Is competitive battling that hard?

Started by WingedDragon January 9th, 2014 5:51 PM
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Age 35
Male
Milwaukee, WI
Seen November 2nd, 2020
Posted March 24th, 2020
1,288 posts
11 Years
Is competitive battling that hard or am I just making hard for myself? When I see people like P.D. Can just come up with a team in the drop of a hat. I put together team and they all just seem to have the same or similar problems. Ive put together countless amount of teams and I do mean that seriously. It makes me doubt myself as a trainer. I wonder if others are currently or have had this problem.
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Seen November 4th, 2017
Posted May 18th, 2017
2,301 posts
9.7 Years
The way I look at it is like a subject in school. There's so many different aspects that you have to learn and understand, so exposure and practice definitely helps, but sometimes others grasp things quicker. On a less introspective note, a lot of it is technical and mechanical, aspects that require a lot of memorization.

You shouldn't worry about it. Like all things, you get better as time goes by. There's no set pace you should be getting better at.
Age 35
Male
Milwaukee, WI
Seen November 2nd, 2020
Posted March 24th, 2020
1,288 posts
11 Years
The way I look at it is like a subject in school. There's so many different aspects that you have to learn and understand, so exposure and practice definitely helps, but sometimes others grasp things quicker. On a less introspective note, a lot of it is technical and mechanical, aspects that require a lot of memorization.

You shouldn't worry about it. Like all things, you get better as time goes by. There's no set pace you should be getting better at.
I know there is a set time but I do have a limited time. Being 26 I am up there by most competition standards. I dont want to be that creepy old guy at these things.
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Age 35
Female
Pennsylvania, US
Seen November 28th, 2019
Posted February 19th, 2017
1,293 posts
15.2 Years
Considering I've seen oldies who's got to be past age 60 puttering about at all the regionals I've been to, you have nothing to worry about. Besides, most masters are around our age or just a bit younger.
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Age 35
Male
Milwaukee, WI
Seen November 2nd, 2020
Posted March 24th, 2020
1,288 posts
11 Years
Considering I've seen oldies who's got to be past age 60 puttering about at all the regionals I've been to, you have nothing to worry about. Besides, most masters are around our age or just a bit younger.
How many Masters started doing this last year?
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Age 25
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Seen September 3rd, 2017
Posted June 1st, 2015
103 posts
9.5 Years
You see, it's the combination of different Abilities and Type matchups, along with overall physical and special balance, that makes a good team. You also need to come up with counters for common threats. Do some researching around the wikis and ask us if you have any questions or concerns about your team. That's what we're here for, after all.
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Male
Seen January 16th, 2015
Posted January 16th, 2015
23 posts
9.4 Years
If your team isn't good at dealing with common threats, it'll be hard to win, once the team is solid a lot of it comes from learning prediction, and sometimes it won't go your way. Things like, he has a fire pokemon, lets say Chandelure, you switch in a water, so is he going to switch and you can use the turn to set up? Probably, or is he going to fire off an energy ball and is your pokemon too fragile to take it? I wouldn't call it a glorified game of rock,paper, scissors exactly, there's more to it, but prediction as to what your opponent is going to do is key, it helps when you#re aware of the movesets most pokemon are going to be rolling with, but occasionally you'll get a surprise.

Also with the number of pokemon that there are, a good team can handle most threats, but occasionally you'll just get unlucky and their team is practically made to counter yours.

Nah

Age 30
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Seen 11 Hours Ago
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9.5 Years
Not to sound like a goddamn parrot, but it really is just a lotta experience and research. It's not like anyone who's good at battling now started off that way. There's plenty of trial-and-error before you get good. And even when you are good, most teams you make require some tinkering and battle-testing before they're perfect.

Don't worry about your age. I think that most of the people who do in-person tourneys are only 10 years younger than you at most. Plenty of the people are in their mid-twenties. You'll hardly be the creeper old guy there. Not like people should give a **** about how old you are when doing these things.

And be sure to make threads about your teams; we'll be glad to rip them apart help you improve them.:)
Nah ンン
“No, I... I have to be strong. Everyone expects me to."
Age 35
Male
Milwaukee, WI
Seen November 2nd, 2020
Posted March 24th, 2020
1,288 posts
11 Years
Not to sound like a goddamn parrot, but it really is just a lotta experience and research. It's not like anyone who's good at battling now started off that way. There's plenty of trial-and-error before you get good. And even when you are good, most teams you make require some tinkering and battle-testing before they're perfect.

Don't worry about your age. I think that most of the people who do in-person tourneys are only 10 years younger than you at most. Plenty of the people are in their mid-twenties. You'll hardly be the creeper old guy there. Not like people should give a **** about how old you are when doing these things.

And be sure to make threads about your teams; we'll be glad to rip them apart help you improve them.:)
Last thread I made about a team, no one posted in it. I was figuring people were saying "f*ck it he doesnt get it"
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Nah

Age 30
she/her, they/them
Seen 11 Hours Ago
Posted 19 Hours Ago
15,643 posts
9.5 Years
Last thread I made about a team, no one posted in it. I was figuring people were saying "f*ck it he doesnt get it"
Really? Try again. I know I'll probably post in it.
Nah ンン
“No, I... I have to be strong. Everyone expects me to."
Male
Maryland
Seen November 10th, 2014
Posted October 22nd, 2014
270 posts
12 Years
You are never to old to have fun, be it Pokemon, Call of duty, or watching professional sports. When trying to make a competitive team i think of these following things:

-What is the goal/core strategy of my team? (do i want to stall, or do i want to win with hard hitters, are some examples).

-What pokemon are best suited to accomplishing the goal of the team?

-Are they effective at what they do? (sweeping, stalling, hazards, set up, ect)

-Is there some synergy with my team/ do my Pokemon work well together?

Also, know your outs in a match. For example if their Scizor just got of a Swords Dance, think of a new strategy that involves stopping it.

Competitive battling is something that comes is time. There is a bit of a learning curve in terms of EV spreads, prediction, IVs and meta calls. I've found that in competitive battling you can have flawless Pokemon with perfect natures, EVs movesets and whatnot, but if you cannot predict, to a degree, what your opponent will do then winning will be more difficult.
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