Resources for in-game strategy?

Wondering if there's any good resources for team-building strategies for in game (as opposed to competitive teams)

I've always relied on having over-levelled pokemon (with a type advantage when possible), but I always inevitably get to a point where it just takes so. long. to level up my team sufficiently that I get bored, give up, and never finish the game.

SO I want to start playing more strategically, putting more thought into the pokemon I have on my team and the moves I teach them rather than just going for straight power and wasting hours levelling up. But there are just so many pokemon. And so many moves. And so many TMs and move-boosting items. That I really don't know where to start (which is why I've never really bothered with strategy before). Are there any good resources to help someone get started?

I actually found a guide posted to PC while Google searching for your thread! It seems like a decent place to start.

Making an in-game team is easier than making a competitive team, since you won't be worried that much about EVs and IVs. (Or, at least, that's the common way to go about it. Especially since it can be difficult to control EVs while playing through the game.) As the guide I linked to said, take your starter (or whatever Pokemon you know for sure is going to be on your team) and see what it's weak to. Find a Pokemon that covers those weaknesses, and see what the second Pokemon is weak to. Go on from there, taking a look at the moves they can learn to get the most coverage. (For example, I went with Slugma over Torkoal because Slugma has the ability to learn Rock moves while Torkoal does not.)

Inkblots said:

Wondering if there's any good resources for team-building strategies for in game (as opposed to competitive teams)

I've always relied on having over-levelled pokemon (with a type advantage when possible), but I always inevitably get to a point where it just takes so. long. to level up my team sufficiently that I get bored, give up, and never finish the game.

SO I want to start playing more strategically, putting more thought into the pokemon I have on my team and the moves I teach them rather than just going for straight power and wasting hours levelling up. But there are just so many pokemon. And so many moves. And so many TMs and move-boosting items. That I really don't know where to start (which is why I've never really bothered with strategy before). Are there any good resources to help someone get started?

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Believe it or not, there's a FAQ being developed by [user]Nah[/user] that is broken down by Generation. I myself have contributed for Generation 1(Yellow), Generation 2(albeit limited in scope since its been 18 god damn years, if not more since I last played it) and recently a teeny tiny bit for Generation 3(FRLG). A helpful resource is this: Generation 1 base stats. Base stats in Generation 1 are inherently different than future generations. For starters, Charizard isn't as good as people make it out to be. In fact, if we're basing this purely on Speed and Special, Ninetales(Blue exclusive, available in Yellow) is the far better Pokemon due to Vulpix learning Flamethrower at 35(takes Charmander to level 38) while also being in the Medium Fast XP group(Charizard is Medium Slow). For those on Red version, the best alternative is the version exclusive in Growlithe/Arcanine but know that its in the Slow XP group and doesn't learn Flamethrower until level 50!

When it comes to Yellow version, many people overlook the fact that the creators went out of their way to make Pikachu have a far better learnset(aka moves it learns naturally). Red/Blue Pikachus don't learn Double Team or Thunderbolt. Double Team is learned at level 15, meaning you can use Pikachu to take Brock down without having to catch Mankey(Low Kick at level 9 and a Yellow exclusive move for Generation 1), Nidoran(Male or Female learn Double Kick at level 12; ditto Yellow change) or catch/train Caterpie into a Butterfree(Red/Blue staple since Brock lacks Rock moves(not so in FRLG)). Despite the fact you can't evolve Pikachu(unless you trade him off and trade him back after evolving him), he's a pretty dependable Pokemon, although being a NFE definitely hurts him a tad.

Typically when I play through on Yellow, I typically get the following:

Pikachu: Starter with a unique moveset for the species(Double Team(evasion can be OP in Gen 1) + Thunderbolt at 26). Optionally Jolteon is the best bet here for speed(130), special(110) and Pin Missile(Psychic and Grass counter).
Ninetales: Best combination of speed and special firepower while being Medium Fast growth rate(Growlithe/Arcanine is a Red version alternative).
Sandslash: Balanced Ground Type(note Ground, not Rock/Ground) that learns Slash(high Crit), Swift(can't miss) and Sand Attack(underrated accuracy move). Teach it Dig and you're golden. Can also learn CUT(Slash is typically odd move out due to Swift's can't miss utility). Optionally can go with Dugtrio, Golem or Rhydon if you're playing on Red.
Venusaur: Toxic/Leech Seed combo is broken in Generation 1 while also having the best Special of the Kanto starters(and learns Growth to boost it too). Can learn Cut as well. A great moveset is Razor Leaf, Toxic, Leech Seed and Growth(replace with Cut if needed).
Starmie: Shares the same typing with Slowpoke but its base 115 speed and 100 special are hard to beat. Throw in Psychic/Surf STAB and you got one wicked Pokemon who's only knock is that its in Slow XP group. Just remember to give it an Ice move for Lance's Dragons. Optionally can do Vaporeon(130 HP, 110 Special. 65 Speed though), Tentacruel(fast and decent special, slow XP and Poison Typing(Psychic and Ground vulnerability)) and Lapras(Ice STAB, 130 HP, 60 Speed, Slow XP).
Tauros: Doesn't quite have the offensive firepower of Snorlax(nor the 160 base HP that Snorlax is known for) but has far better Defense, Special and particularly speed(110 base speed). Tack on Strength STAB and a wide variety of moves it can learn make it a worthy Safari Zone addition. Only knock is Slow XP. Other options to consider are Clefable, Snorlax or Dragonite. Latter two are Slow XP while Clefable is in FAST XP group, hence it grows fast!

The guide Astinus linked to and the in-the-works FAQ CodeHelmet mentioned will provide some help to you. There's a lot of Pokemon and moves and things, but for some things though you kind of have to just dive in and learn by doing, to some degree.

But two really basic things to start trying to play "strategically" and not rely on over-leveling would be:
1) Look at what the major opponents (Gym Leaders, Elite 4, rival, villain team bosses, etc) are for the game you're playing and try to, in your 6 team slots and 4 move slots for each Pokemon, cover as many of them as possible, primarily through basic type advantages and super-effective moves. Don't stress too hard on your choices though, you can beat the main stories using nearly any team of 6.

2) Start small and just start using a non-attack move or two. Stuff like Swords Dance or Thunder Wave can be an immense help in battles too.

And remember that you can always come back to us with specific questions on anything, anytime.

Thanks everyone, that guide in particular looks awesome!

I think after reading the replies, my main weakness is when it comes to stat-increasing/decreasing moves. Unlike with damage-dealing moves, I just don't have a frame of reference for how useful/"powerful" each one is so I tend to avoid them. e.g., with sand attack (just because that one was mentioned), if I look it up on Bulbapedia, it says (for Gen I) that it decreases the target's accuracy stat by one point. To me that doesn't really mean much - is decreasing accuracy by one point going to make a significant difference or will I have to use the move multiple times? At what point is it going to be more advantageous to use Sand Attack over a damage-dealing move?

Inkblots said:

Thanks everyone, that guide in particular looks awesome!

I think after reading the replies, my main weakness is when it comes to stat-increasing/decreasing moves. Unlike with damage-dealing moves, I just don't have a frame of reference for how useful/"powerful" each one is so I tend to avoid them. e.g., with sand attack (just because that one was mentioned), if I look it up on Bulbapedia, it says (for Gen I) that it decreases the target's accuracy stat by one point. To me that doesn't really mean much - is decreasing accuracy by one point going to make a significant difference or will I have to use the move multiple times? At what point is it going to be more advantageous to use Sand Attack over a damage-dealing move?

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Accuracy reducing moves are underrated because some of the more powerful moves like Blizzard, Thunder, Fire Blast and the like don't have the greatest Accuracy. If you can reduce your opponent's accuracy(even one or two times), it makes it that much harder for them to land that move on you. Furthermore, moves such as Sand Attack can be used in a set-up manner. Namely you have Sandslash use Sand Attack 6 times to drop their Accuracy to -6(making it very difficult for the opposing Pokemon to land moves). You then switch to another Pokémon like Slowbro wherein the reduced accuracy of the opponent allows your slow Slowbro time to use moves like Amnesia(+2 stages to Special in Generation 1). It's not just Stat buffing moves either. You can use the reduced accuracy to boost Evasion(Minimize, Double Team) from which you can roll over the entire enemy team because with +6 Evasion, you'll be difficult to hit and that's even if your Pokémon is at a type disadvantage.

Trying to brute force through battles isn't always the best option, especially with gym leaders.

Probably the reason I never have trouble with Whitney. The Miltank is helpless if you use Sand Attack or Flash. Or paralyze it instead of immediately going for attacks.

Inkblots said:

Thanks everyone, that guide in particular looks awesome!

I think after reading the replies, my main weakness is when it comes to stat-increasing/decreasing moves. Unlike with damage-dealing moves, I just don't have a frame of reference for how useful/"powerful" each one is so I tend to avoid them. e.g., with sand attack (just because that one was mentioned), if I look it up on Bulbapedia, it says (for Gen I) that it decreases the target's accuracy stat by one point. To me that doesn't really mean much - is decreasing accuracy by one point going to make a significant difference or will I have to use the move multiple times? At what point is it going to be more advantageous to use Sand Attack over a damage-dealing move?

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Ah, boosting and debuff moves don't actually raise/lower by one point, but rather one stage. The games don't exactly make this clear though, or even define what a "stage" is iirc.

For boosting moves, it's +50% per stage. At the sixth stage (+6), the stat is basically quadrupled, or in other words, boosted by 300%. For lowering stats it works a little different, but -1 it's a 33% decrease.

Nah said:

Ah, boosting and debuff moves don't actually raise/lower by one point, but rather one stage. The games don't exactly make this clear though, or even define what a "stage" is iirc.

For boosting moves, it's +50% per stage. At the sixth stage (+6), the stat is basically quadrupled, or in other words, boosted by 300%. For lowering stats it works a little different, but -1 it's a 33% decrease.

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To piggyback off of this, here' a handy resource: Stat Stages explained. Ironically enough, my favorite Generation or Geneeration 1 doesn't quite fit the mold of Generations 2-7 so you might want to have a look at this too: Gen 1 Stat modifications <- In fact, Gen 1 is shall we say... buggy and abuse prone :D. Of all Generations, Status and Stage changing moves are worth using :)

Ahhh thank you so much everyone! That all makes much more sense now, and much easier to see how non-damaging moves can be incorporated

Inkblots said:

Ahhh thank you so much everyone! That all makes much more sense now, and much easier to see how non-damaging moves can be incorporated

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Your welcome and remember that some abilities and moves ignore changes to accuracy/evasion. Furthermore if enemy should swap Pokemon removes their accuracy reduction(hence why Evasion(Double Team/Minimize) are awesome moves). Therefore if you use Sand Attack as a set-up purpose, its best to try and use moves like Mean Look to prevent them from swapping, then lowering their Accuracy before swapping to your sweeper, powering up with a buff move as they miss(Evasion too if you can spare it) and then demolishing the competition. That strategy works for all but Generation 1(since Mean Look is Generation 2). In Generation 1, the AI rarely swaps out so you can get away with Sand Attacking/Flashing the enemy before swapping to your sweeper. Furthermore, Accuracy + Evasion in early Generations stacks.