POKEMON TRAINER'S GUIDE

Table of Contents

1. HMs are BAD
2. STAB
3. Defensive Moves
4. Move Variety
5. Pokemon Roles
6. EV Guide
7. Raising Pokemon
8. Catching Pokemon
9. Credits

1. HM's are BAD:

HMs on a Pokemon who you're going to use in battle is a BAD IDEA. With the exception of Surf, of course, which is arguably the best water attack in the game.

HM02 - Fly: Fly is terrible. When you fly into the air, you're giving your opponent a free chance to switch out with a Pokemon who is resistant to this attack. Not good. You've wasted a turn and probably ended up with your flying type pitted against a Rock or Electric type. Fly has questionable accuracy, too.
Alternatives: Aerial Ace, Air Cutter, Wing Attack

HM01 - Cut: The worst HM, possibly the worst MOVE in the game. I hate Cut, and YOU SHOULD TOO!! *lol* Anyway... Cut has terrible base power and terrible accuracy. There are TONS of normal type attacks that 0wn Cut any day.
Alternatives: Body Slam, Return, Tri-Attack

HM07 - Waterfall and HM08 - Dive: Uggh. Waterfall does less damage than Surf and has no effects other than damage. Nooo. Dive gives your opponent a chance to switch out to a grass, electric, or water type. Nooo.
Alternative: Surf

TM29 - Dig: Yaaay! Lets Dig so our Foe can switch out to a Flying type, or use Earthquake and own you! Hmm...no. Dig is bad. Either makes you vulnerable to one of the most powerful and accurate attacks in the game (Earthquake), or wastes a turn for you and lets you get set up against a type you can't beat.
Alternatives: Earthquake, or perhaps Mud Shot.

EXCEPTIONS: The only exptions for using HMs is if you're stalling with Dig/Fly/Dive. Perhaps you've used Toxic and Mean look, and you're just waiting for the poison to take effect, and you know that your opponent can't switch due to Mean Look or Block or some such attack. It's okay then, and only then.

2. STAB:

STAB means Same Type Attack Bonus. Pokemon that use the same type of attack that they themselves are (For example, a Blastoise using Surf) get a 1.5X damage multiplier for that attack. If you've heard that Normal type attacks don't get STAB, you've been lied to. That's just a rumor. In general, try to have STAB moves on your Pokemon.

The following is a list of the best kind of offensive moves for each type. Only the most common kinds of moves have been listed:

3. Defensive Moves:

Don't use a Pokemon that only knows moves that do damage. There are a few excpetions, some 00bers (Kyogre, Mewtwo) can get away with it, but for the most part this is a bad idea. If your opponent pulls off a few Double Teams, you're up the creek without a paddle. Or if your opponent uses say, Calm Mind or Bulk up, and all you can do is attack pitifully. You my dear, have been owned. So Pokemon should have support moves, like Calm Mind, Bulk Up, Roar, Whirlwind, Toxic, Thunder Wave, just to name a few.
Example Pokemon:
Ninetales
Flamethrower
Body Slam
Dig
Fire Blast

If you've been reading even semi-carefully, you know this moveset is BAD. A GOOD moveset would be:
Ninetales
Flamethrower
Will-O-Wisp
Confuse Ray
Safeguard

Hazers/Psuedohazers:
These Pokemon are Pokemon who directly or indirectly make the opponent lose all of the stat modifiers it has used, like Calm Mind, Amnesia, or Double Team. A hazer would simply be a Pokemon using Haze, which makes all stat changes disappear. A Pseudohaser is a move that indirectly makes these stat changes go away, like making them switch with Roar or Whirlwind. At least one Hazer/Psudohazer really should be on your team. There is also Perish Hazing, where by Perish Song is initiated to force a switch, but this is not commonly seen.

4. Move Variety:

Having more than one type of attack on the same Pokemon is not good. Not good at all. Rarely, if EVER, should you have a Pokemon that knows two attacking moves of the same type. Lets use Kyogre as an example.
Kyogre
Surf
Waterfall
Waterspout
Hydro Pump
How many types is this Pokemon strong against? Three.

Kyogre
Surf
Ice Beam
Thunder
Earthquake
How many types is this Pokemon strong against? Rock, Ground, Fire, Flying, Grass, Dragon, Water, Steel, Electric and Poison - ten types.

Nuff said, really.

5. Pokemon Roles:

See sN0wBaLL's Pokemon Roles guide

6. EV Guide:

EVs are points that a Pokemon generates when you defeat it. It is given to any Pokemon that participated in the battle involving the defeated Pokemon.

What do EVs do?
EVs are used to max out a certain stat of a specific Pokemon. They are very important in being able to decide what stats should be increased. Up to 63 extra points in a stat can be given through the use of EVs.

A Pokemon can receive up to 510 EV (also commonly known as EPs) points in total and 255 in one stat. However, the true limit to maxing a stat is 252 EV points. By maxing out two stat with 252 EV points, you will have 6 EV points left over to put in a stat.

For more information, go to Psypoke's EV guide

7. Raising Pokemon:

Pokemon isn't just about defeating the Elite Four and catching them all just to complete the game. It's also about raising your chosen team into a formidable fighting force. Whether it's for your own personal satisfaction or to fight your friends, you'll need to spend days, weeks and months to groom your team of Pokemon into champions.

1. What the Stats mean
This may be basic stuff, but it is nevertheless important that you understand the Stats.

Any two of a Pokemon may learn the same skills at the same level, but they will NEVER be identical. Two Zigzagoons, for example, will have different stats. One may have higher defense, while the other may have higher special attack. This is due to them having different IVs, or Individual Values. IVs are like built-in Pokemon genes - they determine how strong a certain Pokemon can be. Each Pokemon that you fight has a random DV for every stat, ranging from 0 - 31. If the Pokemon has 15 for a DV, then it can have the max possible stat for that species. Likewise, if it has a IV of 0, then it will have the lowest possible stat. For more information, see Psypoke's IV page.

In short, it may be good to catch a few of the same Pokemon, as some may be faster, some may be stronger, while some may just be weaker in all aspects. After doing so, you should compare the Stats to see if they are suitable. For example, for an Alakazam, a higher defense will barely matter at all since his defense is so weak anyway. Instead, go for one with good Special Attack or Speed, since they boost his astronomical Special Attack, making him an effective sweeper.

-- HP
This is the amount of damage your Pokemon can take before it faints. Obviously, the more the better, but don't overestimate its importance. For example, Chansey may have tons of HP, but with a dismally low Defense, many Pokemon can OHKO (one hit knock-out) her.

-- Attack
This Stat affects the amount of damage your Pokemon will do when using Physical attacks (ie, attacks that are type Normal, Fighting, Flying, Poison, Ground, Rock, Bug, Ghost and Steel). It DOES NOT affect the damage Special Attacks deal (ie Attack type Water, Fire, Electric, Grass, Psychic, Dark, Ice and Dragon), hence, if your Pokemon uses mainly those types of attacks, his Attack barely matters at all.

-- Defense
Usually more important than HP. Affects the amount of PHYSICAL damage your Pokemon can take, and not Special damage.

-- Speed
More important than most might think. With great speed, it doesn't matter even if a Pokemon has terrible Defense, since it can KO most foes before they get a hit in return.

-- Special Attack
Determines damage dealt to the opponent when using Special Attacks.

-- Special Defense
Affects the amount of Special damage your Pokemon can take.

2. Get them while they're young
When catching a Pokemon you intend to use in the long run, catch it at as low a level as possible. This is because wild Pokemon at a particular level will always have worse stats than another same Pokemon of the same level that is trained up from lower levels by fighting other Pokemon, due to the EVs (effort values) received from the Pokemon fought. For more information, visit the EV guide.

3. When to evolve?
Always remember that you can prevent a Pokemon from evolving by giving it an Everstone to hold, or hitting the B button when evolving. The only reasons you'll want to do this is to learn skills earlier. For example, a Mudkip will learn Protect at Level 37, while a Marshtomp wil only learn it at Level 42 and a Swampert will only learn it at Level 46. Do take note though, that certain Pokemon learn different skills or gain a new type upon evolution. For example, a Mudkip (Water type) will become a Water/Ground type when it evolves. By evolving, it would have lost the ability to learn certain skills (such as Hydro Pump at Level 42), but at the same time, gain the ability to learn other skills (such as Muddy Water and Earthquake at Level 37 and 46 respectively) So the next time your Pokemon is evolving, do consult the Psydex to see what attacks it will or will not learn after evolution.

4. Status Conditions
- Paralyse: Your opponent has a 25% chance of hitting. It also reduces their speed by 1/4.
- Sleep: Your opponent cannot attack until it wakes up. Snore and Sleep Talk may be used while you are asleep. Also, Nightmare and Dream Eater may be used on a Sleeping Pokemon.
- Poison: Your opponent loses 1/16 of its HP each turn. If the Pokemon is badly poisoned by Toxic, then the poison damage doubles each turn.
- Burn: Your opponent's defense and attack decrease, and they lose a little bit of HP each turn. Burn is very uncommon, and should not be counted on to hit.
- Freeze: Your opponent cannont attack until it thaws. However, Sunny Day and Flame Wheel can be used while frozen to thaw both Pokemon in play. Freeze is uncommon and should not be counted on to hit.
- Confusion: Your opponent has a 50% chance of attacking themselves with a base damage of 40 each turn, until the confusion wears off or is eliminated by switching the confused opponent. Confusion comes before paralysis if a Pokemon is parafused.
- Attraction: Your opponent has a 50% chance of not attacking. Attraction remains as long as both Pokemon are in play.

5. Picking skills
When picking moves for your Pokemon, always try to follow these pointers:
- Always have around 2 techniques that are capable of doing damage. For example, having Growl, Sweet Kiss, Attract and Thunder Wave on a Raichu may seem to be a great idea, but you don't even have the firepower to knock out the opponent later. Instead, give it Thunderbolt over Growl, so you can do damage.
- Check the amount of PP each skill has. Fire Blast may be powerful, but with a PP of only 5, it will be totally spent after 5 uses. Instead, replace it with Flamethrower for higher PP (though it has lower base power)

6. Using TMs and HMs
TMs, or Technical Machines, are certain items that can teach skills to your Pokemon. With exception to a few that can be purchase in the Lilycove Department Store and Mauville Game Corner, there exists only one copy of each TM in a game, so you'll want to consider carefully who to give it to.

Firstly, do not teach Pokemon attacks that they will learn anyway (at higher levels). Secondly, teach Special Attacks only to Pokemon with high Special Attack stats, and Physical Attacks only to Pokemon with high Attack stats. Otherwise, you'll only be wasting the TM on a Pokemon that can't exploit its full potential. And while its nice to teach, say, Thunderbolt to something like Linoone, there are other Electric types like Magneton that does not learn the attack. Since they get STAB (same type attack bonus, damage is boosted by 50%) for using this attack, this skill will be better spent on them.

If you do find yourself in a need of certain TMs that have already been used, fret not, because you can breed to get the moves onto another Pokemon. Many Pokemon learn TM moves by levelling up, and once they learn these skills, you can breed them to get the TM skills onto another Pokemon. Here's a list of some Pokemon who can learn TM moves and their egg groups. (Special thanks to poli for this list)

Rhyhorn/Rhydon (Ground/Monster): TM 26 - Earthquake
Sableye (Humanshape): TM 30 - Shadow Ball
Zigzagoon/Linoone (Ground) & Wailmer/Wailord (Ground/Water 1): TM 44 - Rest
Roselia (Plant/Fairy): TM 06 - Toxic and TM 19 - Giga Drain
Tropius (Monster/Ground): TM 22 - Solarbeam
Castform (Fairy/Indeterminate)/Seedot (Ground/Plant): TM 11 - Sunny Day
Castform (Fairy/Indeterminate)/Lotad (Plant/Water 1): TM 18 - Rain Dance

HMs are different in many ways. They can be used any number of times. Once learnt, the Pokemon can only forget it at the Move Deleter's House (In Lilycove City). This isn't so bad when the skill is good, such as Surf (arguably the best damage-dealing Water attack). However, HM skills such as Cut and Dive are bad.

8. Catching Pokemon:

How do I catch Latias and Latios?
Information on where and how to catch Latias and Latios, or any other legendary Pokemon, can be found on the Legendaries page. Some hints and tips:
- Use Wobbuffet or Wyanut as your first Pokemon. Wobbuffet and Wyanut's ability is Shadow Tag, which prevents the opponent from fleeing.
- A trick that seems to work is to use a Repel, and then hop around on an Acro Bike in a patch of grass until Latios or Latias show up. Some people claim that their catch rate is higher in certain areas, but I don't know how reliable that is.

Where can I get an Eon Ticket?
The Eon Ticket can only be acquired through a Nintendo event, there is no way to get the Eon Ticket in the game. In order to get the Eon Ticket you will require an E-Reader, because the Eon Ticket is scanned into the game via an E-Card. Currently, Eon Ticket E-cards are available on E-Bay, and other places on the internet.

Can I get the original RBY and GSC Pokemon in R/S?
Yes! With the introduction of FireRed, LeafGreen, Emerald and Pokemon Colosseum as well, you'll be able to obtain some of the original 251 like Mareep, Umbreon and Chansey.

How do I get Jirachi and Deoxys in R/S?
Jirachi could have been acquired by pre-ordering Pokemon Colosseum, I don't know if this is still valid, nor do I know if there will be any way to get him in the future. What's for sure, he can only be acquired from Nintendo. Deoxys can be found in both Fire Red and Leaf Green on one of the islands (the last one to be precise). For more information on Deoxys, check out the LGFR Walkthrough and find the section on Birth Island.

It's too hard to catch Groudon and Kyogre!
If at first you don't succeed, try and try again. Attempt to get them down to the lowest HP you can, preferrably 1 HP (with False Swipe), but a bit more than that won't hurt you.
A very important thing to do is to get them inflicted with a status aliment, like Sleep or Paralysis. Then, just chuck as many Ultra or Timer Balls as you can at it, and it'll eventually get caught. Don't get frustrated if it doesn't work at first - it might take 20 Ultra Balls until you catch it, maybe more.
And finally, there's always the option to use the all mighty Master Ball.

9. Credits:

- Nido for the master compilation.
- Tallest Los for the Basics of Team Building.
- World Order for the EV Guide.
- snowball for the Guide to Raising Pokemon.
- Trigun for some of the FAQs.