Now that you know what composes a pokemon, what the various varieties of pokemon available are, and what you can generally expect, it’s time to start looking at the larger function that all of this information is geared for: Choosing, training, and preparing a team of pokemon.
As you can imagine, with all of these elements to take into consideration, composing a team of pokemon can be very complicated- or relatively simple. The one thing it cannot be is thoughtless. Simply throwing together a bunch of pokemon you like will never do- you could find yourself afflicting your own team with weather conditions, having a single weakness allow horrifying full-team sweeps, completely lacking a way to handle a variety of pokemon or a given type combination, or absolutely unable to pick a direction to go.
When you’re composing a team, you have to look at what each pokemon is going to be trying to do, what it needs in terms of teammates, and what it can support in terms of teammates.
At the core of it, there are a few particular ways to construct a team, and no one of them is more or less valid than any other- they are simply different and that is all that there is to it. In the following courses, we will be looking at each of those methods, understanding what is needed to make them work, and considering the various ancillary issues that need to be handled when you are preparing a team to go into battle with.
That said, always keep in mind that you are not battling in a vacuum. Your individual battle environment is also a significant issue in deciding your team. If you battle on an entirely casual basis, preparing a team that is too strong (in the raw strength sense) or too straightforwards could wind up crippling you, by making others unwilling to battle you. A team that is boring to face off with is an equally large issue and has very similar results.
Of course, all of it is for naught if you create a team that you do not enjoy battling with. Because of this, I want you to make sure you take everything I explain in terms of team-building methods as a possibility that can work, and not a hard rule that must be followed or a factual truth. Very little is set in stone, especially in a game where moving from one generation of cartridges to the next can mean a considerable overhaul in what resources a pokemon has access to and what moves it can use- or which of its moves are worthwhile.
So it’s time to get cracking.
