11-19-2009, 04:15 PM
Okay, I thought I'd share some of the most obvious things you need to account for on your team when making it. If anyone has any to add, please do.
1. Don't make all of your Pokemon weak to the same type.
This is a biggie. Let's say you have on your team:
-Infernape
-Jolteon
-Lucario
-Metagross
-Tentacruel
-Tyranitar
Note that all of these Pokemon have a Ground weakness. If someone had Swampert with Earthquake, for example, it could sweep this team easily.
A better team would be this:
-Gengar
-Gliscor
-Latias
-Lucario
-Raikou
-Roserade
The most common weaknesses that are on this team is three, to the Ice-type. However, it can be countered easily by switching to Lucario in this situation, as it is resistant to it and Fighting is super-effective against Ice.
2. Make your moves count.
Let's say you gave an Empoleon the following moves:
Hydro Cannon
Hydro Pump
Surf
Waterfall
Would you be putting the moves to it's fullest potential?
The answer is no. Putting all of one-type moves is a horrible idea. What if you faced a Grass-type, or a Pokemon with Water Absorb? You're out of luck. A better moveset would be the following:
Grass Knot
Ice Beam
Stealth Rock
Surf
Instead of only causing considerable damage to Fire, Rock, and Ground types, now you can also do super-effective damage to Flying, Water, Grass, and Dragon types.
3. IV's and EV's are important!
For a detailed guide on IV's, go to Tama's IV Guide.
For a detailed guide on EV's, go to Fish-E's EV Guide.
4. Make use of Hidden Powers.
What is Hidden Power?
Although it appears as a Normal-type move, Hidden Power's actual type and base power vary. Hidden Power inflicts damage using a type and base power determined by the user's IVs.
--Bulbapedia
Hidden Power is an extremely useful move when creating a moveset. You can get a move type that the Pokemon would not normally get. Although very few Pokemon can learn it by level up, any Pokemon that can utilize TMs can learn Hidden Power.
Let's consider Jolteon. If it has a moveset like this:
-Baton Pass
-Hidden Power Ice
-Substitute
-Thunderbolt
It can now cover, with it's new Ice-type attack, Grass-types, Dragon-types, and Ground-types. This is extremely useful if you want to give your Pokemon the best type coverage.
Hidden Power's type of a Pokémon with given IVs is represented by a number, calculated with this formula:
![[Image: HPcalc1.png]](http://archives.bulbagarden.net/media/upload/6/66/HPcalc1.png)
where a,b,c,d,e,f are calculated in this way:
a=1 if the Individual Value of HP is odd. If not, a=0
b=1 if the Individual Value of Attack is odd. If not, b=0
c=1 if the Individual Value of Defense is odd. If not, c=0
d=1 if the Individual Value of Speed is odd. If not, d=0
e=1 if the Individual Value of Special Attack is odd. If not, e=0
f=1 if the Individual Value of Special Defense is odd. If not, f=0
Use the number you got to find the Hidden Power of the Pokemon.
Number.....Type
0..............Fighting
1..............Flying
2..............Poison
3..............Ground
4..............Rock
5..............Bug
6..............Ghost
7..............Steel
8..............Fire
9..............Water
10............Grass
11............Electric
12............Psychic
13............Ice
14............Dragon
15............Dark
Other ways of finding a Pokemon's Hidden Power are by attacking a Kecleon or by inputting it into a calculator such as this one. You must input your Pokemon's IV's for it to work.
Damage of the Hidden Power is calculated in a very same manner like its type, using the following formula:
![[Image: HPcalc2.png]](http://archives.bulbagarden.net/media/upload/0/02/HPcalc2.png)
u=1 if the Individual Value of HP divided by 4 has a remainder of 2 or 3. If not, u=0.
v=1 if the Individual Value of Attack divided by 4 has a remainder of 2 or 3. If not, v=0.
w=1 if the Individual Value of Defense divided by 4 has a remainder of 2 or 3. If not, w=0.
x=1 if the Individual Value of Speed divided by 4 has a remainder of 2 or 3. If not, x=0.
y=1 if the Individual Value of Special Attack divided by 4 has a remainder of 2 or 3. If not, y=0.
z=1 if the Individual Value of Special Defense divided by 4 has a remainder of 2 or 3. If not, z=0.
Hidden Power's power is a number ranging from 30 to 70, inclusively. The higher the number, the more powerful the attack. When calculating, round the number down to the nearest number for the power.
1. Don't make all of your Pokemon weak to the same type.
This is a biggie. Let's say you have on your team:
-Infernape
-Jolteon
-Lucario
-Metagross
-Tentacruel
-Tyranitar
Note that all of these Pokemon have a Ground weakness. If someone had Swampert with Earthquake, for example, it could sweep this team easily.
A better team would be this:
-Gengar
-Gliscor
-Latias
-Lucario
-Raikou
-Roserade
The most common weaknesses that are on this team is three, to the Ice-type. However, it can be countered easily by switching to Lucario in this situation, as it is resistant to it and Fighting is super-effective against Ice.
2. Make your moves count.
Let's say you gave an Empoleon the following moves:
Hydro Cannon
Hydro Pump
Surf
Waterfall
Would you be putting the moves to it's fullest potential?
The answer is no. Putting all of one-type moves is a horrible idea. What if you faced a Grass-type, or a Pokemon with Water Absorb? You're out of luck. A better moveset would be the following:
Grass Knot
Ice Beam
Stealth Rock
Surf
Instead of only causing considerable damage to Fire, Rock, and Ground types, now you can also do super-effective damage to Flying, Water, Grass, and Dragon types.
3. IV's and EV's are important!
For a detailed guide on IV's, go to Tama's IV Guide.
For a detailed guide on EV's, go to Fish-E's EV Guide.
4. Make use of Hidden Powers.
What is Hidden Power?
Although it appears as a Normal-type move, Hidden Power's actual type and base power vary. Hidden Power inflicts damage using a type and base power determined by the user's IVs.
--Bulbapedia
Hidden Power is an extremely useful move when creating a moveset. You can get a move type that the Pokemon would not normally get. Although very few Pokemon can learn it by level up, any Pokemon that can utilize TMs can learn Hidden Power.
Let's consider Jolteon. If it has a moveset like this:
-Baton Pass
-Hidden Power Ice
-Substitute
-Thunderbolt
It can now cover, with it's new Ice-type attack, Grass-types, Dragon-types, and Ground-types. This is extremely useful if you want to give your Pokemon the best type coverage.
Hidden Power's type of a Pokémon with given IVs is represented by a number, calculated with this formula:
where a,b,c,d,e,f are calculated in this way:
a=1 if the Individual Value of HP is odd. If not, a=0
b=1 if the Individual Value of Attack is odd. If not, b=0
c=1 if the Individual Value of Defense is odd. If not, c=0
d=1 if the Individual Value of Speed is odd. If not, d=0
e=1 if the Individual Value of Special Attack is odd. If not, e=0
f=1 if the Individual Value of Special Defense is odd. If not, f=0
Use the number you got to find the Hidden Power of the Pokemon.
Number.....Type
0..............Fighting
1..............Flying
2..............Poison
3..............Ground
4..............Rock
5..............Bug
6..............Ghost
7..............Steel
8..............Fire
9..............Water
10............Grass
11............Electric
12............Psychic
13............Ice
14............Dragon
15............Dark
Other ways of finding a Pokemon's Hidden Power are by attacking a Kecleon or by inputting it into a calculator such as this one. You must input your Pokemon's IV's for it to work.
Damage of the Hidden Power is calculated in a very same manner like its type, using the following formula:
u=1 if the Individual Value of HP divided by 4 has a remainder of 2 or 3. If not, u=0.
v=1 if the Individual Value of Attack divided by 4 has a remainder of 2 or 3. If not, v=0.
w=1 if the Individual Value of Defense divided by 4 has a remainder of 2 or 3. If not, w=0.
x=1 if the Individual Value of Speed divided by 4 has a remainder of 2 or 3. If not, x=0.
y=1 if the Individual Value of Special Attack divided by 4 has a remainder of 2 or 3. If not, y=0.
z=1 if the Individual Value of Special Defense divided by 4 has a remainder of 2 or 3. If not, z=0.
Hidden Power's power is a number ranging from 30 to 70, inclusively. The higher the number, the more powerful the attack. When calculating, round the number down to the nearest number for the power.
), and pivotting, as well as a section on the various types of teams and when you have time a part explaining how the metagame changes over time. 
