Getting into Competitive Pokémon

[Glen-i]

I said I would, and now I have. Thanks to @S.C.G and @RedShell for getting it up and doing the graphic work, respectively.

How to get into Competitive Pokémon  

I tried to make this as simple as possible for people who haven't trained a competitive Pokémon team before to understand.

But of course, some people will have further questions, so I want to make a thread dedicated to this side of Pokémon. This will be a place for anyone to ask other members about anything that comes to mind, whether that be what stats a certain Pokémon might want to focus on or what moves people recommend.

Or if you want to take your competitive team out for a test spin against an N-E player, feel free to ask. I'd be happy to give feedback.

Anyway, while I'm at it, the first Online Competition for Sword and Shield is starting this week. Registration for that ends Midnight, this Thursday with the competition taking place over this weekend, all participants get 50 BP. A bit short notice at this point, but I've got my team ready for that.

I also plan on doing more articles in the future about other aspects of competitive battling, such as weather teams and notable items. But that's not for now.

[Hero-of-Time]

Good guide, @Glen-i. However, it seems the fastest and most efficient way to raise EV stats is the time skip/reset raid/Pokejobs method. You can easily max your EVs in 5 minutes without the need of grinding cash. Although this method may not be viable if Game Freak patch it. Although, it's been going on since launch and they not done anything about it yet. 

This method is very well known and probably why RedShell got butchered the other day because everyone is rocking max EV Pokemon due to the ease of raising them.

[Scratch]

Excellent guide! And great idea providing a rental team for the Battle Tower. Many thanks!

[RedShell]

14 minutes ago, Hero-of-Time said:

This method is very well known and probably why RedShell got butchered the other day because everyone is rocking max EV Pokemon due to the ease of raising them.

I can think of several other reasons for that, the main one being that pretty much all of the Pokémon I like are completely rubbish at battles.  

Speaking of which, I’ve added Shuckle to my team!  I thought it would actually be pretty good defensively, turns out I was wrong. It’s not good at anything. Looks funny though.  

Actually, I think I didn’t help matters by training his speed stat over HP, probably should’ve done the opposite as he still seems slower than most other Pokémon anyway.  

Question for you, @Glen-i about my Pikachu (and Pokémon training in general I guess) it’s maxed out for Sp. Atk and Speed (as you suggested a while back) but I was wondering, is it better to have the beneficial nature boost on Sp. Atk or Speed? Got it on Sp. Atk, but I get the feeling Speed could be more important.  

[Jonnas]

"Use your Master Ball on a Fearow or a Tentacruel"... dear lord, how did that happen?.

...

A lv.5 Tentacool is where I used my first Master Ball.

[Ike]

2 hours ago, RedShell said:

Question for you, @Glen-i about my Pikachu (and Pokémon training in general I guess) it’s maxed out for Sp. Atk and Speed (as you suggested a while back) but I was wondering, is it better to have the beneficial nature boost on Sp. Atk or Speed? Got it on Sp. Atk, but I get the feeling Speed could be more important.  

There's no right or wrong answer, it depends if you want more damage or to go first. Since Pikachu is frail then maybe go speed, Light Ball already doubles it's Special Attack anyway.

[Glen-i]

10 hours ago, Hero-of-Time said:

Good guide, @Glen-i. However, it seems the fastest and most efficient way to raise EV stats is the time skip/reset raid/Pokejobs method. You can easily max your EVs in 5 minutes without the need of grinding cash. Although this method may not be viable if Game Freak patch it. Although, it's been going on since launch and they not done anything about it yet. 

This method is very well known and probably why RedShell got butchered the other day because everyone is rocking max EV Pokemon due to the ease of raising them.

Fair point, but I wanted to avoid having people mess around with the Switch clock, just in case it does get patched.

10 hours ago, RedShell said:

Speaking of which, I’ve added Shuckle to my team!  I thought it would actually be pretty good defensively, turns out I was wrong. It’s not good at anything. Looks funny though.  

Actually, I think I didn’t help matters by training his speed stat over HP, probably should’ve done the opposite as he still seems slower than most other Pokémon anyway.  

Question for you, @Glen-i about my Pikachu (and Pokémon training in general I guess) it’s maxed out for Sp. Atk and Speed (as you suggested a while back) but I was wondering, is it better to have the beneficial nature boost on Sp. Atk or Speed? Got it on Sp. Atk, but I get the feeling Speed could be more important.  

Yeah, Shuckle's speed is atrocious. It's a waste to try and solve that.

When it comes to defensive Pokémon, HP is almost always the best stat to max out. Defense and Sp. Def may block one category of attack, but HP is universal. More HP means you live longer. Of course, that leaves you with the conundrum of where to put the rest.

As for Pikachu, it is very tempting to boost that Sp. Atk to even more monstrous levels, but Pikachu is so frail that if something outspeeds it, it's gonna do nothing. So Timid (More Speed, less Attack) is the nature I would use. You need to get those Volt Crashes (Or Nuzzle if you can't G-Max) in there and spread some Paralysis around.

Hopefully, paralysis kicks in and gets you a free turn. If not, well, you can still use that pressure to send in a Pokémon that might need to set up with a stat-boosting move.

Edited December 4, 2019 by Glen-i

[Hero-of-Time]

Yesterday evening, Smogon released a list of the top tier Pokemon that are currently being used in the competitive side of the game. It gives a good idea of what Pokemon most people will be using and how they've distributed their stats.

https://www.smogon.com/dex/ss/formats/ou/

Spoiler

 

Edited December 4, 2019 by Hero-of-Time

[LazyBoy]

Been thinking Pokémon might make a good subject for a series of Smashing Cast. We could do 10 levels a week between a couple newbies, and then go up against each other (so week 1 we all level off at 10, week 2 level 20 etc). Would be great to then have one of you experienced heads tutor us as we go.

Is it possible to have a battle arena ala smash in sword and shield?

[Glen-i]

3 hours ago, LazyBoy said:

Is it possible to have a battle arena ala smash in sword and shield?

No. Also, the only level you can force people into on an online match would be Level 50. You can't set a custom level. And with how EXP Share works, it'd be difficult to keep your whole team on the same level.

As for the link @Hero-of-Time posted above, it's worth noting Smogon holds battles in its own isolated bubble. Some stuff there is banned that you'd be allowed to use in the actual game.

I find I get more success if I use their suggestions as a base and tweak stuff there a little to throw people off.

Smogon is great for battling similar Smogon players, but they can be blindsided with a little experimentation.

We saw that with the previous World Championships when a Togedemaru was key to clinching a championship win.

In other words, don't take it as absolute gospel.

Edited December 4, 2019 by Glen-i

[RedShell]

I am really getting into this now, have played quite a lot of single and double battles in ranked mode and have reached the Poké Ball tier on both. I like that you get rewarded with various vitamins and stuff every so often in ranked mode simply for taking part, although I have also managed a few wins here and there.  

Something I couldn’t quite understand when playing online was why it always takes such a long time for a battle to actually start after finding an opponent, it wasn’t until last night that I finally realised you can push the X button to see the team you’ll be facing and that people are obviously taking time to make appropriate choices/plan tactics. Meanwhile I just pick my team in the blink of an eye, without even thinking about it, or knowing what I’ll be facing!  

I do find it incredibly amusing that several people have gone to the trouble of military style strategic planning before facing one of my no thought teams, yet still lost.  

Anyway, I don’t actually mind the extra wait before each battle because it means more time listening to this:

Absolutely amazing tune! 

[Glen-i]

3 hours ago, RedShell said:

I am really getting into this now, have played quite a lot of single and double battles in ranked mode and have reached the Poké Ball tier on both. I like that you get rewarded with various vitamins and stuff every so often in ranked mode simply for taking part, although I have also managed a few wins here and there.  

Something I couldn’t quite understand when playing online was why it always takes such a long time for a battle to actually start after finding an opponent, it wasn’t until last night that I finally realised you can push the X button to see the team you’ll be facing and that people are obviously taking time to make appropriate choices/plan tactics. Meanwhile I just pick my team in the blink of an eye, without even thinking about it, or knowing what I’ll be facing!  

I do find it incredibly amusing that several people have gone to the trouble of military style strategic planning before facing one of my no thought teams, yet still lost.  

Anyway, I don’t actually mind the extra wait before each battle because it means more time listening to this:

Absolutely amazing tune! 

Oh, you've not even been checking the team of your opponent? Wow, that's quite impressive. You're playing proper old school.

But yeah, trying to figure out what Pokémon would best stand up to your opponent is probably what you should be doing.

The great thing about everyone using Smogon as a resource is that's all they likely have studied. Cue you rolling in with your "Cute 'til I die" team and it can throw people off their game, giving you an advantage in the mind game department.

Hell, this can even work if you use a popular competitive Pokémon and include a move, EV spread or an item that is unexpected, as my Thunder Punch Speedy Groudon last generation can attest to.

The Online Competition is starting tomorrow, so if you haven't registered yet, get on that before midnight. It's a Singles tournament where G-Max is allowed, but legendaries aren't. Double check that your team have the right moves and items, because once you start, you won't be able to edit your team until the competition ends.

But before I register for the online competition tonight, I'd like to take my team out for a test fight. So would anyone be up for that this evening? Preferably before 7:30, because I still have Mario Kart and Smash to play tonight.

[Ike]

Your team has to be registered tonight? I haven't finished mine yet. Was hoping to register and then have time to finish it.

And by team I mean a bunch of random Pokémon I felt training.

[Glen-i]

16 minutes ago, Ike said:

Your team has to be registered tonight? I haven't finished mine yet. Was hoping to register and then have time to finish it.

And by team I mean a bunch of random Pokémon I felt training.

Well, you still get the BP as long as you finish a few matches if you just want that.

[Ike]

Eh, I can probably finish tonight. Might need to resort to use TRs to finish the movesets and level them up with some candies if I get lazy.

I only have 1 Pokémon in that Smogon list, so should be interesting to see how well/bad it does.

I might be able to give a test battle, might have to substitute out some and use my in-game 'mons maybe.

[Glen-i]

46 minutes ago, Ike said:

Eh, I can probably finish tonight. Might need to resort to use TRs to finish the movesets and level them up with some candies if I get lazy.

I only have 1 Pokémon in that Smogon list, so should be interesting to see how well/bad it does.

I might be able to give a test battle, might have to substitute out some and use my in-game 'mons maybe.

No, if you need the time, don't let me waste it.

[RedShell]

Hang on a sec, when you register for the competition you also register the team that you’ll use?! I registered for it ages ago  don’t recall anything about choosing Pokémon though, can’t even remember what was in my party at the time, it wasn’t long after launch.
Please tell me I won’t be stuck using a completely untrained team. That’s going to be fun.  

[Glen-i]

19 minutes ago, RedShell said:

Hang on a sec, when you register for the competition you also register the team that you’ll use?! I registered for it ages ago  don’t recall anything about choosing Pokémon though, can’t even remember what was in my party at the time, it wasn’t long after launch.
Please tell me I won’t be stuck using a completely untrained team. That’s going to be fun.  

OK so it's changed a bit since Sun/Moon.

You register your team when you first start an online competition fight. And then you can't edit it for the rest of the competition.

You'll wanna put the team you're planning on using in a Battle Box.

Don't worry, @RedShell, you choose your team before you start your first fight.

@Ike you don't need to have your team ready by midnight, but you need to register for entry, so do that now.

Edited December 5, 2019 by Glen-i

[Ike]

Yeah, I managed to finish my team and registered and it didn't assign a team.

Did 3 test matches in ranked and won 2, the one I lost was pretty close and I probably could have won if I chose a different starter Pokemon. Hate Giagantamaxing (or w/e it's called) in that format though.

[Glen-i]

5 minutes ago, Ike said:

Yeah, I managed to finish my team and registered and it didn't assign a team.

Did 3 test matches in ranked and won 2, the one I lost was pretty close and I probably could have won if I chose a different starter Pokemon. Hate Giagantamaxing (or w/e it's called) in that format though.

I'm not a fan of it myself. For a 3 on 3 fight, Dynamax is too overpowering, but can't be helped, I suppose. It's there and you're better off using it.

[Glen-i]

Nothing says "I've cheated" quite like a team full of shiny Pokémon. Oh, and one of them was Dracozolt, which you can't breed.

Battered her with just my Charizard.

So far, I'm 5 matches in and I've won 3.

I wonder if you can still have a battle against a friend with the team that's currently in the competition? Would anyone like to test that with me?

Edited December 6, 2019 by Glen-i

[RedShell]

24 minutes ago, Glen-i said:

Nothing says "I've cheated" quite like a team full of shiny Pokémon. Oh, and one of them was Dracozolt, which you can't breed.

Battered her with just my Charizard.

So far, I'm 5 matches in and I've won 3.

I wonder if you can still have a battle against a friend with the team that's currently in the competition? Would anyone like to test that with me?

Lol. I encountered an all shiny team the other day too.  Got destroyed by them though.

Anyway, I’ll have a battle with you to test that, am online at the moment.

[Glen-i]

1 minute ago, RedShell said:

Lol. I encountered an all shiny team the other day too.  Got destroyed by them though.

Anyway, I’ll have a battle with you to test that, am online at the moment.

OK, let's make it singles. I'll leave it up to you whether you want to allow Dynamax.

Link code is 3729.

[RedShell]

Looks like you can’t choose the competition team.

[Glen-i]

Welp, guess you can't! Which is weird. Don't see why that'd be a bad thing to just battle someone

Gonna have to call it off, @RedShell. Sorry. I'm up for some raiding though.