Introduction / The Basics

Everyone is Learning All The Time

To use a cliché: welcome to the wonderful world of Pokémon! We love this game, and before we kick you off with the rest of the guide, and get started with your first team or battles, we have one piece of preliminary advice.

Pokémon is a game that requires a lot of learning, in a way that many other games don’t. For example, there are many Pokémon, and they mostly have unique stats and a set of moves that they can use. You probably don’t know all of these yet (and a lot of competitive players don’t know all of them, either!). There’s a lot of tougher questions that you’ll have to learn the answer to, as well-- what Pokémon are popular, and why? What is an opponent most likely thinking at any given time? 

The amount of learning can be daunting. Here is our advice for you for learning, not only while you read this guide but throughout your Pokémon career:

• Everyone is learning all the time. Even the most experienced players have to relearn everything when a new set of Pokémon becomes legal. A common thing you’ll hear at tournaments is: “Wait, that Pokémon gets THAT move?” or “Wait, that move does what?”

• Never fault yourself for not knowing something. There is SO much to learn in this game that there is no possible way that any player, even World Champions, can cram it all in their head at once.

• Furthermore, forgetting things during a battle happens. VGC puts heavy strain on your working memory, as there are often many mechanics or field effects at play during any given turn. “Wait, I forgot Tailwind was up!” is a normal thing to hear from an opponent at a tournament. If you lose track of an effect during a battle, keep moving-- you’ll remember the mechanics and field effect durations naturally over time.  

• Take shortcuts to make it easier for yourself in the short term. For example, you could probably be okay going into a tournament knowing only the top 50 or so Pokémon. 

• Be ready to take things that surprise you in stride and move on. Part of this game is learning and adapting- even if something catches you off guard, you need to keep moving forward positively. 

There’s no need to make flash cards: what you learn about Pokémon you will learn over time through your experience. By taking a look at this guide, you’ve shown that learning is something that you’re interested in. Remember that you’ll learn stats and mechanics passively over time when you battle, and if you do get surprised in a battle, it’s okay-- focus and try to find a path to victory.