It’s hard to imagine a world without Pokémon at this point. It's been decades since Nintendo started financing the money well and the series shows absolutely no signs of slowing down. X and Y reinvigorated the already fresh franchise, and Sun and Moon did it again by straying from the traditional formula and shaking up the foundation. With colorful creatures and an incredibly addictive battle system, Pokémon is likely to remain the most accessible RPG for years to come.
Accessibility breeds a large audience, however, and larger audiences are more prone to making mistakes and misunderstanding complex mechanics. Underneath the franchise’s friendly aesthetic lies an in-depth, brutal competitive scene that demands a level of respect you wouldn't expect from Nintendo. Game Freak’s hidden mechanics elevate Pokémon from a simple turn based RPG to potentially the most complicated game you've ever played.
It's only natural some people will make mistakes trying to figure the games out. You almost certainly have at one point or another. Pokémon is fun and friendly but, when it comes down to it, there's a good chance you've been playing it wrong for years.
15 They Aren’t EV Training
Playing Pokémon as a kid, you probably associated how good a Pokémon was with what level they were. It's not really unusual considering just about every RPG correlates level with so power, but that doesn't mean it's not a common mistake that just about everyone falls into at one point or another. The fact of the matter is, if your Pokémon aren't being EV trained then they aren't going to be any good.
EV training focuses a Pokémon’s stats so that they can either take advantage of their latent abilities or cover up weaknesses. Leveling up normally and leaving stats to chance will just get you a messy Pokémon that simply cannot compete on a competitive level. Take some time, grind your EVs, and feel proud of an honest day’s work.
14 Too Many Trainers Only Keep Damaging Moves
Growl, leer, and sand attack: they're three of the earliest moves you'll see in just about any games and they're three of the likeliest moves to get forgotten. Now, growl and leer may not be in the same ballpark as sand attack, but they'll all debuffs that don't do damage. For many players, that means they're useless. Why would you not attack? Isn't that like wasting a turn?
Wrong.
Debuffs have tremendous value as they reduce your enemy’s stats in order to give you a smoother time. Debuffing a Pokémon early can save you later. Not only that, but moves like sword dance and bulk up can help you do incredible damage as well. Don't just attack, think too.
13 They’re Only Using Pokémon They Like
You want to use Pokémon you like, it's only natural. Is it good or smart, though? Say you like chicken nuggets more than carrots, you're naturally more inclined to eat the former when poised with the decision to pick between the two because you like it more, but that doesn't mean the carrot isn't good for you or that the nugget is.
Sometimes your favorite Pokémon is a detriment to your team and you need to learn to come to terms with that. Don't let your party suffer just because Raichu looks cool, really consider what needs your team has and what role can be filled. If you need an electric type Pokémon, don't pick from the bottom of the barrel. Choose the healthy carrot that'll help your eyesight and actually manage to do a meaningful amount of damage.
12 They Aren’t Prioritizing Speed
One of the biggest mistakes newcomers make is thinking that HP, attack, and defense are the be all and end all. They want to hit hard and they want to get hit hard. Playing the tank isn't a necessarily bad thing, but not all Pokémon are created equal. Those Pokémon that seem like tanks are seldom the ones who should be built like tanks.
In a series like Pokémon where everyone is weak to something, speed can be the difference between life and death. A Pokémon you might consider weak could sweep your team just because it's consistency hitting first and keeping type advantage in mind. Next time you want to focus on hitting hard or getting hit hard, just make sure speed’s on your side.
11 They Handicap Themselves With Legendaries
There's no way around it, legendary Pokémon are awesome. You catch them at an incredibly high level, they have unique moves, and most of them have the best design in whatever game you're playing. As good as they are, however, they're a massive handicap that basically plays the game for you.
If you're relying on legendaries to get through the Elite Four, odds are you'll be using them in the post-game which means you have no idea how to breed and you don't stand a chance against anyone who’s put even an ounce of effort into their team. If you're hanging on to your legendaries, you aren't letting yourself learn how to breed or properly train. Plain and simple.
10 They Aren’t Considering Natures And Abilities
Competitive play is more than just EV training and finding yourself a strong team, you also need to keep an eye on what natures and abilities your team. Ruby and Sapphire Introduced both to the games, and the series has never been the same. Natures increase the base value of certain stats while decreasing others while abilities give your Pokémon a unique edge in battle. The mechanics added a new level of customization to the fray, but they also made competitive play all the more complicated.
You could have what you consider to be a wonderfully EV trained Pokémon with great moves but if it has a nature that decreases the stats you trained then you're stuck with a completely unoptimized Pokémon and all that time you sunk into them has been wasted. Find yourself a nature guide and start studying up.
9 They’re Neglecting Berries
Starting with Gold and Silver, Game Freak gave trainers the ability to let their Pokémon hold items. These items added a level of strategy that would only be upped with each game as new items would be introduced. Macho braces, leftovers, and items that increase how strong a certain type move tends to be frequently used but it's important to remember the humble berry.
Berries have many effects. Some heal HP, others get rid of status effects. They're certainly not as luxurious as a half eaten apple but they can help you out in a pinch, especially when you consider the fact you can't use items normally in a competitive match. Your only shot at healing mid-battle might very well be the neglected berry that’s been sitting in your bag since the beginning of the game.
8 They Build A Team Without A Strategy In Mind
In Pokémon’s main story, you're more than likely going to be running around with a full part of six unless you handicap yourself. Any team of six can cover pretty much all your needs and keep you alive through the worst of it, but competitive play necessitates deeper thinking. You can't have any dead weight in your party.
Way too many trainers build up a strong 3 or 4 Pokémon and then throw in whatever looks good into their team to round it out. What they're actually doing though is giving their opponents a free turn to buff themselves so that they can sweep your team. Competitive Pokémon is brutal: there are no shortcuts.
7 They Aren’t Breeding Like Crazy
Pokémon, where do they come from? Eggs of course! Nobody knows how they get there, but Pokémon can apparently lay eggs just for you. Better yet, your little hatchlings come out at level 1, so you can mold them to fit whatever role you desire.
Really, breeding is kind of OP when you think about it. There's a degree of RNG, of course, but you can keep breeding until you get the right nature, ability, or moves you want. After that, you can shape a Pokémon’s EVs from the moment they're born. You're basically creating a super soldier but when has that ever been a problem?
6 They Don’t Play Around With Different Tiers
Smogon separates Pokémon into seven main tiers: Uber, Overused, Underused, Rarelyused, Neverused, PU, and Not Fully Evolved. With the exception of PU which actually isn't an acronym, each tier is pretty self-explanatory. As nice as it is to have a proper tier list, most players really only focus on playing with Overused Pokémon.
If you're only playing Overused, you're effectively depriving yourself of 75% of the game’s content. Yes, Pokémon in lower tiers are objectively worse but playing within those tiers gives you so much room for experimenting and developing strategies you would never have considered in Overused. Lowers tiers can be a much-needed breath of fresh air in the competitive scene if people just embraced it more.
5 They Think Levels Mean Everything
If you're playing Red and Blue or Gold and Silver, you can probably get away with relying entirely on what level your Pokémon are. Those games follow the old school JRPG simplicity to a T. Anything past Ruby and Sapphire, though, and you're in for an awful time. Level is far from everything. You could be level 100 but your Pokémon can still be garbage if you didn't train them right.
More than just that, competitive matches auto leave you to 50 most of the time. Your high level literally means nothing in the grand scheme of things. It's all about how well your Pokémon are trained and how well they're bred. Get your old school mentality out of here.
4 They Rely Entirely On Type Advantage
Grass beats water, water beats fire, and fire beats grass. It's the first type cycle you learn about in every game and it sets the stage for how you'll be playing for a while: figure out your enemy’s type and use it against them. It's a mentality that transfers over to late game but it shouldn't because it's actually quite dangerous.
A good trainer can cover their tracks. They can plan around their weaknesses and pump their stats properly while designing a move pool specifically to overcome those weaknesses. If you're going into a competitive match with the idea of getting by entirely on type advantages, then get ready to get sandbagged.
3 They Think Too Much And Play Too Little
Practice makes perfect, even in Pokémon. For most competitive players, practice means setting up a team, deciding which EVs to train, and optimizing a nature and move pool. It’s too bad a lot of these trainers are putting in the time to figure out what works without really testing it. The idea here is that numbers don’t lie, if you know what you’re doing then why bother wasting your time? You can tell when a team is good or when a team is bad, so practicing is totally pointless.
Except that actually practicing with a team lets you feel out how the team works, it lets you catch any oversights, and it lets you develop your strategies on an entirely new level. You can come pencil down what works for you, but it’s impossible to know what your opponent is going to do in a battle. If you practice, though, you’ll be able to better improvise in a pinch and utilize tactics you would never have thought up otherwise.
2 They’re Using Traded Pokémon Too Early
The biggest mistakes aren’t just made in competitive play, they’re made in the regular game, too. With how easy it’s gotten to trade Pokémon between generations, more people are transferring their parties into whatever’s newest game as soon as possible. Sometimes Game Freak puts a cap on the transferring, but most of the time you’re given free reign to trade to your heart’s content. As nice as it is to have your old party together, though, you’re doing yourself a disservice by disallowing the chance for you to actually get a feel for new Pokémon and the new game.
If you’re using your own traded Pokémon early on, you’re kind of cheating in a way. You aren’t worrying about training a new team or figuring out what works and what doesn’t, you’re just sticking to what’s familiar. Black and White did it best by basically forbidding you from using any non-Unova Pokémon until after the Elite Four. You may not be using your favorite Pokémon this way, but you’re getting a far more genuine experience.
1 Worse Than Anything, They Aren’t Doing Their Research
Pokémon gets this bad rep from casual fans as a simple kids game. As a result, most of the in-depth metagame ends up ignored by the general populace. When people try to get more into high level play, they end up feeling like they can just wing it and figure it out as they go along but that’s not really possible with this series. EVs, IVs, natures, abilities, breeding, and move pools are all in the games but they you aren’t going to optimally use any of these unless you do your research.
The series might be marketed to a younger audience, but Game Freak hid a very complicated game for you to discover. Go online and read up on Pokémon you think you want to use, figure out what tiers are which, try to really nail down which natures work with which Pokémon. It’s a lot to read but, at the same time, it’s educative in a fun way. Competitive Pokémon can be stressful at times but it can also engage you on a level you never imagined.