There is such a major focus around battling within the Pokémon game universe that it makes sense that there are also real world tournaments. In fact, there are both casual competitions and entire championships where players get together and try to see who is the best in their real-life region. Some even continue on to become the very best in the whole world.
The base games allow for limited strategy, but competitive gameplay is a whole different ballpark. There are tons of tiny things that players have to keep in mind. It might be fun to win all the time, but that shouldn’t deter players from learning from their losses or encouraging fun sportsmanship while competing.
10 IVs & EVs Will Make Or Break The Battle
There are a few hidden stats a Pokémon has that helps dictate how well it is going to level up its obvious stats. Individual Values, or IVs, are set from birth and can be bred for, while Effort Values, or EVs, are trainable. Natures will also help and hinder these secret stats, so a beneficial one is crucial.
A Pokémon with high IVs and EVs will have a marginal advantage over those that do not in competitive play. Therefore, it is critical that if anyone wants to get anywhere in competitions, they must have their team’s IVs and EVs on lockdown.
9 Egg Moves Give An Unexpected Edge
Egg moves are moves that a Pokémon can have if they have been bred from a pair that has the move. Sword and Shield also allow these moves to be transferrable from Pokémon of the same species if put into a daycare together where one has space in their move list.
Egg Moves can give an unexpected advantage and be useful for strategies. Super powerful moves or even different typings can only be obtained this way, and that can startle the opponent just enough to turn the match in the player’s favor.
8 Every Pokémon Has To Have A Held Item
One of the biggest unspoken rules of competitive play is that every single member of the team needs to have a held item. They won’t get far without that extra little boost, and sometimes entire strategies revolve around them. They can also help cover gaps in defenses, grant extra abilities, or even enhance stats.
Held items don’t play a huge role in the base game, but they are essential in competitive play. Every bit of help is help when it comes to facing down someone else with a real brain instead of a computer, and competitive play becomes cutthroat.
7 Any Pokémon Can Be Competitive
There are some Pokémon out there that are competitive favorites for a reason. Tanks like Blissey, Metagross, and Whimsicott have seen so much of the field that they are practically bred there. However, there is nothing stopping anyone from using their favorite monster in competitive play as long as it is played into the strategy well.
In fact, such unusual Pokémon often turn the tides of battles. Frequent competitors are expecting the typical teams, so building a team around a favorite can be just enough to hit them by surprise and edge out a win.
6 It Requires A Lot Of Research & Planning
Competitive play is a lot different than the base game. It takes a lot of mastery for things that matter little for the plot, but could really cause the tables to turn drastically against the most intense players in the fandom. When it’s all said and done, it’s still an aspect of a game and should be fun and sportsmanly, but knowing the game inside and out is absolutely critical if there’s any hope of getting anywhere.
Research is paramount when it comes to competitive play. Finding the best teams that will work well together, their possible moves, and what it will take to get the very best specimens to use. This typically involves a lot of breeding or bringing up monsters from earlier games where they had moves that no longer exist.
5 Hazards Must Be Mastered
In the base game, weather effects and field traps such as Stealth Rock are not all that useful. There’s no reason to use them when defeating the AI only requires hitting fast and hard. However, against a real person, they are extremely important to have laid out.
A properly trapped field full of hazards can easily knock out those last few HP of the opponent, or even wreak havoc on inexperienced players. They do a lot of passive damage or force the opponent to go on the defense while being slammed with a strong offensive strategy. That in turn makes things go the way the player wants and helps keep the control on their side of the court. Hazards are going to be all over competitive play, so it’s best to have them mastered for the ultimate strategy.
4 Sometimes A Gambit Must Be Played
A gambit is a term used for sacrificing a piece in order to make an opening for a winning strategy. Often times this looks like leading with a trapper or a tank in order to set the field for a new Pokémon. However, this also can show up in recoiling moves including hard-hitting Self Destruct or a Ghost-type’s Curse.
Other times, this looks like sending out unusual choices in order to lull the opponent into a false sense of security while the player is mentally readjusting their strategy to accommodate what is coming for them. Therefore, it’s best to be wary of anything that seems like it’s going too easily, as it may just be the opponent running a gambit.
3 The Team Must Be Flawless
The overall team matters almost as much if not more than the individual Pokémon when it comes to competitive play. While in the base game players can get away with subpar teams, that is not the case for competitive play. Players absolutely must be thinking about the teams as a whole rather than individual monsters.
This means that they need to all have good stats, moves to boost, buffer, and support, and to have solid type coverage for both offense and defense. The team itself has to go together perfectly or the whole strategy will crumble once it gets down to the wire. They also can’t be laying down field traps that are going to hinder each other as that’s just adding a disadvantage that doesn’t need to be there.
2 No One Strategy Is Perfect
Every strategy has a counter-strategy out there, so leaning on the ultimate, perfect strategy is never going to be a reality. The best hope is to have a flexible strategy that can adapt to whatever is thrown. That is extremely difficult to achieve and also tends to not be very fun. Therefore, it is completely valid to enjoy one kind of strategy, build up a whole team about it, and just use that one.
If all of the battles are constantly being lost, it might be time to swap up that strategy for a different, more effective one. Additionally, new strategies are being tried out all the time. It’s these unique strategies that can really tip the balance, as nobody has gotten a counter ready for it yet. Besides, fiddling around is half the fun.
1 Some Pokémon Are Banned For A Reason
Some Pokémon are so game-breaking that they are banned from competitive play for a reason. Monsters like Shuckle and the Honedge line are prime examples. These are Pokémon that have proven they can be near-invincible, which breaks the overall spirit of the competition. Every now and again there are small competitions where banned Pokémon are allowed for a short period, and it’s in those moments that casual players can see how ruthless the competitors can really get.
There are also some moves that are typically banned. These all happen for a reason, usually for balance or for a special event. Nobody wants to see a Shuckle and know they’re about to get hit for more damage than any one creature can ever take, or to fear that little monster might have a setup to make it invincible.
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