Pokemon as an Esport
When you think about the term Esport, Pokemon probably isn’t the first game that comes to mind. As of 2015 though, Nintendo has sold more than 279 Pokemon games. Last year over 33 countries tuned it to watch the Pokemon world championships. With this year being the 20th anniversary, Pokemon is doing better than ever. There are so many great things about these games. One of these great things is the wide range of playablity. People of all ages can come together and play Pokemon. You can also play it anytime and anywhere. The fact that it’s portable adds to its appeal. How many other Esports can you play on the go?
So how does one go about playing Pokemon competitively? You need a current copy of the game. By current, I mean whatever generation is currently being played(6th gen). You then play through the game to learn the basics. By the time you complete the game, you will have a basic knowledge of how the Pokemon world works. Perhaps you completed your Pokedex, or perhaps you went straight on to beat the Elite Four. Whatever you did, this is considered being a casual Pokemon player. To get into competitive play you are going to need a bit more.
Breeding Pokemon (IV’s & Hidden Abilities)
To start, you are going to need to know how to breed Pokemon. Catching wild pokemon results in randomized stats, and these stats are almost never optimal. You have to create new pokemon with the desired stats in order to stand a chance competitively. In every game there is a daycare where you can drop off two or more pokemon. Depositing 2 pokemon of the same type, and opposite gender, will produce an egg. You must then walk, bike, or swim several thousand steps to hatch it. You can hatch multiple eggs at once, and there are certain pokemon who can help your eggs hatch faster. Having a Pokemon in your party with the ability of Flame Body or Magma Armor will decrease the amount of steps needed for hatching.
You should always be breeding toward a specific goal. First you want a pokemon with a couple perfect IV’s. IV’s are your Pokemon’s starting stats. They also determine how he scales with each level. You want to breed the best pokemon you own repeatedly. Keep swapping them and creating new eggs until you hatch the desired pokemon. To check your pokemon, go to the Pokecenter at the Battle Resort. Inside and to the right stands a man who will tell you a few things about your pokemon. If he says “This Pokemon has outstanding potential overall,” then you have at least one perfect IV. After he tells you this, he will tell you which stats have perfect IV’s. (Example: His speed is his greatest. His Attack is good as well.)
This may seem like a lot of work, especially after a few dozen tries, but there is a trick that makes it much easier. The first pokemon you should breed is a Ditto. Ditto’s can be paired with any pokemon to create an egg. So once you get one perfect IV ditto, you can breed it with every other pokemon you want.
The next thing you need is the correct hidden ability. Each pokemon has a hidden ability, which can be found on its summary page. This ability is a passive that greatly affects the way it can be played in battle. Certain hidden abilities increase stats, affect enemy pokemon, or even prevent the it from being one shot. The key to breeding a hidden ability, is that the female always passes it on.
The last thing to mention is the pokemon’s nature. Nature’s are random, so you will want to make sure you get the right one. Each nature can raise, lower, or have no affect on the pokemon’s stats. The easy part to this, is that many natures are very similar to each other.
Training Pokemon (EV’s & XP)
Once you have bred your perfect pokemon team, it’s time to train them. Unlike an initial play through, where you just bulldoze every pokemon you encounter, you will need to be very precise on which pokemon you fight. Every time a Pokemon gains XP he also gains something called EV points. These EV points apply stats to your pokemon every time you level up. You will need to research which pokemon give you the stats you need, for the pokemon you are training. Each pokemon can earn 510 EV points, but can only have 252 in any given stat. Many pokemon will need to have 252 points in two primary stats. (Example: Pikachu: 252 Speed & 252 SpA)
This may seem like a lot of work, but with a couple tricks, it’s actually the easiest part of the process. There are areas of the game where hordes of pokemon attack at the same time(5 to be exact). You will want to travel to these areas and use a pokemon with the ability Sweet Scent to draw out a horde. You can then proceed to earn 5 EV points per battle. There are also items in game, sold at the Battle Resort that can increase the EV’s earned. Using an XP share item will apply EV’s to every Pokemon in your party, so be careful to use this to your advantage.
So now that you have your pokemon’s IV’s and EV’s all set up, it’s time to get some XP. You need to level each pokemon to a minimum of 50. Going beyond level 50 will help you in the solo game, but not against other players. All pokemon are bumped down to level 50 when in competitive play. There are many ways to earn XP in the game. You can re-battle the Elite Four repeatedly, or you can fight wild pokemon and trainers you missed on your initial play through. You can also do daily battles against select trainers located at the Battle Resort.
All Done (Or are we?)
Now the hard work is over, and there is only one thing left to do. It’s time to BATTLE! There are many ways to battle people. You can connect to the internet and battle players from around the world. Or you can join online communities that hold tournaments (Examples: TheNationalDex on Youtube & www.PuclPodcast.com). The Pokemon company also holds official tournaments which can be found at www.Pokemon.com.
The last thing you need to learn is how to battle. Understanding why you should make a pokemon “tanky”(health and defense) and why you should make one good at certain attacks is crucial to beating other players. Play to your pokemon’s strengths, and make sure to stat them correctly. There are several pokemon battle simulators and stat guides on the web to help you along. Once you understand stats, you need to know what types counter each other. Fire type pokemon deal double damage to grass type. Steel type are immune to poison, and Dragon’s only do extra damage to other dragon’s. These are but a few examples of counters. You will need to be familiar with them all, to be an effective pokemon trainer.
I hope that this guide has provided you with all the help you need to get started on your Pokemon adventure. If you have any specific questions, feel free to join our Discord server.
