How to Get Into Pokémon

Make a character. As Pokémon is a role-playing game, you will be allowed to choose a character. However, unlike most other games, Pokémon doesn't give you very many options at the start. At most, you'll be able to pick your gender and choose a name for your character with the later games having more starting characters than the older ones. Choosing your name is very important as it's going to be what the NPCs (non-player characters) call you and will also show up online. It is recommended to use your real first name or a simple nickname if you want to be more anonymous while online. Your Pokémon character doesn't have to be based on yourself but the closer you are to the character, the more immersed you'll feel and the more enjoyment you'll get out of the game.

Move around. Each game has its own tutorial and story that will teach you how to play the game, the older games use grid like movement while newer ones have more directions you can move in or even full 360 analog control. The game should do a good job at telling you which buttons do what and it's a great idea to get the hang of them as early as you can by interacting with the environment and talking to people.

Choose a starter. At some point, you will get to one of the most important decisions in the game - what starter do you choose? Every core Pokémon game has three starter Pokémon. There's a grass type, a fire type and a water type. If you're a new player, the best starter is the one that looks the most interesting or perhaps you love fire types and find grass and water to be less exciting. Each start Pokémon has different stats and final evolutions so if you really can't decide on which one looks the best, there are several other factors to consider. If you've decided that you prefer the types than the designs themselves, keep in mind that fire beats grass, grass beats water and water beats fire. You will most likely encounter an NPC using a starter that's effective or weak against yours and therefore you may base your choice on what you want to fight again.

• Bulbasaur / Charmander / Squirtle
• Chikorita / Cyndaquil / Totodile
• Treecko / Torchic / Mudkip
• Turtwig / Chimchar / Piplup
• Snivy / Tepig / Oshawott
• Chespin / Fennekin / Froakie
• Rowlet / Litten / Popplio
• Grookey / Scorbunny / Sobble

Battle! A key part of Pokémon is using your team to battle other trainers to see who is the strongest. Pokémon love to battle just as much as their trainers do so it's a great idea to learn how to make the most of it. Battles can be split into two different sections: wild encounters and trainer encounters. Wild Pokémon leap out at you when you walk in long grass and will want to battle you. In these types of battles, you can get stronger and even catch the Pokémon that has attacked you. In Trainer battles, they are usually a bit tougher and some trainers use more than one Pokémon on their team. They may even use Pokémon you've not seen before. Doing a lot of wild battles before talking to trainers can ensure your team is strong enough to win. Practice makes perfect and gives you both real experience and experience points.

Understand the types. Every Pokémon has one or two types. For example, Pikachu is an Electric type. Each type has weaknesses, resistances and sometimes immunity. Pikachu is weak to Ground type moves, meaning they take twice as much damage. They are resistant to Flying, Electric and Steel, meaning they take half damage. Pikachu is a good choice for any team as it only has one weakness but if you do encounter a Ground type, Pikachu will most likely be useless due to how Ground is immune to Electric. It is a great idea to have a wild variety of different types on your team. There are 18 types in Pokémon and learning all of their weaknesses and resistances can take a lot of getting used to. It is recommended to find a type chart which you can use as reference to work out what moves are good against certain types of Pokémon you'll meet. Here are all the types.

• Normal Type
• Grass Type
• Fire Type
• Water Type
• Flying Type
• Bug Type
• Dark Type
• Electric Type
• Ground Type
• Steel Type
• Psychic Type
• Poison Type
• Ice Type
• Fairy Type
• Ghost Type
• Dragon Type
• Rock Type
• Fighting Type

Learn the moves. There are three types of move. There are Physical Attacks, Special Attacks and Status Moves. Physical attacks compare a Pokémon's attack to the defender's defence. Special Attacks compare a Pokémon's special attack to the defender's special defence. Statuses inflict conditions and change the battlefield without doing any direct damage. Every move also has a type, just like Pokémon. A Pokémon may be a Normal type but with a Dark move. If the Pokémon shares the same type as the move, the move will have STAB or same type attack bonus. This means that the move will be 50% more effective. The moves you want your Pokémon to learn therefore depend on its type and stats but also on your playstyle and the role you want the Pokémon to perform in your team. Some Pokémon roles aren't needed anymore in the newer games but here is a small list of some common ones. You do not need to use these roles on your team nor is it recommended. The best thing is to pick the moves you'll use the most on your favourite Pokémon and get rid of the moves you personally think are bad.

• Physical Attacker
• Special Attacker
• Physical Tank
• Special Tank
• Status/Condition Inflicter
• HM Carrier

Find the Pokémon. You can find Pokémon by running around in tall grass or investigating strange areas such as shaking bushes and shadows. When you encounter a Pokémon, the music will change, and you will now be battling. If you'd like to catch the Pokémon then first you will have to get its HP down low, into the red section. Some Pokémon are easier to catch than others, but it is unlikely you will catch a Pokémon that is at full health. Once its HP is low, you can also cast a condition on it such as sleep or paralysis to help with catching it. The final thing to do is to choose a Pokéball to use. Each ball functions the same but gives higher or lower chances to catch the Pokémon depending on its type. A standard ball gives a 1x boost to catching the Pokémon while an ultra ball gives a 2x boost. Quick balls give a 5x boost but only work on the first turn. It is best to work out how likely it is to catch the Pokémon and use the ball that ensures a chance greater than 50%. It is also recommended that you use a Pokéball that looks similar to the Pokémon. In some games, you will be able to see the Pokéball as well as the Pokémon and it is more aesthetically pleasing to put a blue Pokémon in a blue ball or a green one in a green ball. It is up to you to decide which colour looks best.

Nickname the Pokémon! Once you have caught a Pokémon and put it in the Pokéball of your choosing, you will get to give it a nickname. You do not have to give it a nickname, but nicknames are great. If you choose a nickname, you will be increasing the bond you have with your Pokémon and will feel more immersed and moved by the game. It also makes that particular member of the species far more special than the default named ones. However, you can't change the nickname easily without speaking to a certain character in the game called a Name Rater. It may take several minutes or even an hour thinking of the perfect nickname for your favourite Pokémon, but it is highly worth it and can make or break the game for you. If you're really stuck on what to name it, you can ask a friend or change a couple of letters around. For example, you can name your Pikachu, Pika or Kachu, or name it something fun like Bolt or Mango.

Catch them all. A common goal and theme of Pokémon is the idea of catching them all - so why not start early? If you see a Pokémon that you've not encountered before, try to catch it before moving on to the next area. It will give your team experience, help fill up the pokédex and you may also find that this new pokémon you caught becomes one of your favourites. Pacing is a big part to play in the enjoyment of the Pokémon games and therefore you will need to consider it a lot. If you spend too much time catching Pokémon, you may find yourself becoming detached from the story while if you don't catch any at all, you may find it hard to beat the gym leaders and other strong trainers. In general, catch as many as you can until you keep seeing a lot of the same Pokémon and only then move on with the story.

Enjoy the story. Pokémon is very story-driven game and so if you're not reading all the dialogue or dislike your character, it will be very hard to enjoy unless you're really into catching and battling. The story should have been a key factor in deciding which game you should get as it is one of the main things that keeps a player levelling up their Pokémon. Some tips to make the story more exciting is to go into the options and set the text to slow. Slow speed allows you to take your time reading what the characters have to say; you won't accidentally skip their dialogue, nor will it go too fast to keep up.

Know about Exp Share. Exp Share is a common tool in the newer Pokémon games, but it also featured a bit in older ones. Exp Share allows you to give Exp to your leading Pokémon but also the other party members, even if they did not battle. In some games, Exp. Share can make the game too easy while in others, it makes the pacing of the game much more fluent and enjoyable. X and Y has a very controversial Exp Share while Sun and Moon's Exp Share is very fun to have on.

Follow walkthroughs. Since you have access to the internet, using a walkthrough that someone else has written may actually improve on your experience with the game. A problem in Pokémon games is that it does a good job teaching you the basics but doesn't talk about very advanced stuff at all, nor can it answer any questions you may have. Following a walkthrough can ensure you're pacing correctly through the game and can also help with any misconceptions. An example is, all your Pokémon are Level 10 and the next Gym is Level 13. If you don't use a walkthrough, you will battle the Gym and feel bad when you lose. However, using the walkthrough you can clearly tell that the Gym is too strong and therefore you can level up to 13/14 before taking on the leader. There are downsides to walkthroughs too, but they only apply if you abuse the information they give. Do not let them ruin any surprises by reading ahead nor should you let them govern the way you play.

Engage in basic trading. A fun thing to do in Pokémon is to trade with your friends and family who play the game. Older games are much more limited in trading compared to newer ones. The most basic form of trading is to meet the person you want to trade with in real life and connect devices either using a cable or wirelessly. Then, there should be a trade option that you can both select. You can both choose a single Pokémon you'd like to trade and after a small animation, you will have successfully traded and can do it again! Trading is exciting as sometimes you do not know what you're going to get, and it can help fill up your Pokédex much quicker than catching them all on your own. You can also carry on a Pokémon’s legacy. There may be a Pokémon you don't use anymore but someone else wants it on their team. Not only is it fun but it helps others out too.

Get to know the Global Trade System. The GTS used to be a feature of Generation 5, 6 and 7 but it only works in 7 as of now due to being the most modern games. How GTS works is that you can either ask for a Pokémon and give away one of yours that someone wants, or you can display a certain Pokémon and people can trade you something you want for it. Both methods, named seek and deposit respectively, allow you to trade with people on the internet. The best thing about trading on the internet is that you can get Pokémon from different continents. These special Pokémon will have certain effects on your game, such as giving you a higher chance of a rare, shiny Pokémon if the foreign one is put in the daycare. You can also trade Shiny Pokémon directly but as they are very rare, you may want to keep hold of them forever.

Wonder trade. Wonder trading is the final type of trading in the newer games. You can trade absolutely any Pokémon and get any back in return. This is the best method of trading if you want to truly surprise yourself as you may get a rare Pokémon or one that isn't in your version. The best thing is that if you get a common Pokémon from Wonder Trade, you can always send it back and there will be someone else who gives a better deal. Trading is a very social element of Pokémon and one of the most fun things to do other than catching and battling.

Explore during your postgame.After you've beaten the story of the Pokémon game you're playing, you'll be in the phase known as postgame. In this phase, you can finally access the toughest battles and catch the rarest Pokémon. You can also start working to complete your Pokédex or trade at your heart's content. Most of the games don't do a very good job explaining what you can do as they encourage you to explore for yourself. It may be a good idea to do a quick search online to see what new things you can do now that you've beaten your particular game. If you've fully enjoyed your experience and wish you could do it all again, you could always reset your save file and play slightly differently this time.

Do a second playthrough. If you have decided that there's nothing else for you to do in the game, you can reset it and play through it a second time but this time with a unique twist to make the game more exciting. A lot of Pokémon veterans do challenge runs known as Nuzlockes that can make the game a lot harder and more emotional if you wish. Your second playthrough does not need to be harder though. You could simply wish to choose a different starter or only use one type of Pokémon. Here is a list of ideas you could do.

• Monotype - Only use one type such as Water or Fire.
• Solo Run - You can only use one Pokémon.
• Permadeath - If you lose a battle, you have to start the whole game again.
• Substitutes - If you see a Pokémon, you must catch it and add it to your party.
• Nuzlocke - If a Pokémon faints, you must never use it again.

Avoid repetition. A great idea you could do for a new playthrough involves trading with a friend or online acquaintance. You can start with a premade team of six Pokémon that can either be your favourites, rare Pokémon or completely random. The game plays incredibly differently when your team consists of Pokémon you've rarely seen and never used before. You may even decide not to use your starter Pokémon but pretend one of the new ones was your starter. This premade team is even better if they start off as Pokémon eggs. You will need to hatch them first and you will have no idea what they hatch into.

Get another game. If you have successfully enjoyed playing through one Pokémon game, then you may find that the next game you get was even better than you thought. Each generation brings new Pokémon to catch and new activities to take part in. If you and a friend have beaten a game, then you could always swap versions with each other and try to beat their version.

Try the Pokémon Bank. The Pokémon Bank is an app you can get for 3DS that allows you to get Pokémon from older games such as Black and White and transport them to a later game such as Pokémon Sun and Moon. This service does cost money to use but can heavily increase your enjoyment of the newer games. You may really love your Unova or Kalos starter and wish you can bring them to the new region of Alola - now you can thanks to Pokémon Bank. The bank also has regional and national Pokédexs, making it very easy to work out what Pokémon you need to catch them all.

Play side games. Three popular games that aren't part of the core RPG series are Pokémon Go, Pokémon Quest and the TCG. Pokémon Go captures the essence of catching Pokémon and turns it into an augmented reality version of the game. In Pokémon Go, you can walk around in the real world and use your device to catch Pokémon. You may not enjoy the strategy of the RPGs so the simplicity and immersion of Pokémon Go may encourage you to try other Pokémon games. Pokémon Quest is a complete game for Nintendo Switch. It has battling and catching but the way both work is incredibly unique, yet it still feels like a Pokémon game and has all your favourite cute Pokémon from the first generation. Finally, the TCG is a very popular card game. If you find that video game consoles are too complicated for you or you simply don't like them, you can still be a huge Pokémon fan if you enjoy the card game. The rules are slightly different to the core game, but it still features collecting Pokémon in the form of cards, using items to help you win battles and taking turns trying to defeat your opponent. You do not need to enjoy every single Pokémon game to be a Pokémon fan nor do you need to enjoy them all to enjoy Pokémon.

Watch some episodes of Pokemon. Where it airs varies by the country you live, so you'll want to look through your TV guide and see when and where it airs. You can also watch some episodes on the official Pokémon website.

Learn about the Pokémon. If you really want to get to know the game, you've got studying to do! Read up on all the Pokémon types. This will also help you on the way to become a Pokémon master!