Prediction improvement

[WingedDragon]

So I have concluded that I have a major weakness in predicting my opponents moves and pokemon. Does anyone have tips on how I can improve?

 

[Pepperton]

really the best remedy to improve predicting is to play a LOT of pokemon, lmao. experience is key. the more battles you have, the more situations you'll become accustomed to, the more sets you'll become aware of, the list goes on. the metagame is constantly changing, it's its own creature, and trying to mechanically work on predicting is very difficult to do and not worth trying to figure out. simply get out there, battle as many people as you can, and you'll start to pick up on things. that's the best advice i can give.

 

[Mobile Tsk]

I agree that experience is key. You can definitely learn a lot about common strategies just by practicing. Keep in mind that your opponent will likely switch out frequently, and may also make moves under the assumption that you are going to switch out. It makes for a lot of mind games for sure. There are some ways to ease prediction a little. Volt Switch, U-Turn and Baton Pass all allow the user to switch out after an opponents switch had been revealed, though there are ways to combat this using entry hazards, ground types, rocky helmets, etc. Using a trapping Pokemon (though it's unclear if this will remain legal in OU) like Dugtrio also ensures that your opponent cannot switch; there are also trapping moves like Mean Look and Spirit Shackle. You can also try to use more "spammable" moves. For instance, Entei loves to spam Sacred Fire because common Rock and Water type switch ins hate being burned. Weavile can spam Knock Off so that physically bulky switch ins lose their items. Ultimately these are just a few forms of counter play that won't work on every team. The best thing to do is just to get practice so you can more reasonably predict your opponent's decisions.

 

[Nah]

Going to third the experience thing, since as you get more and more experienced you'll start to see the common patterns more and more, but one other thing you can do is to slow down and think.

 

[Somewhere_]

I would recommend recognizing the most important pokemon or pokemons on your opponent's team, which is usually the pokemon that walls or hits your team hard. Or a potential set-up mon that appears the team is built around. You know your opponent will most likely save this mon until mid-late game, so this reduces the amount of pokemon you have to predict.

Also know what sets are common on pokemon. If you know what their function is and their role in the opponent's team composition, you know what they may want to do with it.

Try and play safe in the beginning of the game to get a feel of the opponent's play style. Does he/she switch a lot? Does he/she predict a lot? Etc. This will help you figure out when your opponent will switch certain pokemon in.

Always think about the "obvious" play and use the former step to help solve this. Is your opponent a safe player or more aggressive? Will he/she predict the obvious play or go for the obvious play?

Really, it just boils down to practice and experience. It may also be helpful to watch YouTubers that record their competitive pokemon battling and analyze them either during or after the battle.

 

[Dragon]

Well, if you want my own way of thinking, from my own experience: Practice and experience aside, once you think you've gotten a good feel, I'd suggest to try and feel the end results, and look for the "least worst result".

So, let's say you're given a situation, and you can make one of two choices - you can either predict a switch, or stay in to deal damage, or set up utility of sorts.

Now think about what would happen if you guess wrong on both situations - your switched-in pokemon could faint, your current pokemon on the field could faint, or both could take heavy damage, or your opponent subbed in a pokemon that would put themselves in a better position. Prepare yourself on what you can do next from those situations.

Point is, you should be thinking two-three steps ahead too; if your predicting, there's always a chance where you would of guessed wrong, resulting in putting yourself in a bad spot; but, try and not put yourself in a ultimate-worse-case scenario in that regard. Basically, always have a Plan B.

 

[gimmepie]

I'm going to add that you should be weary of over-predicting. I'm really guilty of this myself where you see a potential counter and go "but what if they know I've seen such an obvious counter". So you then make the original move expecting them to think you won't make the obvious move, but then they go straight into the obvious counter anyway.

Definitely watch out for that because it's a great way to kill your momentum and your confidence.

 

[ETL.it]

Trying to get a feel for how your opponent is playing is a good way to figure out whether to pull the trigger on making a play. Aside from risk/reward, just recognizing your opponent's play style can be extremely useful.

Again, that just comes from playing a lot and experience.

 

[punkysaur]

First always try to play it simple.Many times predicting every move makes us cause unnecessary mistakes.If u realise ur opponent is hard predicting ur moves then try to think of ways u can get him in trouble.