Yup, I give up. This shit's too busted and the game doesn't want me to learn anything. I'm not gonna spend hours on a forum to find out what builds there are that won't just have me constantly destroyed. The 35+ fucking hours I've spent playing the game should've done that job. How tremendously disappointing.

@Xbob42

Quitter.

Just because the game is hard and unfair... And you call yourself a gamer.

I bet the 11 year old girls playing aren't mad. I bet they're lovingly stroking their Fennekins and laughing at the old man who gave up because "oh there are too many secret stats that I have to look up on Wikipedia." Better go lay down, grandpa! Maybe fire up Steam and play Sam and Max where you can't ever lose and there's no competition! I hear "Bridge" is a fun game, though we'll have to get you some of those playing cards with the big numbers so if you misplace your reading glasses you can still see the difference between the 10 of hearts and the 4 of clubs.

In all seriousness, I do agree it's overly complicated and impossible to manage without guides or the internet. Which is why I'm just playing this game to have fun. And if I don't evolve Grapio into a Grapington because I don't know I have to make it hold the Thunder Berry while swimming backwards through a specific part of Route 22 flipping the 3D switch from off to max, so be it. I'm enjoying just playing for kicks, win or lose.

-JKR- said:

And if I don't evolve Grapio into a Grapington because I don't know I have to make it hold the Thunder Berry while swimming backwards through a specific part of Route 22 flipping the 3D switch from off to max, so be it.

From my days of playing the Gen 3 and Gen 4 games, that's barely an exaggeration! In fact, that reminds me, I've heard that there's literally a Pokemon in X and Y that you can only evolve by turning your system upside down when it levels up. No joke.

@-JKR- I'm TRYING to play it for kicks, but the story mode was too easy! It offered no resistance! I had hoped that the game would begin teaching me some serious stuff so I could have fun battling online (Maybe we should all just battle each other? Except Pokefreak, probably has all perfect IV/EV Pokemon with the most optimal items and all mythical) but instead it went from me vs. a 2-year-old-with-whiplash-and-gangrene to me vs. an-entire-prison-filled-with-psychotic-murderers-and-I'm-blindfolded in literally a single battle. (Go from beating the pushover Champion to the Battle Institute. It's like you're playing a different game.)

I always thought Speed was one of those things you either need to be all in on, or just forget about it. Like, Slowking will never go first, so just make sure he can take the hit without dying.

That makes me wonder what Pokemon would be like with an ATB-type system. Hmm.

Xbob42 said:

some weird ass fluffy clumsy ass looking bird

Hahahaha, I love this description. They should change its name to that and then include it in the PokeRap. I've never seen that Pokemon before; it's really weird.

-JKR- said:

@Xbob42
And if I don't evolve Grapio into a Grapington because I don't know I have to make it hold the Thunder Berry while swimming backwards through a specific part of Route 22 flipping the 3D switch from off to max, so be it. I'm enjoying just playing for kicks, win or lose.

Haha, this too.

@TriforceBun One of the Slowkings in the Battle Institute surprised me by using Trick Room after I paralyzed his partner (which was fast) so that they'd both go before my superfast Pokemon (And I obviously don't have anything slow enough to counter.) which was actually a trick I could watch, identify, and learn all in that one simple move. If it was more of that and less "well your supereffective STAB dealt 1/3 bar damage to this Pokemon, meanwhile it counterattacks with a non-supereffective non-STAB and one-shots you even though it gets to move first" (It attacked my other Pokemon first) then I'd be learning every fight! Instead I'm left confused and frustrated and there's no way to escape the Battle Institute's 5-in-a-row battles after you start so I have to sit there angry as hell knowing I have a shitty team or reset my system! ARGH!!

At this point I'm so invested (Well, I haven't played since I said I'm done, but maybe I just need to cool off?) that I might as well try to learn online, but I like to come up with my own strats and do my own thing! The game doesn't facilitate that at all with the information conveyed in-game. So much stuff is hidden so deep. The destiny knot item allows you to breed Pokemon that keep more of their parents stats, even though it says NOTHING about that in the item description. It took a tweet by one of the designers of the game for people to discover that! If even the Pokemon freaks out there couldn't figure it out, what hope have I?!

Also, fuck Sucker Punch. Hits first, 80 power, 100% accuracy. What's the downside? Low PP? OH MAN NO NOT LOW PP THAT NEVER RUNS OUT!

BAHHHHH!P{#"P!@OPRI@!POIRP@:DFJ#WO:IJ

There's a reason most of the top tier Pokemon use a Choice Scarf all the time.

No game ever educates players well when it comes to online so I do not see why you are getting so aggravated by it. If you do want to get into it the best place for all the info is Smogon. They also run a Battle Simulator so you can test what you want in your team and what works well with each other. If I was GF I would start listening to Smogon when it comes to managing the competitive side of the game.

@Pokefreak911 True, but most games teach you the game mechanics to a depth well enough for you to figure out the rest. Pokemon seems malicious in how it hides information from you, it WANTS you to fail.

Furthermore, in most online games I CAN ASK PEOPLE QUESTIONS AND TALK TO THEM IN GENERAL ARRGHHHHHHH YELLING ANGRILLYYYYY

"Choice scarf" Increases speed but only allows the use of one move...

BOY I BET THAT MAKES THE ALREADY SIMPLE TURN-BASED GAMEPLAY REAL EXCITING!

Pokemon games do little/nothing to really educate youon the advanced stuff. It's either something you accept and move on or just abandon. Maybe you could have some battles with people on NW who aren't as into the advanced stuff (if they exist). We could've made great sparring partners in the past haha. The only thing I really tried to do was get a good nature for my Pokemon (which is unfortunately again something you'd have to look up online to see what they mean).

That's really the problem with Pokemon. For better or worse, it's so into its own verbage that it's hard to tell what they mean. In the past, they wouldn't even tell you anything about EV's, just some vague description like "I SEE YOUR POKEMON HAVE BEEN WORKING HARD" or something haha.

Games are still addicting as fuck though. I put 70 hours into Black without even touching the online.

@PogueSquadron
The game tells you what Natures do with the coloring of the stat name.

@Xbob42
Choice Scarf is actually really interesting. It means taunting is deadly and the opponent switching out can be dangerous. The game has some really deep strategy that is not clear at all from the get go.

@Pokefreak911

Alright, if you're gonna explain stuff, I might as well make you my unwilling tutor!

My current team consists of Mewtwo (Banned in this Battle Institute stuff, makes me sad. I've always loved Mewtwo! If he's too strong, make him weaker! :(), Noivern, Aegislash, Tre...trean.... THE GHOST TREE THING! Uhh, Magneton and Sigilyph.

Is there any way to make this ragtag bunch of misfits dangerous at all? I've got a bit of overlap, but I've faced opponents with worse overlap who thrashed me!

@Xbob42
I can try to explain, but I'm not very good at team composition. Reset their stats using Reset bags and then look at what stats of theirs are highest. Mewtwo would go well with a Life Orb or Choice Scarf, as well as 252 EVs in SpAtk and Spd. EVs though are not set in stone so experiment with what EVs work the best.

Is speed really the be-all-end-all stat? Couldn't you have a slower Pokemon that just has a ridiculously high defense or special defense? Isn't that why people like to tank with Pokemon like Clefable or Snorlax or Miltank or whatever?

@PogueSquadron From what I've seen it'd have to be a very tanky Pokemon to begin with. My Mewtwo, for example, would probably make a very poor tank since his health and defensive stats start so low. I could beef him up a whole bunch, but if someone had all attack + a choice scarf on a STAB they'd still one-shot him, which would render my EVs completely pointless.

@PogueSquadron
Tanks can be used. They are the main exception to the rule.

I BEAT SOMEONE ONLINE FINALLY! I dunno if getting whooped all day in the Battle Institute turned me into a brooding, hardened soldier or I'm just way better at double battles than singles, but I pretty much destroyed them! I could tell they were kinda new like me, though, using moves that didn't effect some of my Pokemon, it actually felt like an HONEST battle for once! It was a ton of fun! If I can battle like this more often, then I can get way more hours out of this game! Also, setting up big moves with two Pokemon is SO much more satisfying than trying to do it with one. A big tank Pokemon? Super Fang it to half its HP then hit it with all you've got on the other 'mon! Know they pulled out a Pokemon specifically to attack my Sigilyph? Fly up and make them waste and attack! The mind games get to be tons of fun once you get a little deeper and once you avoid one-hit KO fights.

I think that was my biggest hurdle, getting over the fact that so many people deal with these battles by just sweeping with one-shot kills, which to me is antithetical to what makes Pokemon fun, the struggle of hoping a paralysis kicks in on the enemy as your final 'mon is in the red but still hitting hard is a ton of fun, but whoever moves first deciding a kill is absolutely NOT fun.

@Xbob42
When you feel ready vs my team. My team is a mish mash of mons I used to beat the game but it is somewhat decent. My main sweeper is a Vivillon and is kick ass. It has a 97.5% accurate Hypnosis and thanks to it's high speed it can sleep a ton of stuff really quickly.

Good grief! I know I complained that the game was a little easy but suddenly they drop Victory Road on you, this drawn-out slog-fest that's like nothing else they have sent your way... when will it end? I just want this game to end! *sobs*

I found a hippo pokemon! I love hippos, so I am very happy now. Into my team you go, sorry Linonee or whatever your name is... Zigzagoon Sr.