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Your Pokemon Traditions


Venonaut97

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In every game we capture Pokemon, fight the evil team, and become the champion. While many other Pokemon fans play through the exact same game as you, what sets your experience apart are your choices. What Pokemon you use, what strategies you use, and what habits and traditions you follow are what make your playthrough unique. Much time has been dedicated to discussing Pokemon and how to use them, but there isn't nearly as much talk about people's Pokemon traditions.

 

What I mean when I talk about Pokemon traditions, are that traditions are things that you have consistently chosen to do or not to do in your playthroughs. This can include things like never using fully evolved Pokemon, never using items, ect. Keep this in mind when posting your traditions, as I don't want to hear about that one time you did a Nuzlocke run, unless you have consistently chosen to do Nuzlocke runs.

 

edit: While always using a certain Pokemon is a tradition, this isn't really the kind of thing this topic was meant for. Saying things like "I only use [insert type] Pokemon" or "I only use Pokemon I haven't used before" are fine, as they don't boil down to "this is one of my favorite Pokemon, therefore I always use it."  In other words, I don't want another "these are my favorite Pokemon" topic chain.

Edited by Venonaut97
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Whenever I play a pokémon game that has Ningale in it, I always get a Shedinja. Always try to train it. Always realize it's too much of a hassle to work with and ditch it into my PC. I mean, I like the spoopy little buggo. I'm always willing to give it a chance. But I always end up finding that I'm just not having much fun trying to use it on an actual journey. Poor Shedinja :( 

 

Other than that I have a few mons that I've consistently been using, just because I like them: Clawitzer, Crobat, Nidoking... and almost always an eeveelution, although not always the same.

 

I also buy more healing stuff than I'm gonna use, but I bet many people do that =p

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My traditions in Reborn and in the canon games are:

a. No crossbreeding (This blurs the line between individual species based on movepools)

b. Never use legendaries for competitive/serious battles (Essentially I occasionally use legendaries against wild Pokemon post-game)

c. Pokemon "inherit" the names of their counterparts from previous playthroughs/games

d. Only use male Pokemon, except for all female species (All of my friends are guys, and I wanted to mirror that in Pokemon)

e. No fairy types (Mostly because I don't like a lot of the fairy types, and partially because I feel that their typing is OP)

f. Only use normal Pokeballs (Reborn kinda forced me to not follow this one)

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For each new gen:

Taking the starter that has the better design (in my opinion).

Training only new gen Pokemon. If there arent that many (like in X/Y), then I take older gens too, but only those that will fit in typing. 

I like Psychic types, so I almost always consider to have one in my team. 

 

For repeating runs:

Build a solid team of Pokemon that I do not use that often. 

I still end up using a Psychic type every time :).

 

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I don't really remember my old habits from Gen 1 to Gen 3,  aside from never using healing items ever (......the mysteries of youth) and never using a Legendary on my main team.    

 

When I restarted playing Pokemon a few years ago (after X/Y came out, I went back and played B/W on emulator to start), I developed a few new ones when playing rom hacks and fan games:

 

 

1) Use new Pokemon I haven't used in previous new runs (two exceptions are Gardvoir, of course, and Loppuny--in games that feature Megas, such as Gaia, Reborn, and Rejuv)

 

2) Don't use Legendary/Mythicals on my main team (though I couldn't resist the early game Victini in Blaze Black 2, even if it was rarely used)

 

3) If available, play on hardest difficulty

 

4) Have a rotation of at least 10 mons (started in B/W, though Reborn and Rejuv had me expand that number)

 

5) Explore all of an area possible before moving on ("That world ending disaster isn't going anywhere.  Let me finish exploring this cave")

 

 

5.5)  While not a rule, I have noticed I prefer using Pokemon that evolve.  I have broke this trend more, since it limits my options on mons I want to use

Edited by seki108
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The two most consistent things I do in a Pokemon Game, be it fan or official, are...

 

-Give my Pokemon unique names, personalities, and backstories. This is just to add more spice to the game, and make battles a bit more intense.

-Only use Pokeballs. Yes, that includes catching Beldum in Reborn. Unless the Pokeball looks cool and is supposed to be used on a specific Pokemon (i.e. Beast Balls) I always stick to the classic. Probably because that's what Ash did for the majority of the anime, which is where I got the inspiration to add the aforementioned personalities and backstories. Plus Ultra Balls look super ugly.

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1 minute ago, Combat said:

-Only use Pokeballs. Yes, that includes catching Beldum in Reborn. Unless the Pokeball looks cool and is supposed to be used on a specific Pokemon (i.e. Beast Balls) I always stick to the classic.

I commend you for your dedication to this tradition. The main reason I didn't do this in reborn are shiny Pokemon, which are too valuable in my opinion to lose due to tradition. Btw, I'm not saying you're wrong, I'm just pointing out how you're the better man for not caving in for things like shinies as I do.

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For the official games:

1. Choose the water type starter on first playthroughs, just because I find them the most balanced.

2. Grind a bunch in the first patch of grass.

3. Only train permanent team members. 

 

In fangames I still prefer to have one main team without any rotations, so if I replace a team member they're permanently dropped.

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Regardless of the what Pokemon game I'm playing, I always set battle mode to set to be fair, and I almost never put exp share on my mons unless its very low level i.e newly hatched mons and I usually have a gengar or toxicroak in my team, I don't know why these guys just seem to always end up in my party in one way or another, I guess I just love poison type and I don't know it yet lol

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There are few traditions I have when playing pokemon:

1. The first and probably the must thing I do is to even the level no matter what

2. Nickname the pokemon that would be part of my team

3. Must have the Fire-Grass-Water team core (unless the game lacking a good Fire/grass/water pokemon, power and design wise)

4. the pokemon that would be part of my team must be put in a normal pokeball... yes even the one who have low catch rate looking at you, Beldum

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I have only started playing pokemon about a year ago.The traditions in my case are:

1.Always use a fire type starter.

2.Never have a team of more than 8 pokemons.Even then 8 pokemons are rare for me.

3.A flying type pokemon is a must in my team.

4.Always use a pokemon with double typing.Never kept a pokemon with single typing.

5.Always explore all areas  multiple times after getting the necessary HMs(including the route 1 puzzle) and do all sidequests.

6.Never use or catch a pokemon that doesn't evolve.It's design feels incomplete.Only exception is lunatune.

7.A strange thing I notice in my teams,usually 3 pokemons of my team are physical attackers and other 3 are special attackers.

8.Last thing,always read the pokedex entries because they are always interesting and fun.

 

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1. When starting a new gen, I always seem to pick the water starter first (only exception being I picked Charmander first, and now my favorite is Bulbasaur) 

 

2. Connected to the above, I usually end up with a least 2 Water types in my squad, 1 physical and 1 special. In the past it helped with the numerous water HMs, but I also like their performance. Solid in both offense and defense, and many have tanky stats which fit my preferred fighting style. 

 

3. Whenever possible I always train a Magnemite, it's been a personal favorite since the beginning 

 

4. I'm not a huge fan of the Flying type, so any non-Flying mon that still can learn Fly is sure to make my team at least once

 

5. I always try to have a Steel, Ghost, and Psychic. If I can fit all 3 in the final team it feels like a success

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Let's see... 

 

1. Always giving my teammates nicknames and personalities based on their Natures and IV quirk thingy.

2. Avoiding having my team be all of one gender. It just feels weird. 

3. Never releasing Pokémon. I did so once and felt so horrible... 

4. Trying to work an Eeveelution into my team whenever possible. Doesn't really matter which, as long as there's one. 

5. Avoiding type overlaps. It just bugs me for some reason, so I try and minimize this from happening. 

6. Planning my team ahead of time (although far less so with fangames). 

7. Trying to avoid having a Pokémon faint. In the main series, I'll even "rescue" a Pokémon that's about to faint, even if it puts me at a disadvantage. Harder fangames are far less forgiving, so I don't rescue as much, but I still feel bad when a teammate goes down. 

 

I'm less "I MUST FOLLOW DESE RULEZ ALWAYZ" and often just try and follow these points. Except for the the first, third, fourth, and last; I'm very adamant about those. 

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I guess I have a few other "rules" that I didn't think of at first.

 

1. No Water type starter. Ever. Fire is great. Grass is awesome. But no Water pls.

2. Trying to keep balance between genders on my team. 3-3 is ideal, 4-2 is good too, 5-1 feels weird and 6-0 is a big no-no.

3. Always keeping my starter with me. It's my starter, I just won't ditch it into a PC box.

4. All the pokémon I use in my main team must, if possible, have at most 1 level of difference between them.

5. My starter levels up first, then the other mons on my team, in order from the one with the lowest HP to the one with the highest HP.

 

That's all I can remember for now.

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That's an interesting topic! I hadn't thought too much about it up till now but I certainly repeat some things in numerous playthroughs I do!

1. At the start of the game I mainly use Pokeballs and when I buy them, I buy 10 of them in order to get a free premier ball.

2. I rarely buy medicine Items, I prefer traveling back to the Poke Center to heal rather than using medicine.

3. Before every boss battle, or when I have a feeling that a rival will emerge from somewhere and challenge me while I am not a t full strength, I save the game.

4. When I have enough money to spend, I buy super repels because they do a better job than max repels cost-wise.

5. When I lose a boss battle, I usually restart the game ... I know I am a sore loser but I can't help it.

6. I usually prefer to have as many types of pokemon as possible in my party so that I can deal with anything the opponent throws at me.

7. All of my pokemon in my party must be the same level! (they can have a difference of 2 levels maximum)

8. In most cases, when I have 6 pokemon in my party, I will finish the game with these 6 pokemon.

9. I always search for hidden items in places that seem suspicious.

10. Although I get the item finder, I never use it. I rely on institution to find the hidden items.

 

These are the "traditions" I follow in my playthroughs that I can think of now. I bet that there must be more but I can't recall right now!

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  • 1 month later...

Starting since gen 4, before starting a new Pokemon game/generation, I breed every member of my team and send the babies into the new game at the earliest opportunity so I can always play with my favorites from the get go without them being overpowered from a previous title and to keep the earlier version of that team in that game in case I want to come back and do the endgame battle facilities again. I do change the team however if I find a new favorite pokemon.

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  • 4 weeks later...

Great Topic! I haven't done a playthrough on an original game in a while, but here are a few things that I remember off the top of my head:

  • Pokeballs only. I don't care if it's legendary or shiny, it's going into that red and white ball or it's getting released / soft reset.
  • Always Feraligatr. Always.
  • I can't be bothered to check for IVs unless the game provides them directly (TY Reborn) or if they are clearly distinguishable between two separate pokemon, but I will keep catching until I get my adamant natures all loaded up.
  • All boy teams. At first this was because I heard a rumor somewhere that male pokemon had higher attack stats on average, and female pokemon had higher HP, but I just stuck with it since then cause I liked having 6 blue marks on my team setup. Sorry, I just don't like pink.
  • If I like it, it's going to get a nickname that makes a pun off of the original name or appearence/design in general. For example, the Noivern line will forever be named "CrankItTo11" or some dubstep song, and the Politoad line will make some "Make it Rain" joke.
  • Items are to be hoarded until a random encounter with some NPC that catches me in bad luck, then all boosts and potions will be used.
  • If it even slightly resembles a lizard or a hawk, it's going to be on my team. Anything that looks cooler then average gets caught and utilized, stats and functions will be ignored for appearance alone.
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It's pretty interesting reading about everyone's traditions, so here are a few of my own :)

 

- Anytime I play through a gen 1 game or it's re-makes I make sure to train up a Butterfree to beat Brock with. That's how I beat him when I first played through Yellow, and that's how I've beaten him every time since!

- I always save my PP restoring items for the Elite Four (even though I usually don't use them then anyway...)

- The Master Ball is always used on the cover Legendary. Even if there's a better use for it somewhere else, such as a roaming legendary, it's just my gut instinct to throw it at the game's mascot. I've only ever broken this rule once or twice.

- I always buy the Magikarp from the salesman in front of Mt. Moon and evolve it. Even if I don't plan on using it, this is just something that has to be done.

- My starter always has to be female. I started doing this back in gen 3 because I wanted to be able to breed my Mudkip (I didn't know you could just use Ditto to breed males) but nowadays it's just tradition. The only exceptions have been my most recent Sun playthrough and if I'm doing a Nuzlocke.

- I also make sure to catch a Pikachu whenever they're available, even if I never use it in battle. Pikachu's my favorite Pokemon, so I make an effort to have one around!

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I guess some of my traditions are:

- Always choose the "cute" looking pokemon (sorry for being so superficial lol)

- Following from above, I also match gender with looks (sorry again for being sexist)

- I capture my favorite pokemon in either a premier ball or love ball

- I reorder my moves starting from top left - attacking moves first and status moves last

- Name themes for my team, always. For example, flower names, names of my favorite characters, constellation names, etc

That's what I can recall right now :P

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- Always use my real name for my character's name, because it feels weird giving it another name;

- Almost never give my Pokemon nicknames - I have trouble thinking of nicknames, and when I do, I always regret the nickname I pick. Also, with the exception of fangames, no oponent gives its Pokemon nicknames, so I think it doesn't fit for the player character to give its Pokemon nicknames

- Save for Charizard, I never pick the Fire starter, at least not in my first playthrough of the game. The only Fire starters I actually like are Charizard and Blaziken, and I tend to pick Sceptile in the Hoenn games.

- Always have one Pokemon on the team whose sole purpose is to give max coverage as possible (things like Nidoquee/Nidoking, Goodra, Lucario, etc, who have good coverage in their movepool)

- I have just recently noticed this, but in most games, whenever I need a Psychic type, I always go for Gardevoir

- Whenever I have a Water type on my team, it's almost always a Specially-based one (because you always have to use Surf in these games)

- I don't always do that, but in most important Boss fights, I try to beat the Boss's Ace Pokemon with my own Ace (usually, my starter)

- I ALWAYS overlevel my Pokemon. It bothers me when I see other trainers in the area have Pokemon at a higher level than mine.

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  • 2 weeks later...

If it's available, I always opt for a female Gardevoir as early as possible.

I usually limit myself to Pokemon I think are cute/pretty/beautiful. Also, all pokemon I train must be female.

In fangames, I try to get Optimal IVs and EVs as soon as breeding becomes reasonable. (As soon as I have a ditto and either a destiny knot or the power items)

I only catch shinies if they actually make the pokemon better aesthetically. Otherwise, I don't bother catching them.

Rare candies are used as I get them.

Always have a large amount of the strongest repel I have.
I don't use HM slaves, so I get weird movesets in older generations. Thankfully averted here.

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man, some of these are really interesting to read about lol

 

mine are:

1. every pokemon must have a nickname. even if I don't use them, if it's in a box/my party it has a name

2. every pokemon has to evolve at the same time. idk why, but it's always been a pet peeve of mine to have one completely unevolved pokemon in my main team when the rest already have evolved. this way, it feels like they grow together

3. at the beginning of the game, the first pokemon I encounter is the first one I catch, and it has to stay on my team.

4. only use berries for healing. when I was a kid, I hated medicine, and I vowed to never make my pokemon have to use it either. that tradition kind of just stuck xD

 

and recently, though the feature seems too new to be considered a "tradition", but I make sure that every pokemon in my main six has five hearts in pokemon amie/refresh. 

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