Team Building Basics Guide

[[GS]]

Brilliant work on the 2nd part. There's some stuff in there
that even I wasn't clear on, lol. I'm too ill to go through and
do any corrections, but I just wanted to commend you on
another job well done. ^^

[Noctourniquet]

^ Heh, thanks, although I'm replacing Umbreon since, in use, it would probably need some Atk rather than balanced defences. But tomorrow, when it's not stupidly late/early. xD

[foxyman1167]

SpellCheck time.

A an offensive Pokémon is a Pokémon designed to take out many opponents very quickly with attacks that are normally STAB Boosted.

Remove the A.

This Empoleon maximises its Speed, which gives it an actual stat of 240.

Maximizes.

As this is not competitive, you do not need to EV to survive attacks from certain threats, but rather you should work on optimising your Defences.

Optimizing.

Firstly, the Max HP + Equal Defences style. Pokémon with fairly all-round Defensive Stats will want to employ this style, as they will benefit most from bring able to take hits from everything evenly.

Defenses.
Being.

Now, we already have Max HP invested because Umbreon has a mediocre HP in relation to its other Defences. The Def, SpDef, and Nature will come together once we do a little maths and find out how to even them out.

Defenses.
Math. (This isn't really a spelling mistake, its just math sounds better to me in there.)

Now for the next style. It's far simpler than the previous one because it is easily to recognise where it is needed, and employ it.

Recognize.

Finally, the third style of investing only slightly in HP and investing heavily in your Defences instead.

Defenses.

A more appropriate and beneficial method to use would be to run a 4 / 252 / 252 spread, with the 252s being your Defences.

Defenses.

I have not covered hybrid spreads, combining Offence and Defence.

Offense.
Defense.

[AlCario]

^Most of those are just differences between American and Australian/British english, so they don't really matter too much unless you feel like being pedantic.

[foxyman1167]

Yeah I realized that after I posted that, but I just added them in case.

I didn't say it before, but nice job on the second piece, good stuff in there.

[Noctourniquet]

^ Thanks for pointing them out, although I decided to leave them as they were since I'm not too bothered about changing a spelling which was technically correct to begin with. I changed the other issues, though.

Thanks. I hope some people are getting some use out of it. I know all the numbers make it a little unfriendly to beginners, but that's just how it is, really.

[Terry. T.]

Brilliant. I'll try these one day instead of going freestyle. But may I suggest that in the Hall and when you can use Roar/Whirlwind, you can then run HyperBeam moves as after you attack, you can just get the other Pokémon to Roar you out. In the hall them moves can tear up anything. If you are scared about them, keep like Flamethrower or Energy Ball up back. I tried it once and it worked well.

[Terry. T.]

Brilliant. I'll try these one day instead of going freestyle. But may I suggest that in the Hall and when you can use Roar/Whirlwind, you can then run HyperBeam moves as after you attack, you can just get the other Pokémon to Roar you out. In the hall them moves can tear up anything. If you are scared about them, keep like Flamethrower or Energy Ball up back. I tried it once and it worked well.

[Noctourniquet]

^ Hyper Beam-esque moves are really only viable on Slaking in the Battle Hall, and this isn't a Frontier guide, so. The Roar strategy is alright, but it would require your partner in a Double Battle to waste a turn roaring you, so that time could be used better. They still aren't viable.

[Terry. T.]

^ Hyper Beam-esque moves are really only viable on Slaking in the Battle Hall, and this isn't a Frontier guide, so. The Roar strategy is alright, but it would require your partner in a Double Battle to waste a turn roaring you, so that time could be used better. They still aren't viable.

There will be a way. After all, the world's highes Hall Streak is held by a Blast Burn-Flamethrower-Focus Blast-HP Dark Infernape, Choice Specs Timid. I think that's right according to what I heard DX

[Noctourniquet]

^ As I said, this isn't a Frontier guide, so even if that's true, it is irrelevant.

[Terry. T.]

^ As I said, this isn't a Frontier guide, so even if that's true, it is irrelevant.

Oh yeah. This ain't the guide for me. But V4E's guide doesn't help me either so... meh.
*is off to STTR to sort out an argument*

[ungulateman]

Terry, shut up and go away. Any Infernape with that set will get murdered as soon as a Ground-type (and more of the Ground-types in the Hall have Brightpowder than any other type) looks at it.

The current record is 260, by Jumpman, with his Kingdra.

[AlCario]

Yeah. I'm just saying that STTR is a bunch of crap now.

*is off to STTR to sort out an argument*

Looks like you've finally found where you belong.

[Dan The Poke Man]

*Applause*

Nice guide.

I now understand what a few terms are, now. (Such as Tank and Sweeper)

And I now have figured out what to do with my recently obtained shiny Torkoal and Ninjask.

Ty~

[AlCario]

I have some constructive criticism to add. Technicalities first.

• The AI is a ruthless abuser of Hax.
For those of you who don't know, Hax refers to the unfair ability that the AI has to activate the secondary effects of moves. For example, Water Pulse's 20% confuse rate may seem more like 40% or even 50% for the AI. This is not just how the AI is appears. It is a genuine advantage that the AI has, and so you should plan your team accordingly. Moves like Substitute are excellent remedies for this issue, as they will block the added effects of moves so that you can't be affected by them.

You might want to note somewhere that hax is only a major issue in the BT (which is irrelevant in this guide), and in normal in-game runthroughs it rarely causes trouble for teams that aren't stall. Substitute, while it is still moderately useful, is usually able to be substituted (pun completely intended) with a better move. Since hax is still occasionally problematic, acknowledge it, but not in that way. Something like:

• The AI will sometimes use hax to its advantage.
For those of you who don't know, Hax refers to the unfair ability that the AI has to activate the secondary effects of moves, as well as its occasional use of Double Team and OHKO attacks. Substitute can prevent both the former and the latter, while Double Team can be dealt with by moves that always hit, such as Aerial Ace; however, any fast, hard hitting sweeper will often be able to deal with the opponent before they have a chance to hax you.

Or something.

Look at your Pokémon's Base Stats on Serebii's Pokédex, or another location of your choice. You will notice that the majority of Pokémon have one stat that is superior to the other, and you should try to use this stat the most when you are choosing a moveset. A Breloom, for example, will benefit much more from using Seed Bomb, a physical move, than it will from Energy Ball which is Special.

This is not exactly true. I know your bias against mixed sets, but that doesn't mean you should leave them out. For example:

Look at your Pokémon's Base Stats on Serebii's Pokédex, or another location of your choice. You will notice that the majority of Pokémon have one offensive stat that is significantly superior to the other, and you should try to use this stat the most when you are choosing a moveset. Often, however, both offensive stats will be usable (base 90 or above) in which case you can effectively use either offence, or even both on the same set. For example: Breloom benefits more from Seed Bomb than from Energy Ball; whereas on Electivire both Thunderbolt and Thunderpunch are equally viable.

Or something.

Moves such as Thunder Wave and Will-o-Wisp will force Status Effects to be induced on your opponent. This will help you because it disadvantages your opponent massively, giving you an easier time setting up. On a more defensive moveset, you should consider using these sort of moves carefully, as they can massively benefit you or hinder you, depending on how appropriate your choice.

Hmm, status moves are more competitively oriented for crippling dangerous threats as they switch in and around constantly; since the AI never switches, it would usually be a better investment to outright KO them with attacks, and as such, in-game they should only be used as a filler.

Moves such as Thunder Wave, Sleep Powder, Toxic and Will-o-Wisp will cripple the foe. While this is useful, it is generally a better idea to try and KO the foe as quickly as possible in-game with attacks; therefore these moves should only be used as filler.

Or something.

The other Natures.

This section can go. Anyone who wants to know all the natures already have plenty of places to go; and you already have mentioned the good ones.

Choice Band / Specs.
These two item boost Physical and Special attacks respectively by 50%. However, only one move out of four may be used. For this reason, it is clear why you should avoid using more than one of these in general on a single team, although you can get away with two if you have a god backup plan.

Choice Scarf.
Like the Band and Specs, this item allows only one move to be used until switching out. However, this item applies to Speed rather than Atk or SpAtk. It is a common sight on Pokémon with great attacking abilities, but lacking in Speed. Heatran is an excellent example of how to use the item.

Choice items have very limited use in-game, more so than in competitive. They require you to switch around a lot, which will slow down your progress, and fast progress is the essence of in-game. That is not to mention that freedom of attacking is paramount, and Wise Glasses/Muscle Band are superior to Choice Specs/Band, which should be used rarely, if ever. You can get away with Choice Scarf occasionally, though Priority is generally better for a revenge kill.

Choice Items

Choice Band, Choice Scarf and Choice Specs boost attack, speed and special attack respectively by 50%. However, only one move out of four may be used. [What I just said, or the essence of it]

Defensive items: Tbh, I only think you should mention Lefties for this one since it is the only defensive item that is actually viable in-game. While theoretically you can never have too much information, cutting the Sash/Berries from the guide will make it shorter and consequently more readable.

Feel free to use exactly what I wrote within the quote boxes for your guide; however it is probably better that you write the same thing yourself in your own style for the sake of consistency. Either way, it is very important that you capture the essence of my suggestions, unless, of course, I'm wrong.

On the whole, good effort. I'll post my suggestions for part two in due course, along with anything else I find.

[Noctourniquet]

Once again, thanks a lot for your suggestions, Al. I decided to almost all of them. However, I thought I could leave in the Defensive Items section because it gives a greater insight into building an effective team for casual Wi-Fi or basic Battle Frontier teams (although V4E's guide is more appropriate here). The items appear at the end of the guide anyway, so I don't think it should be too off-putting since they are probably the least relevant part.

[AlCario]

Once again, thanks a lot for your suggestions, Al. I decided to almost all of them. However, I thought I could leave in the Defensive Items section because it gives a greater insight into building an effective team for casual Wi-Fi or basic Battle Frontier teams (although V4E's guide is more appropriate here). The items appear at the end of the guide anyway, so I don't think it should be too off-putting since they are probably the least relevant part.

No worries. The Defensive Items bit is certainly the least relevant, I just threw in everything I saw. I'll post my suggestions for section two when I'm feeling up to it.

[AlCario]

First of all, you might want to throw in a link to the second part of the guide somewhere in the first post so people don't have to scroll down the page.

You can do this by dividing 416 by 2, and then adding 1 to your answer. So, (416/2)+1 = 209.

I don't like this step. You first want to add 1 to 416, to reach your target speed, and then divide by two and round up.

You can do this by adding 1 to 416, to reach your target speed; then dividing 417 by 2 and rounding up. This gives you 209.

Also make it very clear in the examples that the pokemon used in them have perfect IVs, as in-game people won't always breed for perfection; they will have to customise their spreads accordingly. A sentence before the Empoleon bit such as the following will do.

NOTE: ALL EXAMPLES ASSUME THAT THE POKEMON HAS PERFECT IVs. TO ACHIEVE SIMILAR GOALS WITH YOUR POKEMON'S EV SPREAD, YOU WILL FIRST HAVE TO CALCULATE YOUR IVs AND CUSTOMISE YOUR EVs ACCORDINGLY

I'll finish making corrections later, and will edit them into this post.

[HoundoomFlare]

JUst thought I'd add something. For the 'What not to use' Part of this, you should say something about Yawn and Wish which are two-turn moves which some players value greatly

[AlCario]

JUst thought I'd add something. For the 'What not to use' Part of this, you should say something about Yawn and Wish which are two-turn moves which some players value greatly

Wut. Two turn moves are moves that make a pokemon completely useless for a turn; Yawn and Wish do not do that. Moves like Yawn, Wish, Future Sight, etc. are called delayed effect moves, since you don't actually miss a turn; as is implied by the term "two turn moves". I hope this was enlightening for you.

Also TBR, I could find nothing else wrong with the second part. However, as you mentioned in the final paragraph, it isn't completely comprehensive. You can assume that anyone that serious about EVs will want to know about all that, too. Not saying you should expand your guide, but in the Resources section you could link to one or two pre-existing guides on EVs that cover things in more detail. Since specific EV spreads are not amazing in-game, it doesn't matter if the guide you link to is competitively orientated; it should be more for the players who want to progress further. Salavoir's EV guide is quite good, there also might be one on Smogon.

I don't think I've mentioned yet what a good job you've done. In which case, nice work.

[Noctourniquet]

First of all, you might want to throw in a link to the second part of the guide somewhere in the first post so people don't have to scroll down the page.

Good idea, I guess. I'll edit one in.

I don't like this step. You first want to add 1 to 416, to reach your target speed, and then divide by two and round up.

It works either way, but your method seems to make more sense. Since I couldn't really word it better myself, I hope you don't mind if I just do a little copypast'a.

Also make it very clear in the examples that the pokemon used in them have perfect IVs, as in-game people won't always breed for perfection; they will have to customise their spreads accordingly. A sentence before the Empoleon bit such as the following will do.

*facepalm* How'd I manage to miss that? Once again, I'll copypast'a if you don't mind.

JUst thought I'd add something. For the 'What not to use' Part of this, you should say something about Yawn and Wish which are two-turn moves which some players value greatly

As Al said, they aren't strictly two-turn moves. They activate in the second turn after you make a move of your own. It's essentially a case of skipping one turn to make two moves the next, but you have the advantage of being able to switch in the second turn without the move failing.

Also TBR, I could find nothing else wrong with the second part. However, as you mentioned in the final paragraph, it isn't completely comprehensive. You can assume that anyone that serious about EVs will want to know about all that, too. Not saying you should expand your guide, but in the Resources section you could link to one or two pre-existing guides on EVs that cover things in more detail. Since specific EV spreads are not amazing in-game, it doesn't matter if the guide you link to is competitively orientated; it should be more for the players who want to progress further. Salavoir's EV guide is quite good, there also might be one on Smogon.

You're right, some people would find it helpful I guess. Salavoir's guide is one that I've look over briefly before, and it's pretty awesome. I'll link to it, it has pretty much any information that I haven't included here.

I don't think I've mentioned yet what a good job you've done. In which case, nice work.

Thanks.

Right, it seems that I'm just about finished. The only remaining thing to add are some worked examples, if anyone wants them. Thoughts?

[bleeding-chocobo]

I think worked examples could be useful. I vote yes.

[bleeding-chocobo]

I think worked examples could be useful. I vote yes.

[AlCario]

I'll copypast'a if you don't mind.

No problem at all.

I like the sound of worked examples, I might give it some thought.