gaming How do YOU play Pokémon?

[AmberDust 1,116]

I'm talking metagaming. Do you do it? 

 

I don't particularly like the idea of metagaming, since I feel like its taking advantage of out-of-character knowledge--namely EVs, IVs, and breeding. I feel like it kind of takes the fun out of the game, too, if everyone has the same, perfect team.

I've never played against anyone online for this reason, and because I'm afraid it'd just be a waste of time. I have a more...er...traditional style of playing, and I don't think I'd stand a chance against graduates from Smogon academy. 

 

I'd like to know what you guys think, though. Am I in the minority here? Or do you agree with me? What's your opinion on meta-gaming in general? 

Edited March 24, 2016 by AmberDust

[Jackie Snack 1,498]

I play traditionally as well. Screw EV's, I don't need some beefed up 'mon. Screw breeding, I don't need that rare ability. Shinies? Why bother?

 

I only catch the pokemon I like, I train them how I like, I love them to death. What's that? You took a legendary against the Elite four? Nah, I'm taking my Wigglytuff, cuz I love her.

 

I think people who try too hard to be the best end up leaving out the best part of the game: the fact that it's a journey with a group of monsters who grow to love you.

[CandyStrike 603]

All the EV training and such is just too technical for me. I just want to catch and raise Pokemon. To be honest I don't even care about the battling, I'd be just as happy without it.

[Black Sabbath 2,484]

I don't even know what Evs and IVs is. I just take the pokemon who looks the coolest or have the silliest name.

[AmberDust 1,116]

I don't even know what Evs and IVs is. I just take the pokemon who looks the coolest or have the silliest name.

I'm a little clueless on how EVs/IVs work, or how much they actually affect a given Pokémon.

 

With regards to silly Pokémon....I admit, I trained a Stunfisk in Pokémon Black. It's apparently a super weak, low-tiered Pokémon, but I just love him so much! I named him Kaiba, since he's a "trap" Pokémon.

 

[Ziggy + Angel + Rain 11,298]

Considering that I once took a team of all Meowths / Persians (or perhaps it was just a dream) into battle against the Elite However-Many...  Yeah, no.

[Cimarronboy 247]

The only time I bother with shinies/ha's is collecting, otherwise I catch a specifc team of pokemon and just go through with them, going as far as researching new species to build a team before new games come out. 

[Celtore 2,769]

You're missing an "already did it" option on "Do you try to catch 'em all?"

 

But yeah, I'm well aware of how EVs and IVs work and EV train just about every pokemon I catch and intend to use in some way. My gen 3 competitive days kind of show in my offensive play style, my teams are usually just stacked with good coverage glass cannons that I enjoy using. Choice band Aerodactyl with it's 394 speed and ~514 attack and 30% flinch rate has always been one of my favourites because of that.

 

In the past, I've used pokegen and all those other cheating methods. I even have an unpatched 3DS that can still do the QR exploit. To be fair, I've never used it to create impossible or shiny pokemon other than the few times I got really mad at the battle frontier and created a wonderguarded sableye. The 3DS exploit I used only to get Hoopla and Volcanion to truly 100% my national dex, but it might come in handy with gen 7 on the horizon.

Edited March 22, 2016 by Celtore

[Kyoshi Frost Wolf 40,237]

Naaaah. I just play the game solo and use Pokemon that I love. I do love getting detailed into the stats and moves, but that is just to use my favorite Pokemon in a dominant way. :3 It is really fun to see the Pokemon that I love deal out the punishment! : D I don't like meta-gaming much in general because it all is too stressful. It goes away from the fun of the game and purely becomes competition. 

[Steel Accord 6,658]

I prefer to role play, it IS an RPG after all. I treat my pokemon like companions and pets, taking care of their well being and making sure they are happy and not just fit, although I guess it helps that one ties into the other, mechanically.

 

Roster wise, I usually grab a group of around a dozen, maybe more, maybe less, guys. I usually gravitate more toward pokemon that fit a theme I'm trying to go with my character. For instance I do martial arts in real life so fighting type pokemon appeal to me. Usually have at least three that I train to be really good to compensate for otherwise being very specialized. However I also like the more mystical aspects of the pokemon world, so I catch a few pokemon that strike that thematic angle, like psychic, ghost, and fairy types. I suppose if I were to play a character that was more like an engineer or scientist, I would catch a lot of electric, steel, and bug types, just for another example.

 

(On a related note: I usually give them all matching themed names. Such as with Black and White I named them after Greek and Judeo-Christian mythology figures such as "Apollo" or "Samson" and with X and Y I named them after Arthurian and Norse mythological figures such as "Galahad" and "Tyrfing.")

 

I pay no mind to the meta-game because it would obviously get in the way of the immersion. Not the most competitive sort either. The only people I ever battled against were my brothers waaaaaaaaay back in the days when you had to connect them physically and only shortly after that. Speaking of which, my goal in most of these is to play through the story and that's pretty much it. Simply put, I want to save the world, be the hero, MY kind of hero! I've never beaten the Elite Four and only really tried once, I think. Just not my thing. I'm not out to be the very best like no one ever was, I just want to be the kind of person I would like to be in this world and do my duty to protect it as that person.

Edited March 23, 2016 by Steel Accord

[cmarston1 5,951]

I am not really interested much in the metagame or competitive battling.

I prefer to just play the game traditionally and train the Pokemon that seem the most interesting to me and make a team of 6 out of that.

While it is cool to get information about stats and moves, it isn't something that I am willing to invest a crap ton of time in to get the absolute perfect IV and EV trained Pokemon.

I use Pokemon games to have fun and the metagame is something that I consider to a huge amount of work and details that require a lot of time and energy that I don't feel like investing into the game.

Edited March 22, 2016 by cmarston1

[FlootahBabby 265]

The only thing I like doing is making sure I beat every single trainer in the entire game.

[Stormlight 1,371]

I enjoy playing Pokemon alone to really get the total experience of the game.

 

Capturing Shiny Pokemon or breeding in order to obtain a specific nature/ability is time-consuming so I don't take part in those type of activities.

 

I play video games for entertainment and for my own enjoyment. Having to cheat my way to obtain overpowered Pokemon or to cheat in general isn't the way I want to play any of my games to really have a memorable experience.

[KatonRyu 1,026]

I play Pokemon because I enjoy the storyline and sense of adventure the games still have. My team generally consists of my starter, my first caught Flying type, an HM slave and whichever Legendaries I could get my hands on.

 

I can't be arsed to IV-breed my Pokemon since I curb-stomp everything in the regular game anyway. For that reason I hardly ever teach my Pokemon non-damaging moves; I don't need to think about a long battle. Just be overleveled and go for super-effective moves whenever you can, that's the entirety of my strategy.

 

I don't like playing multiplayer at all, so I've never battled online. I don't even play things like the Battle Maison because their arbitrary rules annoy me.

[hollow-shades 129]

"Real trainers win their battles with their favorites" Thats me.

 

Basically I chose some interesenting pokemon and give them good moves. What is even EV or IV.

[Cadance of Love 1,118]

It seems I'm the only competitive pokemon player here . but I'm not one to follow Smogon or another format. I try and look for things that work regardless of what "tier" the pokemon is. If you can make something work with pokemon that aren't as good according to competitive standards then that's as good as any OU tier pokemon.  I breed my pokemon to at least 5 ivs with a ditto i had gotten but i don't care if it has 6 ivs because unless you're planning on using all 6 stats it's not worth the time and effort because a 5 iv pokemon functions the same as a 6 iv if you only focus on HP, Atk/Sp Atk, Def, Sp, Def, Speed.. (Attack and Sp. Attack will always be interchangeable for me since i only try and focus on one of these two)

I don't normally try and breed for shiny pokemon because they really became too overrated in today's standards that makes them not as valuable.. that and because they take too much time trying to create and then there's the ivs that are probably not going to be in the correct spots I'll be using.

Battle wise I'm in a minority of being a defensive player. I prefer taking the time to annoy the crap out of opponent and then I get punished by a random crit making me lose the game ( ) (GF can you nerf these so they won't happen with nothing influencing the crit ratio) The offensive players are the ones that are more dominant in the Meta and I'm just out to annoy them with what I know works :comeatus: I'm also on Smogon Showdown to test strategies out and to use my pokemon that I've created in my AS file when i can't play AS or just bored ..

[Radiance64 7,051]

Cmon EVs aren't that hard to understand... IVs I don't care about as much but when you get good ones they're nice. That said I do like to competitive battle and consider myself pretty alright at it, but I don't play Pokémon too much lately.

[Member Berry 1,217]

I don't really play competitively. I did raise a competitive team in Black but kind of gave up playing like that. I mostly play nuzlockes and whatnot.

[AmberDust 1,116]

I don't really play competitively. I did raise a competitive team in Black but kind of gave up playing like that. I mostly play nuzlockes and whatnot.

Nozloke? Maybe I'll add that to the poll.

 

 

Also, this: https://mlpforums.com/topic/117029-what-pok%C3%A9mon-moves-does-the-above-user-have-%E2%99%A6/If you need a fun time-waster. I've been thinking a lot about Pokémon lately.

[Envy 5,997]

I just play through the games. I could not care less about the metagame, EV training, breeding for such reasons, etc. That is all waayyyy too much time and effort to put into a video game, IMO.

[Member Berry 1,217]

Nozloke? Maybe I'll add that to the poll.

 

 

Also, this: https://mlpforums.com/topic/117029-what-pok%C3%A9mon-moves-does-the-above-user-have-%E2%99%A6/If you need a fun time-waster. I've been thinking a lot about Pokémon lately.

http://bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/wiki/Nuzlocke_Challenge

 

It's self-imposed rules It's fun

[AmberDust 1,116]

http://bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/wiki/Nuzlocke_Challenge

 

It's self-imposed rules It's fun

Yes, I'm familiar with nuzlocke. ^^ It's seems like quite an emotional challenge!

[Mars Orbit 729]

I really only catch pokemon that have nice colors, design, or stats.

[Number62 1,246]

There should be a semi-competitive option since that's my position. The main game/storyline is admittedly too easy, but I still manage to have fun. After that, I focus on the endgame battle facilities since they give more of a challenge. The main gameplay can feel too familiar, but the changes in battling are more apparent if you play even a little competitively, and the addition of new Pokemon can also help with that.

 

EV training is fine, but IV breeding is a pain in the ass even with the recent updates to breeding, so I use an app that creates Pokemon. It's cheating, and I'm not sorry about it considering my last statement. I try to make them look legit, so no illegal moves, abilities, or whatever. I would like something in-game that can change abilities, natures, and IVs since I'd like to use the Pokemon that I used in the normal gameplay in the battle facilities as well.

 

I don't really battle online with my 3DS, though. Instead, I play on Pokemon Showdown occasionally, but I mostly play random battles. I'd like to get more into competitive battling, but it looks a bit complicated with all the predicting, possible movesets on opposing Pokemon, EV distribution, etc.

[FlowerHearts 66]

i play the way that is the coolest way to me.

Pokemon Yellow

Beat the four with just my lv 100 Pikachu named JohnLennon.

Pokemon Y

got a special Pikachu with surf 

beat the four with it and my zoura. both lv 100

Pokemon Omega Ruby

I used my Mew and Mewtwo lv100

 

for Pokemon Moon and Sun i will wait and enjoy the game.

I also nickname my pokemon and waste hours petting them and raising their friendships

I been nicknaming them MLP names in my new run of Pokemon Y yes i reset and do the game again with a new selection and new Pokemon i do gain shinies as well.

Many next run i will nickname them after Undertale names.