This article is a part of directory: Mastering Pokémon GO. The Ultimate Guide to Catching Them All
You love the Pokémon you’ve caught, but you keep running into a wall. That challenging Gym Leader, the Elite Four, or even your first time fighting online seems insurmountable. You know your Pokémon are strong, but something isn’t right. Every excellent Pokémon trainer knows the secret: it’s not enough to have the best Pokémon; you also need to have the smartest squad.
This is when the real planning starts. This book will offer you the whole plan for putting together a great team. It’s like a fun puzzle. We’ll do more than just let you pick your favorites. We’ll teach you the basic ideas of synergy, roles, and strategy that will help you construct a balanced, successful team for any problem you face.
It all starts with a goal: do you want to go on an adventure in the game or win a competition?
You need to ask yourself one question before you pick a Pokémon: what is this team for? The “best” team depends on what you want to do. For example, a team constructed to beat the long story of the Paldea region is vastly different than one prepared to beat a person online.
Think of it as picking your way.
- In-Game/Playthrough Teams: Your objective here is to be able to last and do a lot of different things. As you travel vast distances, you’ll have to fight a lot of different Pokémon possessed by AI trainers, frequently one after the other. Your squad needs to be able to fight a lot of battles, save move power (PP), and deal with a lot of different types without having to go back to a Pokémon Center every ten minutes.
- Competitive/Online Teams: The idea here is to be as efficient as possible. You are up against one person, and their team of six has been carefully put together to win. Battles are quick, violent, and every action matters. Your team needs to use a certain plan to take down the other side’s team before they take down yours.
From what I’ve seen, trying to use a hyper-specialized competitive team to play a game can be frustrating. Long before you get to the next Pokémon Center, you’ll run out of PP on your greatest moves. This book will help you avoid it by giving you precise tips for each approach.
The Three Most Important Things to Know About a Good Pokémon
You need to understand how to judge one Pokémon before we can combine six of them. A Pokémon’s Typing, Stats, and Ability all work together to make it “good.” Its cool design is only one part of the puzzle.
Pillar 1: Learn how to type Pokémon
The type of a Pokémon is the most significant thing about it. It sets the stage for every conflict by deciding its strengths in offense and weaknesses in defense. You need to know about these three important interactions:
- Super Effective: The kind of the attacking move is strong against the type of the defending Pokémon (for example, a Water move striking a Fire Pokémon). This does twice as much damage.
- Not Very Effective: The kind of the move that is attacking is weak against the type of the Pokémon that is defending (for example, a Fire move hitting a Water Pokémon). This does half the damage.
- Immunity: The type of the defending Pokémon is totally immune to the type of the attacking move (for example, a Ground move trying to hit a Flying Pokémon). This does not hurt at all.
Your goal is to put together a team that can hit as many types as possible for super-effective damage while keeping its own vulnerabilities to a minimum.
But a lot of newbies forget an important part of this: STAB, which stands for Same Type Attack Bonus. A Pokémon’s move gets a 50% power boost if it matches its own type. This is why you should always give your Water Pokémon a strong Water-type move. It will do a lot more damage than any other move with the same basic power.
One common misconception is to imagine that you just need a Fire move to beat a Grass-type. What if that Grass-type is Ludicolo, who is also a Water-type? Your Fire move suddenly deals no damage. That’s why it’s so important to know about dual-types in order to really master matchups.
Pillar 2: Knowing a Pokémon’s Stats
If typing is a Pokémon’s class, its stats are what make it unique. They decide what part it plays on the squad. To use a Pokémon well, you need to know what each stat performs.
- HP (Hit Points): This tells you how much damage a Pokémon can take before it faints. This is its health pool.
- Attack: Increases the strength of Physical moves (moves with a red or orange starburst icon).
- Defense: Lessens the damage done by an opponent’s physical moves.
- Special Attack (Sp. Atk): This makes Special moves (moves with a blue/purple concentric rings symbol) stronger.
- Special Defense (Sp. Def): This makes it so that you receive less damage from your opponent’s Special moves.
- Speed: This is perhaps the most essential number. If your Pokémon’s Speed is higher than your opponent’s, you go first.
In other RPGs, “initiative” is like Speed. No matter how hard you hit, it doesn’t matter if you get knocked out before you can move. This is why people really want speedy Pokémon.
Tip from an expert: Don’t only glance at the stats when you look at a Pokémon’s summary. Look at the job description. Fast and hard to hit? That is a Physical Sweeper. A lot of HP and a lot of defense? That’s a wall made of physical things.
If you want to go even deeper, IVs (Individual Values) and EVs (Effort Values) also affect metrics. Here’s how to think about it:
- Base Stats show how good a species is at something.
- IVs are like genes in that they are a secret score from 0 to 31 in each stat that a Pokémon is born with. 31 is great.
- EVs are like a workout plan. You get EVs from fighting other Pokémon, and you may “train” your Pokémon in a smart way to make certain stats better. Even during a normal playthrough, your Pokémon gain EVs automatically from every battle. This is why your starter Pokémon often ends up very fast and strong offensively—it’s been gaining Speed and Attack EVs from all the wild Pokémon it has defeated!
You don’t need to bother about IVs and EVs when you’re playing the game. But they are quite important for competitive play if you want to get the most out of your Pokémon.
Pillar 3: The Ability of a Pokémon Is Its Secret Weapon
An Ability is a passive skill that can influence how a Pokémon works in battle. Not paying attention to abilities is like trying to play chess without knowing what the queen does. Some of the strongest skills are:
- Intimidate: When you switch in, it lowers the opponent’s Attack stat.
- Levitate: makes you completely immune to Ground-type moves.
- Magic Guard: Stops all harm that isn’t direct, as from poison or entry hazards.
When you find synergistic Abilities, that’s when the real magic happens. The Ability Drizzle, for instance, automatically makes it rain when a Pokémon like Pelipper enters the battle. This goes wonderfully with another Pokémon that has the Swift Swim Ability, which increases its speed when it rains. By putting these two together, you’ve made your own strong engine.
Serebii and Bulbapedia are two good places to look up a Pokémon’s possible skills. Having a Hidden Ability can change a Pokémon from “okay” to “amazing.” This is a great example: Azumarill with Huge Power, which doubles its Attack stat.
The Building Blocks: Putting Together Your Six-Person Team
It’s time to put them all together now that you know how to look at one Pokémon. A great team is like a machine that works well, with all of its parts operating together.
Step 1: Setting up team roles (not just attacker and defender)
Like a sports team, a balanced squad has members who each have a certain duty. You can’t have six quarterbacks who are all stars. These are the most important roles:
- Sweeper (or Attacker): These are the main people who deal harm. They have a lot of speed and a lot of attack or special attack. Their duty is to get in, hit hard, and knock out the other Pokémon. They can be either Physical (like Garchomp) or Special (like Gengar).
- Wall (or Defender): These are the big guys. They have a lot of HP and either a lot of Defense or Special Defense. Their job is to switch in and take huge hits that would wipe out your sweepers. They can be either Physical (like Ferrothorn) or Special (like Blissey).
- Pivot: A Pokémon that can safely switch in and out of battle and has high defenses or a slow U-turn or Volt Switch. This lets you gain momentum and bring in the right counter for the circumstance.
- Lead: The first Pokémon you send out. A skilled lead can set up “entry hazards” like Stealth Rock or change the weather to help the rest of your team.
- Cleric/Support: A Pokémon that can heal its teammates from status ailments like paralysis or poison with moves like Heal Bell, or give them additional help.
Adding a Pivot to my first “good” squad finally made it work. You can switch out a Pokémon with the move U-turn, like Corviknight, and do damage in the same turn. This lets you bring in the perfect counter without taking a blow. It changes the game completely.
Step 2: The Key to Working Together: Building Team Cores
The greatest method to start a team is not with one Pokémon, but with a “core” of two or three that make up for each other’s weaknesses flawlessly. This makes a triangle of synergy that is incredibly hard for an enemy to break.
The Core of Fire, Water, and Grass
Every trainer should master this core initially. The harmony is easy to understand and lovely. Your Fire-type Pokémon resists the Grass-type moves aimed at your Water-type. Your Water-type resists the Fire-type moves aimed at your Grass-type. And your Grass-type resists the Water-type moves aimed at your Fire-type. They make a very strong defensive backbone when they are put together.
The Advanced: Steel-Dragon-Fairy Core
This is a common part of competitive play, and it’s also called the “Fantasy Core.” Fairies can’t be hurt by Dragon-type attacks, and they can hurt them quite badly. Fire and Ground are the most prevalent types that target Steel-types, but Dragons are resistant to them. And Steel-types can take both Dragon and Fairy assaults, making them a secure switch-in against the core’s main threats.
Don’t justpick one Pokémon to start your squad; pick a core. Finding the last three members to fill up any gaps in your 3-Pokémon core is rather straightforward if you have a strong one.
Step 3: A Real-Life Guide: Let’s Make a Sample Team
Theory is good, but let’s put it to use. Step by step, we’ll put together a balanced, useful squad for Pokémon Scarlet and Violet.
- Slot 1: Meowscarada is your starter. First, we’ll look at the Grass/Dark beginning. It possesses great speed and a strong attack stat, which makes it a natural physical sweeper. Flower Trick, its hallmark move, always hits hard, so you can count on it.
- Slot 2: Skeledirge is the core partner. Let’s start our Fire-Water-Grass core with the Fire/Ghost starter, Skeledirge. It’s a big Special Sweeper. Ghost Type makes it immune to Fighting-type attacks, which are quite strong against Meowscarada. Meowscarada’s Dark typing protects it from the Psychic moves that harm Skeledirge. We already work well together!
- Slot 3: Azumarill (Completing the Core). We need a Water-type to finish the core. Azumarill (Water/Fairy) is a great choice. Its amazing ability, Huge Power, makes it a big Physical Sweeper. Because it is a Fairy type, it can’t be hurt by Dragon-type moves, which is always helpful. Our core is now finished and includes a huge diversity of sorts.
- Slot 4: Corviknight (The Ground Immunity). Skeledirge and Meowscarada are both vulnerable to Poison, and Azumarill is weak to Electric. Corviknight is a Steel/Flying type that is immune to Ground moves, which are a threat to Skeledirge. With the move U-turn, it makes a great Physical Wall and Pivot.
- Slot 5: Clodsire (The Electric Immunity). Electric-type moves still hit Corviknight and Azumarill severely, which is a big problem for us. The best answer is Clodsire (Poison/Ground). Because it is Ground-type, it can’t be hurt by Electric strikes. It also possesses the Ability Water Absorb, which means that being weak to Water can help it heal. This is a great Special Wall.
- Slot 6: Tinkaton is the Finisher. Our team is a little slow, and we could need another Pokémon to deal with Psychic and Ice types. Tinkaton (Fairy/Steel) is a very useful Pokémon. Its primary value comes from its unique Fairy/Steel typing, access to support moves, and its powerful signature attack, Gigaton Hammer. It fills a “Utility / Support” role excellently.
A Sample Team Summary
| Pokémon | Role | Typing | Key Contribution |
|---|---|---|---|
| Meowscarada | Physical Sweeper | Grass / Dark | Quick attacker, immune to psychic attacks. |
| Skeledirge | Special Sweeper | Fire / Ghost | Big attacker, immune to fighting. |
| Azumarill | Physical Sweeper | Water / Fairy | Strong attacker, immune to dragons. |
| Corviknight | Physical Wall / Pivot | Steel / Flying | Ground immunity and a strong defense. |
| Clodsire | Special Wall | Poison / Ground | Water Absorb, Electric Immunity. |
| Tinkaton | Utility / Support | Fairy / Steel | Great defensive typing and a strong hit. |
This team works well together, has a balance of offensive and defensive roles, and is immune to six different types: Psychic, Fighting, Dragon, Ground, Electric, and Poison. It is a strong and well-rounded crew for the main tale.
Advanced Ideas: Taking It to the Next Level
These ideas will help you develop a better team once you know the basics.
The Terastal Phenomenon: A Game-Changer
Terastallizing is a new feature in Pokémon Scarlet & Violet that lets a Pokémon change its type to its “Tera Type” once every battle. This opens up a lot of new strategic options.
- Defensive Tera: This is used to change a weakness into a resistance or immunity. Think about how your Dragonite is going to be hit by a really strong Ice Beam. When you Terastallize into a Steel-type, you instantly resist the Ice attack, which lets you live and win the battle.
- Offensive Tera: This makes your STAB even stronger. When your Breloom (a Grass/Fighting type) Terastallizes into a pure Fighting type, its STAB on the move Close Combat goes from 50% to 100%. This makes it go from a very strong attack to an utterly deadly one.
Expert Tip: A good way to start is to use Tera to get rid of a 4x vulnerability. A Pokémon like Kingambit (Steel/Dark) is scared of Fighting moves, for instance. If you give it a Flying or Ghost Tera type, it can drastically change the game for its would-be counters.
The Last Step: Picking the Right Held Items
The last piece of gear for your Pokémon is a held item, and picking the perfect one might mean the difference between winning and losing. In competitive play, these are some of the most prominent groups:
- Choice items (Choice Scarf, Choice Specs, Choice Band): These goods give a huge 50% boost to Speed, Special Attack, or Attack, depending on which one you choose. The problem is that the Pokémon can’t change moves until it swaps out. Great for sweepers that only want to perform their job.
- Damage-Boosting Items (Life Orb, Expert Belt): Life Orb gives all assaults a 30% boost, but it costs the user 10% of their HP for each hit. Expert Belt gives a 20% boost, but only to moves that are very effective. These are useful for attackers that need to be able to change their moves.
- Defensive Items (Leftovers, Assault Vest, Heavy-Duty Boots): Leftovers heals a little amount of HP each turn, making it great for walls. Assault Vest makes Special Defense 50% stronger, but it stops you from using moves that don’t do damage. Heavy-Duty Boots protect the wearer against entrance dangers like Stealth Rock.
Important Tools for the Job
The pros don’t guess; they use strong web tools to form and test their teams. You should too!
- Serebii.net and Bulbapedia: These are the encyclopedias you should use. You can use them to look up a Pokémon’s stats, moves, abilities, and locations.
- Pokémon Showdown: This is a free, web-based fight simulator with a “Team Builder” built in. It’s a great way to design and test your team against other players before you spend time training them in your game.
- Pikalytics: This site looks at statistics from competitive online play and tells you which Pokémon, moves, items, and abilities are the most popular. This is the greatest method to learn about the “meta” and get ready for the teams you’ll probably play against.
Before I make a real team, I always test it out on Pokémon Showdown for at least 10 battles. It shows me flaws I hadn’t thought about right away.
Conclusion: Your Path as a Pokémon Trainer
You now know everything you need to know to make a good Pokémon team. It’s all about knowing these higher levels of strategy that will take you from a casual fan to a real Pokémon Trainer.
Always keep in mind the basic rules: have a goal, create around a core of three people that work well together, give each team member a specific job, and always attempt to cover your type weaknesses. But the most essential thing is to have fun. There is no such thing as a “perfect” team. Team building is a very innovative way to solve problems. Use these rules to help your favorite Pokémon, fix their flaws, and let them shine brighter than before. Even as game-specific mechanics like Terastallizing change in future Pokémon generations, these core principles of synergy, roles, and type coverage are timeless and will always be the foundation of a great team.
Now get out there and make something amazing.
Questions and Answers (FAQ)
Can I still utilize my fave Pokémon even if it’s not “good”?
Yes, of course! The whole goal of strategic team development is to utilize strategy to help the people you like. This article will show you how to build a team around your favorite Pokémon that will cover its weaknesses and help it do its job well.
How is constructing a team in Pokémon Scarlet & Violet different from prior games?
The Terastal mechanism is the main change. It adds a whole new level of strategy by letting any Pokémon change its type for a short time during a fight. This makes battles far less predictable and gives teams a lot of room to be creative when they create them.
How many moves that attack and moves that change status should a Pokémon have?
It depends on the job. For teams in a game, it’s normally better to have 3 or 4 distinct types of attacks to cover as much ground as possible. A frequent and effective structure for competitive teams is to have two offensive moves and two status/setup moves, like Protect or Swords Dance.
What does it mean to have a “good” Speed stat?
“Good” is always based on what you’re up against. In competitive play, though, Pokémon with a base Speed stat over 100 are usually thought of as speedy. As long as your Speed is quicker than the Gym Leader’s Pokémon, you’re good to go for your in-game adventure!
