User:Pokelego999/sandbox/Competitive Rewrites

Gameplay

Pokémon have six different stats, which affect different aspects of gameplay: HP, Attack, Defense, Special Attack, Special Defense, and Speed. These stats are further affected by IVs or "individual values," which differ per each individual of a given species and determine how much growth is given to a particular stat. These stats can be further augmented by EVs, or "effort values," which can be used to provide further boosts in a given stat. Pokémon also have Natures, which boost one of a Pokémon's stats, but lower another in exchange. Pokémon's types also greatly impact battling, as different types have different strengths or weaknesses against other types, which affects the amount of damage dealt to a given Pokémon. Pokémon can hold items, which give various benefits to a Pokémon in battle. Pokémon can also swap in and out of battle, though this will take a turn of combat, and the incoming Pokémon switching in will take whatever attack was targeted at the Pokémon being switched out.

Many team compositions in competitive Pokémon revolve around different strategies. These can range from teams built on dealing damage to teams built on withstanding more hits. Other strategies involve utilizing weather, which can be activated by different moves and abilities. Weather triggers various aspects of a Pokémon, which can make certain species stronger or weaker. Entry hazards can be used to damage Pokémon when they switch in, while the move Trick Room can be used to reverse the speed stats of Pokémon on the field, allowing slower Pokémon to move faster.

In the first generation of the games, primarily Pokémon Red, Blue, and Yellow, battling was substantially different from later adjustments to battle. Pokémon's Special Attack and Special Defense stats acted as one stat known as "Special," which led to several Pokémon having very strong Special stats. IVs and EVs additionally did not exist. Many of the more intrinsic systems of battling were not known in this generation. Strategies tended to focus on the spreading of status, such as Paralysis, which could cripple opposing teams. Another strategy involved the usage of the move "Hyper Beam," a powerful attack that normally required a turn to recharge that did not need one if it KO'd the opposing Pokémon. Normal-typed Pokémon were powerful as a result of their ability to deal additional damage with Hyper Beam. Other differences from later gameplay included a Pokémon's chance of scoring a critical hit being based on its speed stat and certain moves allowing a Pokémon to trap the opposing Pokémon and render them unable to act.

Psychic types were very powerful in the first generation's meta. As a result, the second generation, beginning with the games Pokémon Gold and Silver, introduced two new types: Dark and Steel. These two types both acted as counters to Psychic types due to their resistances to it. Pokémon Diamond and Pearl introduced the physical-special split. Prior to these games, moves either used a Pokémon's Attack or Special Attack stat for damage calculation depending on the move's type. The physical-special split allowed for moves of the same type to be either physical or special, allowing for greater diversity in a Pokémon's pool of viable attacking moves. These games also introduced the move Stealth Rock, a move which does damage when a Pokémon switches onto the field into them depending on that Pokémon's weakness to the Rock-type. Stealth Rock has acted as a highly influential move in the metagame since its debut. Changes regarding Stealth Rock continued to shape the metagame until the eighth generation, which buffed a move that can remove Stealth Rocks from the field of play, as well as with the addition of an item that mitigates Stealth Rock damage.

Pokémon X and Y rebalanced many older moves, leading to a more defensively focused metagame. The Dragon type, which had been powerful in previous metagames, was additionally nerfed with the introduction of a new Fairy type, which takes no damage from Dragon type attacks. Steel types, which had previously served as the sole resistance to Dragon types, were additionally nerfed defensively, with Ghost and Dark types now being able to hit them for neutral damage. Many other changes were introduced, such as Electric type Pokémon becoming immune to many Paralysis-spreading moves, and the effects of abilities which set weather conditions only setting the weather temporarily, as opposed to permanently. X and Y also introduced Mega Evolutions, powerful forms of older Pokémon.

History and community

Competitive Pokémon first started in the early years of the franchise, with events as early as 1999 being held in order to encourage battles between players. Though players swapped strategies on message boards or used websites for information, very few consistent sources were available at the time of competitive beginnings.

Official online play was not properly introduced until 2006's Pokémon Diamond and Pearl. Early battle systems such as Porygon's Big Show were used in order to simulate battles without the need for official hardware. Other fans of the series created their own bots in order to simulate battles. As the metagame has developed, many additional tools and websites have been used in order to aid players with the construction of competitive teams.

Many changes have been introduced into the mainline games to allow for the training of Pokémon for competitive play to be easier. X and Y introduced super training, which allowed for easier access to EV training for players.

Reception

Books: (Iffy access: Will need further research)

Scholar: [1] (See if this isn't in book above)

News:

Hacked Mons:

Gen 6:

Gen 7:

Gen 8: (primary) (Minor)

VGC:

World Championships:

Global Link:

Go:

Unite:

Specific mons: (Use sources from SV list)

Bans: (Use sources from SV list)

Draft League:

COVID:

Random:

External links

• www.example.com