Gloom, Staryu, Togetic, Weepinbell
I doubt that's all of them, just the ones I know off-hand.
Holding items while battling: Okay, so I've only seen one Pokémon evolve this way, and that's my Sneasel. Did it using the Razor Claw item from the Goldenrod Department Store. There's another item called Razor Fang that probably does the same thing.
Even if you prefer cute Pokémon, you should consider letting your team evolve at least once if you're serious about battling. It pays off.
* One more thing to keep in mind is status problems. They are a pain to deal with, but make battling a breeze if you're the one dishing them out. I'll give a quick summary of them.
Poison: Slowly weakens your Pokémon until they faint. Can be cured with an Antidote or a Pecha Berry. Doesn't affect poison or steel types.
Paralysis: Sometimes keeps your Pokémon from attacking. Can be cured with a Paralyze Heal or a Cheri Berry.
Burn: Like poison, but lowers attack power. Cured with Burn Heal or Aspear Berry.
Sleep: Pokémon falls asleep, can't attack, and is open to moves like Dream Eater and Nightmare. Some attacks let you fight while sleeping, like Sleep Talk, but most require a move tutor or TM. Cured with Awakening and Chesto Berry.
Confusion: Sometimes your Pokémon attacks itself. Wears off on its own if you switch out or wait long enough. You can cure it with a Persim Berry.
Other moves like Curse and Nightmare are close to status problems and drain your Pokémon's health constantly.
* I'll wrap this up by explaining how to catch Pokémon. All you have to do is weaken them and catch them in some kind of Pokéball. There are different types, and some work better than other. I recommend Ultra Balls, but they're pretty expensive. If the enemy Pokémon faints, you can still catch it, and sometimes status problems help.
Gym Battles:
So what about gyms? Basically, they're a way to test your skills as a trainer. If you beat a Gym Leader, you earn a badge and usually another prize to go with it. Even if you're not big on battles, you should consider taking on the gyms because the prizes make traveling a whole lot easier. Tried of spending days on the road? Fly gets you to places in a fraction of the time. Thing is, you need badges to be able to use these moves out of battles.
Each Gym Leader focuses on a specific type, and they get stronger as you progress. Falkner's strongest is level 35, while Clair's is in the 70's. But don't let that scare you. They're easy enough if you've got the right team. I'll go over each one real quick, just to give you a basic idea.
* Falkner: Flying type trainer, uses Pokémon in the 30's. You should use a rock, ice, or electric type. Rock types can be found in the caves, and you can catch an electric type right outside Violet City. Beating Falkner's important if you want to use Fly outside of battles. Plus, he gives you the TM for roost.
* Bugsy: Uses bug types, strongest is level 40. Bring a fire type if you want to take down his Scizor easily. Otherwise, a flying type can cover the rest. Beat him and you get the TM for U-Turn.
* Whitney: Normal type trainer, and you fight her in Goldenrod. If you can, get a fighting type or something that can handle rock type moves. Trust me, you're gonna need it when she sends out her Miltank. Strongest is level 45, and you get a Squirtbottle if you beat her. Makes it easy to get past the Sudowoodo. Other prizes include the HM for Rock Smash, TM for Attract, and you can use Strength any time.
And just as a warning, she throws a fit whenever she loses. Just thought I'd throw that out there.
Morty: Ecruteak Gym Leader. Ghost type trainer, and his strongest is at level 50. Expect to deal with status problems, Shadow Balls, and Curse. You really should get a Psychic or Dark type if you're going up against him. At least something that knows Bite or Crunch. If you've got a normal type, here's a good place to use them.
He's not a sore loser like Whitney, and he gives some cool prizes as a reward. You get the TM for Shadow Ball, the HM for Strength, and you can use Surf any time.
Jasmine: Olivine Leader. Here's the thing about Jasmine. She's stronger than Cianwood's Gym Leader, but not by much. Problem is, she's a steel type trainer, making her a tough contender. Water type moves work on her Steelix, and you can use electric moves on her Skarmory. Ground or fire should handle her Magneton. Fighting types help with her Steelix. Strongest is level 60.
So, as far as prizes go, you get the HM for Surf.
Chuck: Cianwood Gym Leader. His specialty's fighting types. By now you should have at least one flying or psychic type. Personally, I found him almost too easy. He's got two pure fighting types and one water/fighting. They're strong, but with the right team, you can finish him before he can do too much damage. Strongest Pokémon is level 55. If you can beat Jasmine, you'll have no problem with Chuck.
You get the HM for Fly after beating him. About time.
Pryce: Prepare to be lectured. Anyway, Pryce is the leader of the Mahogany Gym, and he uses ice types. If you thought about using a fire type, well, you might want to hold back. He's got a Dewgong and a Lapras, and their part-water typing makes fire useless. I'd aim for an electric or fighting type for those two. Once you get to his Mamoswine, fire away. Just keep in mind that it's level 65.
You get the TM for Hail as a prize, and you can start using Waterfall outside of battle... once you get it, anyway.
Clair: Blackthorn Gym Leader. You better have at least one Pokémon with ice type moves because Clair's specialty is dragon types. She's the final Gym Leader in Johto, and her strongest Pokémon is a level 70 Dragonite. But I wouldn't worry about him. Instead, you should worry about her Kingdra. Unless you've got a Pokémon with dragon type moves, he's going to be a pain.
She's a sore loser like Whitney, and you'll probably have to follow her to the Dragon's Den to get your prize. Once you get through to her, she'll hand over the Waterfall HM, and you can use Rock Climb out of battle. ...Except I haven't seen that HM anywhere. Kind of pointless, if you ask me.
I'll add info on the Kanto Gym Leaders once I collect more badges. Right now I've only fought Sabrina, and I've got a hunch the team she used against me isn't her usual roster. Six level 100s? Not exactly easy.
Pokémon Care:
Okay, just adding this here to make things clear. Pokémon aren't exactly weapons. They're useful in battle, but they'll only reach their full potential if you help them get there. That means training them, making sure they stay healthy, and... yes, even giving them breaks when they need it. Get too hard on them, and they might fight back. They're smarter than they look.
Most Pokémon will eat berries or premade food. Personally, I prefer buying them raw meat, since most of my team's made up of predators. Human food's usually pretty harmless, but I doubt it's healthy for them.
You can't eat Pokémon, so don't even try. Seriously, it's not worth it.
And if you wake up to find eggs... just go with it. It's easy enough to sell them to other trainers.
Hope this clues some of you guys in. It sure took long enough to write this up. If you've got any questions, just let me know. I've got time.
[Video] /Bookmarks this for RL uses too XD
[She appreciates it though. Currently reading over and memorising everything]
[Video] D'aw. Glad to help! XD
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Does everyone stay around for such a long time?
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