The PMT 'Dex: Introduction, Overview and Focus
o hai thar!
Welcome to the kickoff of the Pimp My Team 'Dex Project, where we'll attempt to build a database of Pokémon movesets geared towards Wi-Fi players and those who don't necessarily play hard and fast by the tier listings that are provided by Smogon or other sites that are based more off Shoddy Battle or other online simulators. In the spirit of the mission statement of this community, that we help people win with their favorites, these movesets will be geared towards a game featuring not just the OU standards but other offbeat critters seen in Wi-Fi battle very often, like your general Poliwraths, Arcanines, Johto starters etc.
Before we get started though, we need to have a plan, a sort of focus to get started. Wi-Fi battling is so varied and diverse. It's not nearly as centralized the battling communities that the other sites are based-upon. The best thing to do would be to base it off what our partner battling community, pokewifitourney, would require and use. The problem there is that PWT doesn't carry the same standard rules for each tournament.
So, there are a few things we need to decide before we start putting this together. Here's the handy bullet list:
- What tier list are we going to use, if any?
- What clauses should we consider to be standard for Wi-Fi battling purposes?
- What NFEs are we going to include on the list?
- Who is going to decide what movesets are included in the list (other than myself, of course)?
And now, after the jump, each bullet point more in-depth:
- What tier list are we going to use, if any?
Well, the easy answer would be just use Smogon's, but at the same time, I've found that there's more than a few Wi-Fi users who scoff at their tier listing, if only because they don't think Garchomp should be 00ber.
There are options here, but the question we have to ask is, do we even need a tier system? I admit, there's gotta be something satisfying about taking down someone's Lugia or Palkia with, say, Electrode or Kingdra, and Rain Dance/Sunny Day teams would be a lot easier to construct with unlimited access to Kyogre and Groudon, respectively. The flip-side to that is that people would then be tempted to run teams with all 00bers and they'd be unstoppable, regardless of skill level. I do think a tier system needs to be in place for that reason.
But what tier system should we use? Should it be Smogon's, verbatim? The plus to this option would be that it's ready made and involves no work on our end. While that sounds tempting, it's also not going to be a list that's representative of our habits. For one, a lot of critters are used there based on their utilization of Hidden Powers that they can program themselves in Shoddy. While IVs and HP types/power can be manipulated on the DS game using AR or another cheat device, some people are plain opposed to that kind of hacking, while others just don't have access to it. Access to HP can make or break a critter's usefulness according to that tier listing, and it may not be reflective of its usefulness in the Wi-Fi environment.
Should we use our own usage-based system, which could be very hard to tabulate, seeing that tournaments at PWT aren't always OU-styled and often have themes? This might be the most ideal way of doing things, but it'd be almost impossible to tabulate.
Finally, should we tabulate our own tier list based on something other than usage, like a combination of base stats, movepool or ability? This would involve a lot of theorymoning that may or may not be true in real life, but it might just be the best realistic option. We do have some of the best and brightest minds outside of the Smogon/Serebii community and some who actually do post there and are respected there.
- What clauses should we consider to be standard for Wi-Fi battling purposes?
This is probably the most important thing to consider when deciding a direction for this 'Dex. The Clauses in play will ultimately decide what moves and items we can allow when we finalize each moveset.
The list of clauses is long: Sleep Clause, OHKO Clause, Evasion Clause, HaxItem Clause, Legal Clause, Freeze Clause, 00ber Clause, Focus Sash/Choice Clause, Item Clause, Self KO Clause, Species Clause
The inclusion of what clauses we end up deeming as "standard" will have a great effect of how the movesets are going to be posted. Personally, I only have use for Sleep, Legal, Uber and Self KO Clauses, but I have a feeling this could get a bit heated...
- What NFEs are we going to include on the list?
Scyther, Pikachu, Clamperl and Trapinch are no-brainers, but are there really any other NFEs that we can go with? I know it's tempting to include Dragonair/Shelgon, Murkrow, Magmar et al. because of faster speeds or better typings, but would it be worth it? How about Hippopotas or Snover being allowed in UU (current rules "over there" ban them from UU because their evolutions are OU/BL... that would be a debate for the clause section though)? If we can get a compelling enough moveset though, we can include them.
- Who is going to decide what movesets are included in the list (other than myself, of course)?
Anyone who wants to and isn't a total n00b to competitive battling. Of course, cactuarjoe and profhydron are more than welcome to give the final say since they're both well-versed in this thing.
So, once again, welcome to the project. Hopefully, this 'Dex will be a successful one, and we can provide a complete repository for the Wi-Fi battler who wants to go into battle with their team and doesn't care what tier it is.
Welcome to the kickoff of the Pimp My Team 'Dex Project, where we'll attempt to build a database of Pokémon movesets geared towards Wi-Fi players and those who don't necessarily play hard and fast by the tier listings that are provided by Smogon or other sites that are based more off Shoddy Battle or other online simulators. In the spirit of the mission statement of this community, that we help people win with their favorites, these movesets will be geared towards a game featuring not just the OU standards but other offbeat critters seen in Wi-Fi battle very often, like your general Poliwraths, Arcanines, Johto starters etc.
Before we get started though, we need to have a plan, a sort of focus to get started. Wi-Fi battling is so varied and diverse. It's not nearly as centralized the battling communities that the other sites are based-upon. The best thing to do would be to base it off what our partner battling community, pokewifitourney, would require and use. The problem there is that PWT doesn't carry the same standard rules for each tournament.
So, there are a few things we need to decide before we start putting this together. Here's the handy bullet list:
- What tier list are we going to use, if any?
- What clauses should we consider to be standard for Wi-Fi battling purposes?
- What NFEs are we going to include on the list?
- Who is going to decide what movesets are included in the list (other than myself, of course)?
And now, after the jump, each bullet point more in-depth:
- What tier list are we going to use, if any?
Well, the easy answer would be just use Smogon's, but at the same time, I've found that there's more than a few Wi-Fi users who scoff at their tier listing, if only because they don't think Garchomp should be 00ber.
There are options here, but the question we have to ask is, do we even need a tier system? I admit, there's gotta be something satisfying about taking down someone's Lugia or Palkia with, say, Electrode or Kingdra, and Rain Dance/Sunny Day teams would be a lot easier to construct with unlimited access to Kyogre and Groudon, respectively. The flip-side to that is that people would then be tempted to run teams with all 00bers and they'd be unstoppable, regardless of skill level. I do think a tier system needs to be in place for that reason.
But what tier system should we use? Should it be Smogon's, verbatim? The plus to this option would be that it's ready made and involves no work on our end. While that sounds tempting, it's also not going to be a list that's representative of our habits. For one, a lot of critters are used there based on their utilization of Hidden Powers that they can program themselves in Shoddy. While IVs and HP types/power can be manipulated on the DS game using AR or another cheat device, some people are plain opposed to that kind of hacking, while others just don't have access to it. Access to HP can make or break a critter's usefulness according to that tier listing, and it may not be reflective of its usefulness in the Wi-Fi environment.
Should we use our own usage-based system, which could be very hard to tabulate, seeing that tournaments at PWT aren't always OU-styled and often have themes? This might be the most ideal way of doing things, but it'd be almost impossible to tabulate.
Finally, should we tabulate our own tier list based on something other than usage, like a combination of base stats, movepool or ability? This would involve a lot of theorymoning that may or may not be true in real life, but it might just be the best realistic option. We do have some of the best and brightest minds outside of the Smogon/Serebii community and some who actually do post there and are respected there.
- What clauses should we consider to be standard for Wi-Fi battling purposes?
This is probably the most important thing to consider when deciding a direction for this 'Dex. The Clauses in play will ultimately decide what moves and items we can allow when we finalize each moveset.
The list of clauses is long: Sleep Clause, OHKO Clause, Evasion Clause, HaxItem Clause, Legal Clause, Freeze Clause, 00ber Clause, Focus Sash/Choice Clause, Item Clause, Self KO Clause, Species Clause
The inclusion of what clauses we end up deeming as "standard" will have a great effect of how the movesets are going to be posted. Personally, I only have use for Sleep, Legal, Uber and Self KO Clauses, but I have a feeling this could get a bit heated...
- What NFEs are we going to include on the list?
Scyther, Pikachu, Clamperl and Trapinch are no-brainers, but are there really any other NFEs that we can go with? I know it's tempting to include Dragonair/Shelgon, Murkrow, Magmar et al. because of faster speeds or better typings, but would it be worth it? How about Hippopotas or Snover being allowed in UU (current rules "over there" ban them from UU because their evolutions are OU/BL... that would be a debate for the clause section though)? If we can get a compelling enough moveset though, we can include them.
- Who is going to decide what movesets are included in the list (other than myself, of course)?
Anyone who wants to and isn't a total n00b to competitive battling. Of course, cactuarjoe and profhydron are more than welcome to give the final say since they're both well-versed in this thing.
So, once again, welcome to the project. Hopefully, this 'Dex will be a successful one, and we can provide a complete repository for the Wi-Fi battler who wants to go into battle with their team and doesn't care what tier it is.