Tuesday Tip: Let's talk about pokémon!

[inkstone]

I thought it'd be useful to have a catch-all post for all things pokémon. They are what you're trying to catch in this game, right? And with the release of the in-game appraisal system, I figure some people might have some questions.

Here are the basics:

• Each pokémon is unique. It has visible values for CP and HP, in addition to movesets that can vary from mon to mon within a species.


• Every pokémon also has hidden stats called individual values (IVs) for attack, defense, and stamina. The CP & HP values are visible renderings of these IVs. The new in-game appraisal system gives you the range for these hidden values.


• When you level up as a trainer, you will start seeing pokémon with higher CP but to only a certain extent. The CP of pokémon hatched from eggs stop scaling at level 20 and the CP of pokémon caught in the wild stop scaling at level 30.


• The trainer level cap, though, is level 40. So you can keep powering up your pokémon with stardust and candy past level 30 until you hit the cap.

There are other nuances to be found here, but I find they vary from trainer to trainer. Some people start powering up their pokémon right away. Others wait until they hit level 30. Some people are torn. I thought that in addition to sharing general tips about pokémon, we could also use the comments to ask advice about our mon.

So let's have it!

Comments

[inkstone]

Basically, every species has a set of moves that they can get. It's purely chance. So even if your mon has 100% perfect IVs, it can still get a garbage moveset. *eyes her Gyarados with twister WHY*

Some movesets are better suited to attacking. Some are better for defending. Some attacks are very powerful (they do more damage per second) and some not so much.

The thing you want to keep an eye out for are whether the attacks match the mon type. You get a 25% bonus when they do, making your attacks even more effective. (It's one of the reasons why a water gun/hydro pump vaporeon is so powerful as an attacker.) When you combine this with type advantages, you can do real damage to gym defenders.

[melannen]

So your pokemon can get moves that don't match the pokemon? I could get a fire type with water moves or something? Is a fire pokemon with water moves advantaged against a pokemon that's weak to water, or is it only based on the pokemon's type? Can different pokemon get the same moves? Can you figure out what moves a defending pokemon has before it uses them?

Do I have to look up a chart somewhere to figure out which moves are good or does it sort of make sense, the way the elemental weaknesses/advantages do?

[inkstone]

Yes, you can get moves that don't match the mon. Nothing so opposing as fire type with water moves, but you can get a water type with steel. *eyes her Kingler SIGH* The advantage is always based on the attack type vs mon type.

Different mon can definitely get the same moves. I have two vaporeons with water gun/hydro pump. Since each mon only has a handful of potential moves, you can have a general idea about defenders but you won't know for sure until you see.

I've only looked at charts for ideal movesets, I'm afraid. If there's a logic to it, I don't know what it is.