Design or Power?

Bringing back the same old debate.

• Would you train Pokemon based on their usefulness and battle prowess, or would you choose them for their looks? Why?
• Would you ever use your least favourite Pokemon in a battle?

As for me... well, i'd choose power over design because I'm a competitive person and considering you battle to win, you need your most powerful tools. So yeah. And I used Arceus a ton even though it's my least favourite 'mon (due to its stupid concept, religion and Pokemon should not collide!!).

I typically go for both, while power is good sometimes there's some nice-looking Pokemon out there that have awesome designs yet might not be good competitively but still can show strength in casual play well.

I don't usually choose one over the other.
While power is important, I usually take a pokemon I like, or sometimes just one I get attached to, whether they're tough as nails or known for being derpy in some form or another.


If I'm being competitive, I'll take a pokemon that's strong, useful, and, if possible, one I like. I avoid legends though. I get a greater sense of satisfaction when I beat somebody with nonlegends than I do when beating them with legends.

It really depends. If I am playing competitive, it is power over design. However, in-game, I use design over power and in competitive, I am a bit partial to pokes I like (but not enough to hinder me in battle).

If we're talking about in game, then I'd say it's a 50/50 split between design and power for me. Of course, there are certain Pokemon I avoid because I don't like their designs (first that came to mind was Probopass), but on the flip side, I may like a certain Pokemon's design (such as Unown), but if they aren't any good in battle, I leave them off my team.

If this were a real life scenario though, I'd almost exclusively pick Pokemon based on their looks. I mean, if I'm going to spend a lot of time with a Pokemon, then I'd better be able to stand to look at it, right?

In-game 75-25, design over power.

Design over power,
I usually just pick up my faves and try to bring out their full potential and power.
I'm not really competetive, but I do try to make them strong or stronger.

Design > Fun > Power. I like power, but if it doesnt look right and if its not fun to use I dont really care if its powerful.

I go by design a lot, I'm a really visual person. I simply don't really enjoy using Pokemon whose design I don't like.
When playing competitively I always try to use my favs to their best potential even if they're not as powerful as others.
Granted, I'm not always victorious ... but I don't care, it's fun :P

Mostly design, with some compromise so things work out well enough in a team.

I generally go with the design of a pokemon. I'll still build my pokemon up competitively, (max IV's, EV train, etc), but I like to go into a battle with pokemon I love. For example, I have a Dragonair that I refuse to evolve because I like it's design more than Dragonite's. It also applies to their move sets at times. A grass type move for Goodra may not be the best when you can get STAB with dragon-type moves, but the animation for Power Whip just looks perfect for this pokemon.

Design, type, and theme every time. Power really doesn't mean that much to me, honestly. I mean sure, it's great when a Pokemon you like is GOOD, and sometimes it being unusable sucks... but unless it's so amazing (Xerneas) that you basically can't use it outside a very small group, or so terrible (Aurorus) that it's almost useless IN game... it doesn't matter much.

A good balance between the two is preferred. With me it's skewed slightly toward design as I think most Pokemon regardless of their natural affinity for battling can prove to be a powerful opponent.

If I was asked this when I started playing the game, then I would say power only. Now it's a 50/50, or maybe design wins by a small inch. I enjoy having a strong mon in my team, but I might have second thoughts if I think it's weird/hideous/derpy/underdesigned.

In all honesty, if fun was included, then Fun>>>Power and Design combined. If it looks cool but no fun to use, I wouldn't bother with it. If it has great stats but doen't quite fit my kind of style, I wouldn't bother with it.

As for the least fav mon in battle thing, my least favourite mon... Is a certain purple mouse. I have used it a few times, but that was before it was my least favourite mon. Now that I can't stand him, I NEVER allow it on my team. To be frank, if it was something I absolutely loathe and despise with all my body, I would never try it out but if I didn't like something, I probably might forgive it if I used it in battle.

I always just care about the design/concept in game. I'll always try to use my favourites based on that, but have occasionally gotten fed up with constant fainting and boxed them.

I'll always have fond memories though, of beating a Tyranitar on a smogon simulator with my favourite Pokemon - Farfetch'd.

Design! I roleplay much more than I play the actual games and when you're given creative freedom you can make "weak" pokemon strong in interesting ways.

I've played through these games so many times, so when I replay a Pokemon game I hack the first 6 Pokemon. No illegal stats or moves, just Pokemon I can't obtain that early with a decent moveset. I'll try out a lot more gimmicky movesets and Pokemon that are somewhat competitively viable. You can be the coolest Pokemon in the world, but if you can't dish out big hits I'm not using you in-game. Sorry Slowking :(

I'll be honest - I couldn't care less about a Pokemon's 'competitive' value. My team on OR consists of my favourite Pokemon, which are all quite powerful. I have never bothered making a team specifically for competitive play. I mostly play nuzlockes, because that's what I think is fun - and I typically don't catch a Pokemon if I won't like using it. I've found that, for the purpose of beating the game, at least, one can make any Pokemon useful with enough training. That being said, I will favour both design and power while picking out a team, but I will prioritize design.