Fine with more competitive articles!
What are these fives steps/how will you write them up (as in to what level of detail)? I guess it should be accessible given it's partly aimed at newer battlers.
Hm, I was thinking of writing it with small 'headers' or sections like so:
1) Choose a play style!
(With or without numbering them) And write a small explanation! Like for instance, choosing a play style that fits you, and there's a lot: for example, you can have a full on offensive play style with your team, making aggressive plays to prevent your opponent on setting up their own strategy, or you can make a staff team and choose a more defensive play style, as you focus on taking each of your opponent's hits, setting up your own strategy in the process.
I'll go more detail on each 'strategy' as I go along, like, choosing a defensive play style can make use of Leech Seed, Toxic Spikes, etc.
Id say this step is the primary course on building your team! Which I'll go on more to that.
2) Arm yourself with knowledge!
Here, basically, I'll suggest people arm themselves with knowledge about the tier that they are playing at. Take a look at the general Pokémon threats and the most used Pokémon in that tier. Then, while building your team, think about how your team will deal with those threats, and other play styles, essentially planning in advance.
3) Have a good mindset
Be confident, but not too confident. Being too confident can lead to rash-decision making! Don't second guess yourself, or you'll lose your confidence, and also make many mistakes. Basically this step will teach someone the importance on having a good mindset in battle.
4) Practice, Practice, Practice!
Battle often against a different variety of players. The more players you battle against, the more experience you'll have! With that experience, you can also go back and make edits to your team to help perfect your game play, and to help you deal with other play styles as they come and go. Each time you lose, you should go back and review exactly why you've lost; perhaps your team couldn't deal with a threat properly, or what mistakes you've done during battle.
Essentially this is like a "there is no substitute for experience" step.
5) Try getting more involved with the competitive community! (or a tournament step?)
The competitive community is pretty vast; you'd need to expose yourself to different environments, for example, participate in many tournaments. Essentially participating in tournaments is the grand step on putting your practice to work because it's the gathering event for the most competitive players. Don't be afraid on getting yourself out there!
Well, you get the idea, right? Maybe I should link to some resources too, (ie smogon stuff?)
