How do you build your in-game teams?

[SailorVee]

Whenever I start a new save file on any main series Pokemon game, the part I look forward to the most is building the team I want to use. Broadly speaking, there seem to be two types of people: those who build as they play and pick up Pokemon along the way, or those who already have their team planned out beforehand.

Personally, I belong to the latter category. I honestly cannot imagine starting a game and having absolutely no idea of what to use. Whenever a new generation is released, I make sure to go through the dex beforehand so I can check the types/movesets/etc. and make a balanced team. I also like to use only new Pokemon during my first playthrough, rather than using my favorites from previous generations. (Assuming they're part of said game's regional dex)

However, it doesn't stop just there. I don't just want to know which Pokemon to use, I want my in-game teams to be balanced as well. A grass/fire/water core is pretty much a must for me. I also like having a Psychic and a Ground type on my team, but these aren't 100% essential. Most Ghost types can learn Psychic as well and a fair amount of Pokemon get Earthquake via TM. I used to always catch a Flying type for the HM Fly as well, but in recent years I've had more and more teams without a Flying type.

Natures and abilities are something I only started paying attention to after I got into watching competitive Pokemon videos on YouTube and sometimes I wish I never gained that knowledge at all because sometimes I can spend half an hour looking for a Pokemon with the 'perfect' nature and right ability. I'm trying to be more chill about this and just accepting whatever I catch, but when it's the absolute worst nature possible, I generally box it and catch a different one. You won't catch me using a Hustle Togepi or a Thick Fat Azurill/Marill

Last but not least, I'm definitely the type of person who fusses about team aesthetics as well. If my team doesn't look nice together, it just irks me. Unless I'm building a mono color team, I like my teams to have a variety of colors with red, blue and green shades being almost essential. I know this probably sounds very silly, but I can get really hung up on these kind of things. (Hence why it took me almost a full week to plan all of the teams for my 'gotta play 'em all' challenge since I kept on switching members around until I had full teams which were balanced and/or varied in terms of both types AND colors)

So, how do YOU build your in-game teams?

~> Do you plan beforehand or just catch as you go?
~> Do you stick to one solid team of 6 or do you swap Pokemon around depending on the next gym/boss battle?
~> Do you use only new Pokemon or do you have old favorites which always get a spot on your teams?
~> Do you pay attention to the different types on your team?
~> Do you look at the natures/abilities/etc. of your in-game team or do you just catch the first of whichever species of Pokemon you want to use?
~> Do you pay attention to the aesthetics of your team?

 

[FeraligatrMaster]

~> Do you plan beforehand or just catch as you go?
There are some Pokemon that I plan beforehand. Usually, my starter is one of them. As for the others, I catch them as I go.

~> Do you stick to one solid team of 6 or do you swap Pokemon around depending on the next gym/boss battle?
I swap my Pokemon around depending on each trainer battle.

~> Do you use only new Pokemon or do you have old favorites which always get a spot on your teams?
I like to try out Pokemon that I've barely or never used before, but I'm cool with old favourites making my teams.

~> Do you pay attention to the different types on your team?
Of course. I want to make sure that I can hit everything super effectively.

~> Do you look at the natures/abilities/etc. of your in-game team or do you just catch the first of whichever species of Pokemon you want to use?
I always go for a desirable nature and ability. No Adamant Abra, no Modest Machop, and I avoid Gentle and Lax like the plague. If I want a Magnemite, I hunt for one with Magnet Pull, and if I want an Axew, I strive for one with Mold Breaker.

~> Do you pay attention to the aesthetics of your team?
Kinda. If my Pokemon have a good design, that makes battling even more entertaining.

 

[ReKoil]

~> Do you plan beforehand or just catch as you go?
Nope. I usually just catch randoms I've not used before.

~> Do you stick to one solid team of 6 or do you swap Pokemon around depending on the next gym/boss battle?
Once I've got my team of six I only swap one or two out if I need to train something else for the Dex. Once i have it evolved and got the Dex entries it will be boxed and my team member comes back on.

~> Do you use only new Pokemon or do you have old favorites which always get a spot on your teams?
First playthrough always new mons only. I got favorites, but they are generally only on my team if I haven't used them before.

~> Do you pay attention to the different types on your team?
I try to avoid type overlaps, but that's pretty much it lol

~> Do you look at the natures/abilities/etc. of your in-game team or do you just catch the first of whichever species of Pokemon you want to use?
Nope, I dislike that stuff and it has no business in a normal playthrough imo

~> Do you pay attention to the aesthetics of your team?
For my first playthrough in a new region, yes, since I pick new mons that I like aesthetically. Beyond that not really.

 

[Devalue]

~> Do you plan beforehand or just catch as you go?
A bit of both. Enters most games fairly blind. Usually sees a couple of new Pokemon, however. Picks the starter, 1-2 known, and then catch as they come.

~> Do you stick to one solid team of 6 or do you swap Pokemon around depending on the next gym/boss battle?
A team of six...sort of. Intends to create a solid team of six. Winds up disappointed by a choice in most recent generations. Drops one midway through.

~> Do you use only new Pokemon or do you have old favorites which always get a spot on your teams?
New game: New Pokemon only.
Challenge run: Usually restricts team choice. Will probably add favorites when allowed, provided they were not used in that generation already.

~> Do you pay attention to the different types on your team?
Yes. Factors into the "catch as you go" portion. Identifies team weaknesses. Eyes up all Pokemon that cover that.

~> Do you look at the natures/abilities/etc. of your in-game team or do you just catch the first of whichever species of Pokemon you want to use?
New game: The first one. Knows too little about its ending stat spread and abilities. Looks up bits on occasion, however, such as Mareanie. Never would have found it otherwise. Wanted Merciless, due to being far more unique and interesting than Limber. (Lived with Honey Gather Cutiefly in the same run. Found out about Shield Dust eventually. Felt too late then.)

Challenge run: Settles for neutral natures usually. Becomes pickier on weaker or crucial Pokemon. Specifies a stat to increase and a stat to not decrease. Forces a "best of [X] catches" rule in some runs, also. Compromises between optimizing and pleasure.

Definitely chooses the ability in a challenge run when able. Grabbed a Hidden Ability (Intimidate) Scraggy in X, thanks to horde battles.

~> Do you pay attention to the aesthetics of your team?
As a whole? No. Individually? Yes. Ranks up there on reasons for dropping a Pokemon in a new playthrough.

 

[Corveone]

~> Do you plan beforehand or just catch as you go?
I have to plan. Want to have a balanced team while also avoid repeating Pokémon from previous playthroughs, and that's hard after so many playthroughs. Sometimes I do have to repeat when I find myself running out of options.

~> Do you stick to one solid team of 6 or do you swap Pokemon around depending on the next gym/boss battle?
Stick with 6. None of the games are challenging enough to require swaping team members inbetween battles. And even if they were, that would just add grinding to keep levelling Pokémon that were boxed for a while. Building a team of six capable of "defeating everyone" in the game is also part of the challenge, it makes you think your team instead of just improvising and potentially get walled at some point by a specific type that you have nothing good against. The only reason I may sometimes temporarily swap team members out in the modern games is to prevent overlevelling due to the dumb forced Exp. Share.

~> Do you use only new Pokemon or do you have old favorites which always get a spot on your teams?
Only new Pokémon is kinda restrictive because the more recent gens don't add that many, and I don't count regional forms as "new" Pokémon either. I do favor new Pokémon, but I also mix them with older ones if I think they complement each other well.

~> Do you pay attention to the different types on your team?
Yes, I normally avoid repeating types unless I'm making a themed team that can take advantage on that. I allways make sure to have something good against the more annoying types such as Steel and Water, and avoid situations like having multiple Pokémon weak to the same type and nothing that resists it. I allways play with battle Set, so without free switch on KO you have to pay attention to that.

~> Do you look at the natures/abilities/etc. of your in-game team or do you just catch the first of whichever species of Pokemon you want to use?
Yes, if a Pokémon has two Abilities I allways go with the one that's better or (if both are good) the one that would work better with the moveset and whatever role for said Pokémon I have in mind. I don't allways care about best natures so yeah, I'm fine with a Serious Heracross, but I won't be using a Modest Heracross, that's for sure.

~> Do you pay attention to the aesthetics of your team?
There are very few individual Pokémon I might not use for aesthetic reasons, but other than that no, I don't pay much attention or thought into it. I have used mons like Claydol and Probopass, which aren't exactly for a beauty contest, and had no problem with them.

 

[Roni]

~> Do you plan beforehand or just catch as you go?
Really depends on my mood tbh. On older titles I'll definitely wanna plan to get the best optimized run, but if it's a game I've no idea about I usually just catch as I go.

~> Do you stick to one solid team of 6 or do you swap Pokemon around depending on the next gym/boss battle?
As much as possible I stick to one solid team. I'm too loyal for my own good lol.

~> Do you use only new Pokemon or do you have old favorites which always get a spot on your teams?
Newer gens make me wanna try out new mons for sure~ But tbh if Zubat's easily available, you know it's going to my party lol.

~> Do you pay attention to the different types on your team?
I do! I try to make sure I don't have any repeating types, and prioritize mons with dual typings over singular.

~> Do you look at the natures/abilities/etc. of your in-game team or do you just catch the first of whichever species of Pokemon you want to use?
Tbh I'm way too lazy to catch mons with their proper natures/best abilities. It'd be great if there was a mechanic where that was revealed while it's still a wild encounter. Until then, I PKHex lmao.

~> Do you pay attention to the aesthetics of your team?
Oh nah. I only pay attention to the individual aesthetic of each mon. I've yet to do at themed run.

 

[Duck]

~> Do you plan beforehand or just catch as you go?
I mostly do challenges nowadays, which means that more often than not, I plan my team ahead of time.
I only end up catching as I go along when doing a game for the first time or when doing a challenge where planning isn't really possible or productive.

~> Do you stick to one solid team of 6 or do you swap Pokemon around depending on the next gym/boss battle?
I only really use 6 Pokémon in newer titles and even then I only really feel like in Sword and Shield, which makes levelling a lot easier via Exp Candies.
Most of the time I stick with a team of 2 or 3, 4 if I absolutely have to.

~> Do you use only new Pokemon or do you have old favorites which always get a spot on your teams?
I try to favor new Pokémon whenever possible.

~> Do you pay attention to the different types on your team?
I try to avoid it, or to get as close to balance as possible (in e.g., a monotype I'll try to get second type variety), but it's not of great concern.

~> Do you look at the natures/abilities/etc. of your in-game team or do you just catch the first of whichever species of Pokemon you want to use?
I only really look at abilities when one is very much better than the other (e.g.: Water Absorb vs. Illuminate or Huge Power vs. Thick Fat), for most mons I don't really care that much.
I mostly don't care about Natures since they don't really matter for in-game.

~> Do you pay attention to the aesthetics of your team?
To the team as a whole, not really, but I do pay attention to specific Pokémon. I try to use Pokémon whose design I like - as opposed to something that's very good but whose design I don't care for.

 

[Sheep]

~> Do you plan beforehand or just catch as you go?
I'm a mix! Sometimes there are Pokémon I know I want to use, but it's often not enough to have an entire team of 6 planned. I enjoy this method and personally wouldn't want to plan out my full team early - picking out Pokémon last minute, sometimes when I've just encountered them in the wild, has been a lot of fun.

~> Do you stick to one solid team of 6 or do you swap Pokemon around depending on the next gym/boss battle?
Usually no more than 6. This might change though. With the Exp. Share now forced on I find myself overleveling in games like DBSP. More teams would help spread that experience around a bit better without making the game insanely easy. Training a group of 12-24 does seem like fun with this setup!

~> Do you use only new Pokemon or do you have old favorites which always get a spot on your teams?
Been trying to go with new lately, but some old favorites do sneak in sometimes. It's just hard to let go of the ones I really love. <3

~> Do you pay attention to the different types on your team?
Yeah! I try not to have too many overlapping types, or too many with the same weaknesses. But I focus a little less on this than other things.

~> Do you look at the natures/abilities/etc. of your in-game team or do you just catch the first of whichever species of Pokemon you want to use?
For story mode playthroughs, I usually don't check unless it's things I really want to avoid (Hustle and Rivarly being notable examples). But when it comes to the post-game and having things to do, you bet I will try to breed Pokémon with optimal natures/abilities/IVs etc. Adds more content to the game for me. 👍

~> Do you pay attention to the aesthetics of your team?
tbh yes!! If I'm just doing a challenge run for fun then less so, but overall looks can be pretty important for me in which Pokémon I end up focusing on. This matters less during story runs of games as well, but when it comes to the post game I work on things I like the look of - it becomes quite important at that point. I tend to favor pastel/cute/fluffy mons more than others in the long run.

 

[d4rk]

As far as it goes I almost never plan ahead, except maybe when I am doing a challenge.

I just catch mons as I roam the map and try to put them up to speed with my team (sometimes it's rough, sometimes it completely fails and I end up boxing it).

I try to keep a steady 6 reliable mons... But in the end, if I come accross a better option, short or long term, I do the swap.

Generally especially nowadays I'm trying to use Pokémon I had less affinity with in the past, which gives interesting team compos.

I pay detailed attention to types and make simulations on the internet to know if I have a fatal weakness in my team. It doesn't happen too much now because I got OK-ish at calculating them myself.

I don't look at the natures and abilities because I don't want my in-game team-building to be a chore. So I just catch the species.

Aesthetics don't matter but lately I have this edgy idea that I shouldn't use starters because starters are too OP.

 

[agravedigger]

I essentially build around the starter in terms of fire/water. if I'm playing a new game blind, I catch the ones I like as I go. if it's an older game, I usually have a vague idea about where I can find mons I like and then build around them while keeping types in mind.

 

[Elite Overlord LeSabre™]

~> Do you plan beforehand or just catch as you go? Plenty of planning goes into my team beforehand. I hate going in blind.

~> Do you stick to one solid team of 6 or do you swap Pokemon around depending on the next gym/boss battle? I have a core team of 6 but I will swap out in certain situations, i.e., using one Pokemon long enough to evolve it or carrying one weaker Pokemon to catch wild ones without OHKOing them; usually I'll do this before I have my full team of six assembled.

~> Do you use only new Pokemon or do you have old favorites which always get a spot on your teams? Flygon, Electrode, and Persian get spots automatically if they're in the game. Otherwise, it's the starter and some combo of new and old Pokemon.

~> Do you pay attention to the different types on your team? Yes, Water, Electric, and Ground must be covered, I don't like having overlapping types, and I try to make sure too many aren't weak to the same type. Also my teams must include at least one cat Pokemon, Persian being my first choice as evidenced by my last answer. Yes, this has meant I've had to suffer with Delcatty on at least a couple of occasions.

~> Do you look at the natures/abilities/etc. of your in-game team or do you just catch the first of whichever species of Pokemon you want to use? Yes, I don't always demand Adamant/Modest or Jolly/Timid, but I like to get a nature that boosts their respective Attack stat. At the very least, I don't want a nature that hinders it.

~> Do you pay attention to the aesthetics of your team? I don't train ugly Pokemon, other than that there's no cohesive look to my party members.

 

[Fairy]

I just catch one of everything, raise everything I catch, and eventually end up with Fairy mono. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

 

[AquaNinja99]

~> Do you plan beforehand or just catch as you go? | Well it's mostly planning before hand though I have some favorites that appeared in a team because I didn't knew they existed and they fit my team well so yea.
~> Do you stick to one solid team of 6 or do you swap Pokemon around depending on the next gym/boss battle? | I usually only stick to 6 planned 'mons, and I don't really catch anything spontaneously.
~> Do you use only new Pokemon or do you have old favorites which always get a spot on your teams? | I don't care much if I used it a lot or never used it.
~> Do you pay attention to the different types on your team? | YES. 9999% yes. It's the reason why I plan teams in the first place as I want a diverse team with diverse types and type coverage to hit about every Pokémon for super effective.
~> Do you look at the natures/abilities/etc. of your in-game team or do you just catch the first of whichever species of Pokemon you want to use? | Most of the time yes.
~> Do you pay attention to the aesthetics of your team? Not really, though sometimes I get strange coincidences for aesthetics.

 

[Beheaded Cow]

Find six Wobbuffets, catch them, then beat everyone.

 

[Orion☆]

~> Do you plan beforehand or just catch as you go?
I catch them as I go depending on whether I like them enough to guarantee them a spot in my team. Even when I need coverage for a specific type, I usually go for an available Pokémon of that type that I like best.

~> Do you stick to one solid team of 6 or do you swap Pokemon around depending on the next gym/boss battle?
I usually stick to a team of six and sometimes even less; I've beaten Crystal twice with a team of four. In Shield though, I did swap my Gigantamax-able Pikachu out for something more befitting for the late game - the part Ground-type Runerigus.

~> Do you use only new Pokemon or do you have old favorites which always get a spot on your teams?
It depends. I do have old favourites I have used more than once in my teams like Sigilyph, and ever since Mimikyu debuted, it has always had a spot in my team in every game in which it's available. Otherwise, I try to use Pokémon I haven't used before unless the situation calls for it (e.g. gift Pokémon like in X/Y; I had already used Lucario as an ancillary member in Platinum and as a main team member Black 2, but did so again because I couldn't bear to leave Korrina's Lucario in a box.) If this question refers to new Pokémon within a generation, it also depends on what point in the game it's available. If it's onlly available late-game, I usually go for an old favourite instead.

~> Do you pay attention to the different types on your team?
Yes, for the most part. Ironically, I've repeated types in almost every team despite my best efforts. In Y, however, I managed to avoid this from happening twice in a team, albeit unconsciously. I was already repeating Steel with Lucario and Aegislash, and had Braixen and Sigilyph in my team; however, I strongly dislike Delphox, so I Everstone'd my Braixen and didn't repeat Psychic.

(This, of course, doesn't count the one time I did a Monotype run, in which case I had to mind types secondary to my speciality. Fortunately, I didn't repeat any types other than Ghost in that one.)

~> Do you look at the natures/abilities/etc. of your in-game team or do you just catch the first of whichever species of Pokemon you want to use?
Depends. It's usually better if I can catch a Pokémon with a beneficial nature or Ability (e.g. Sigilyph with Magic Guard), but if it's a rare Pokémon that I really want in my team, I don't mind as long as I have that Pokémon.

~> Do you pay attention to the aesthetics of your team?
Nah. Now that you ask though, I do want to exploit a theme other than type for my next themed run.