Poll: Pokemon: How do you train your 'mons?

[RatRace123]

Title pretty much sums it up.

I've been on a Pokemon kick lately, only to hit a snag.
I'm very very meticulous when it comes to training and leveling up my pokemon, to the point where I try to do it for all of them.

I've got about 20 now and as you can imagine trying to get them all to the same scaling level is... well, pretty damn insane. So I'm thinking of adopting a new leveling style where I just have a well balanced team of 6 and I focus on them, swapping in substitutes if need be.

My question to all my fellow pokemon training escapists is: how do you deal with your pokemon. Do you try to level them up as I did, do you just have a team or do you supercharge one or two specific pokemon?

 

[Scarim Coral]

The way I do it is at first (early in the game) level up my six and once I found a new Pokemon to train, I switch one of my team out to be replace with the new one and level it up to the rest of my team evenly.
Since I keep my storage in order of when it was capture, it's interest to see which Pokemons I had used first in the first storage.

 

[Fishyash]

I tend to (unless it's a new generation and it's my first time playing) pre-pick a team of six pokemon that I will catch throughout the game and focus all the experience on those six.

The main thing you need to do though, is at first you should only focus on levelling up a couple, and then as you get further in the game, you can train some more. Trying to level up six pokemon at the same time is going to make life difficult usually until the third gym.

 

[sextus the crazy]

I tend to (unless it's a new generation and it's my first time playing) pre-pick a team of six pokemon that I will catch throughout the game and focus all the experience on those six.

The main thing you need to do though, is at first you should only focus on levelling up a couple, and then as you get further in the game, you can train some more. Trying to level up six pokemon at the same time is going to make life difficult usually until the third gym.

This. Only I pre-pick the team even if its a new generation.

 

[endtherapture]

6 mains that I try to level together, but obviously getting Dragonite evolved gets priority.

 

[bojackx]

I just have a well balanced team of 6 and I focus on them, swapping in substitutes if need be.

I think you greatly overestimate the difficulty of Pokemon games. You really won't need to switch in substitutes if you have a good team of 6.

As I have also been playing various Pokemon games as of late, I was able to play all the way through Heartgold and White without losing a single battle (even all the way up to Red) and I only had 6 guys.

The system I go by in general for Pokemon games is to have fire, grass, water and flying types and the rest is up to me. If I'm playing Black or White I make sure I have a Bug or Dark type too as those two types are super effective against two of the Elite Four.

 

[sextus the crazy]

Just get an Excadrill. Excadrill can steamroll every gym starting with Elesa, three of the four Elite 4, the champion, N (Excadrill [lvl 50 at the time] onehitted Zekrom in my playthrough) and Ghestis. EQ, Rockslide and Swordsdance + the basic resitances through typing make this Poke just so OP during the storymode.

And that's why it's banned from standard in the Metagame. Excadrill's the most powerful non-legendary to be released since Garchomp.

 

[Sean Hollyman]

My team usually consists of my uber powerful starter, one legendary, one HM slave of varying level, then 3 useless ones.

 

[Spambot 3000]

I just pick two pokemon along with the starter and have only, ONLY, those three used in battles. I keep the starter at the highest level and the other two 5 levels lower than it. If I start a new game I beat it only using the starter.
Special training method: Beat 'em with sticks to toughen 'em up physically and mentally. (great method for raising kids as well)

 

[TehCookie]

Like this:

Usually I supercharge one, have 3-4 of them average and the rest are weak.

 

[Calibanbutcher]

I F*cking grind them until their little Pokemon tears fill my need for misery, until their will breaks and their very soul submitts itself to my will and they become nothing but unstoppable beings of pure power and misery, fueled only by their lust for vengeance, hellbent on destroying the world, kept only in check by my willpower, and should I ever perish, their rage will be that of an unstoppable force, sure to bring down all of civilization and take humanity with them in the darkness of the abyss.

 

[gmaverick019_v1legacy]

usually have 3-4 good ones through most of the game, then have one or two defense whores that i can use to potion/heal my 3-4 badasses while they take some hits.

once i get to the elite 4 though, usually have a solid 6 deep of badasses, i mean by then you'll have 3 legendaries probably...let alone your other strong fucks.

 

[Guffe]

I have 6 pokemon that I have equally leveld', mostly 6 different types and never the same six as last round so I get some variety into the whole thing.

 

[Tropicaz]

6 mains that I try to level together, but obviously getting Dragonite evolved gets priority.

Getting Rid of Lapras and Blastoise for Machamp and Poliwrath and that is my favourite team. Kudos to you, sir.

I level all 6 equally, usually have most types covered. I mainly go for ones I like though. ATM doing a rocket challenge on emerald randomizer and that's fun, but very difficult.

 

[Crimson Lucario]

I get 1 uber, 1 under level'd and 4 about lvl 20, those 4 are HM slaves and item slaves, (sacrificing them to use an item on my uber, usually a revive).

 

[Evil Smurf]

I F*cking grind them until their little Pokemon tears fill my need for misery, until their will breaks and their very soul submitts itself to my will and they become nothing but unstoppable beings of pure power and misery, fueled only by their lust for vengeance, hellbent on destroying the world, kept only in check by my willpower, and should I ever perish, their rage will be that of an unstoppable force, sure to bring down all of civilization and take humanity with them in the darkness of the abyss.

Yep, my Typhlosion is now lvl 86. Come at me gym leaders!

 

[EbonBehelit]

Using more than 6 pokemon for battling is just making things unnecessarily difficult.
In fact, if you spread type coverage around enough, you shouldn't need to use more than 4 - especially since using less 'mons overall means more exp for the ones you DO use. I personally tend to only use pokemon that I know I'll take all the way to the end, and bench everything else I catch.

If I remember correctly, for my B/W play-through I used Serperior, Gigalith, Seismitoad, Scolipede, and Chandelure. Scolipede was totally unnecessary in hindsight and cutting him out would have made the elite four even easier.

 

[omega 616]

I usually just end up with my starting pokemon about level 70 while the rest of my team (which is made up of nothing more than my favs) is about level 40.

I seriously don't even consider getting a balanced team, like getting a fire pokemon to kill grass type or something ... in my first pokemon game, I had like venusaur, 2 snorlax, moltress, mewtwo and I can't remember the other, would have been a swimming one though.

I usually just went with a level up the highest level one, sure it's a bad idea but you end up 1 hitting all those stupid trainer fights that litter most areas.