General Introduce yourself!

[AzureRain]

Hello lovely people of Smogon! My name is Patrick, I'm 15 and I am interested in getting into Pokemon competitive battling! This post is long (maybe too long) so if you have time please give this post a look!

I got into Pokemon through Platinum back in 2009. The pokemon I can remember being on my team were Infernape, Garchomp, Bronzong and Crobat. The rest is kind of a blur. It was around this time that I started watching the competitive wifi battles. I only really watched them for fun though. Then I got a copy of Soul Silver the following year or so later. This one really piqued my interest. After I beat Red, however, I just dropped the idea of playing Pokemon continuously. Forgot why. But around two months ago I thought about getting back in the habit and picked up my Heart Gold and Platinum copies. I was so excited to play, I planned my teams for both games! Once I got to the Battle Frontier in Platinum I felt I would do so well with just my ingame, non-EV trained and all that team of Electivire, Magmortar, Rhyperior, Togekiss, Empoleon and Dusknoir. Wishful thinking, right? I love my Electivire but I couldn't even get past the 2nd batch of seven matches with him (and my Magmortar and Togekiss I think) That's when I thought about going to the Battle Factory to train and heading on over there. I'm still playing there too! But the thing is I suck SO BAD. NO KIDDING. ITS DIFFICULT FOR ME TO EVEN GET PAST THE FIRST MATCH AGAINST FACTORY HEAD THORTON. Even with fuckin rental Salamence and Garchomp I get stomped into the ground constantly. My strategies are shit, even if I have type coverage. Every time there is always an obvious counter to my team I can never predict. Why get into competitive battling in the first place I ask myself. Well, honestly, the competitive scene looks like one hell of a good time to me. I recognize that it will take a long time for me to build up my skills, possibly even with assistance, and become a legitimate competitive battler but I'm just really interested about diving into the competitive scene. The ingame part of Pokemon gets boring after a while anyway. You may have noticed that I am only talking about 4th gen games. Before I get XYORAS, I hope to be able to conquer all parts of the 4th gen battle frontier first and what better way to try to achieve that is with help from experts! Now I must warn you that I have never Ev-trained or bred pokemon for perfect stats and natures and all that so I literally am new to competitive battling. But enough about me. Any offers to help me get started or give any suggestions are welcome and greatly appreciated! Thanks!

I totally know how you feel. Another way to try to learn would be for example to watch some high level play videos, such as those produced by people like chimpact and pokeaim on Youtube. Personally that is how I'm learning to ease myself into competitive battling. I wouldn't say I'm good, but I've definitely gotten a lot better just from listening to their commentary and battle analyses.

 

[PatJoCar324]

I totally know how you feel. Another way to try to learn would be for example to watch some high level play videos, such as those produced by people like chimpact and pokeaim on Youtube. Personally that is how I'm learning to ease myself into competitive battling. I wouldn't say I'm good, but I've definitely gotten a lot better just from listening to their commentary and battle analyses.

Are there any other youtubers you would recommend to help me get started with competitive battling?

 

[QueBien]

Are there any other youtubers you would recommend to help me get started with competitive battling?

Hey PatJoCar324!
So you like YouTubing, huh? Here's a helpful article on how to get started. In addition, check out this forum. Have a good time!

 

[scdcs]

Hello people! I love pokemon videogames and I have played them a long time, but I never went to deep into the competitive game. However, during the 2nd stage of the V generation (B2/W2) I quit.

The resent release of ORAS versions made me comeback to pokemon and even prompted me to buy an X version.

I decided to join to the Smogon community with the hope of learning more the competitive gaming and also meet new people who love pokemon videogames.

 

[Rumb1eroar]

Yo, im Rumb1eroar. Long story short, i have been on smogon for about 48 hours, mostly using strategy Dex. Its great you should try it. Live in Ohio and have been playing pokemon since about 2008, just picked up competitive about an hour ago. Best of luck to all and good day. PM me and we'll chill.

 

[BlackyXD]

Yo, im Rumb1eroar. Long story short, i have been on smogon for about 48 hours, mostly using strategy Dex. Its great you should try it. Live in Ohio and have been playing pokemon since about 2008, just picked up competitive about an hour ago. Best of luck to all and good day. PM me and we'll chill.

Hey, Welcome to smogon. If you are trying to learn competitive battling you can check out battling 101, or you can ask in our help section here .

If you have any other questions feel free to message me,and I will try to answer your question the best I can. Enjoy your time here :)

 

[ZmanRwks]

Hey there, I'm Zman. Long time lurker, first time caller.
Pokemon is fun and I wanna get good at the whole competitive thing so I'm doing my research and whatnot and thought might as well make some sort of introduction post and then eventually post in more places and learn more stuff.

 

[BlackyXD]

Hey there, I'm Zman. Long time lurker, first time caller.
Pokemon is fun and I wanna get good at the whole competitive thing so I'm doing my research and whatnot and thought might as well make some sort of introduction post and then eventually post in more places and learn more stuff.

Well if you have any questions feel free ask in our mentor help section http://www.smogon.com/mentorship/help or you can ask me and I will try to answer you questions the best I can and welcome and enjoy your time here.

 

[jackdaniels]

Hi, the metagame has changed a lot haha. Nice to see you come back from the dead, if you want you could check out the OU subforum and sign up for B101/Mentorship unless you already know about that :) also you can ask stuff in the help form incase the need arises!

Haha tell me about it man, thankfully I've been constantly playing all the way from DPP till now or else I'd be a goner... The power creep still gets me tho, can't make my old faves like Jolteon work in OU no matter what I do :(

 

[Kingler]

Haha tell me about it man, thankfully I've been constantly playing all the way from DPP till now or else I'd be a goner... The power creep still gets me tho, can't make my old faves like Jolteon work in OU no matter what I do :(

Haha true, Mega Sableye is the saviour of stall in ORAS OU but most tiers prefer offense and the games are more matchup based. Jolteon is RU now, sadly it's outclassed by Mega Manectric :( if you wish, we could talk in VM haha

 

[Galopa]

Hi there my name's Chris, I'm 20 and I'm from Canada :3

I'm familiar with Smogon but never really bothered actually signing up or anything simply because I never saw myself having the time and stuff, but now I decided that it seemed like a really neat community with a lot to offer, so what the heck right? :)

Oh and my favourite game has to be Emerald. Battle Frontier was thebomb.com/bestpostgameever , am I right?

 

[BlackyXD]

Hi there my name's Chris, I'm 20 and I'm from Canada :3

I'm familiar with Smogon but never really bothered actually signing up or anything simply because I never saw myself having the time and stuff, but now I decided that it seemed like a really neat community with a lot to offer, so what the heck right? :)

Oh and my favourite game has to be Emerald. Battle Frontier was thebomb.com/bestpostgameever , am I right?

Hey Welcome. If you have any questions if want help figuring out witch area of smogons community you fit into best, you can use our help page (http://www.smogon.com/mentorship/help) or you can ask me or someone questions directly.

Also yeah Battle frontier= best post game ever.

 

[AzureRain]

Hi there my name's Chris, I'm 20 and I'm from Canada :3

I'm familiar with Smogon but never really bothered actually signing up or anything simply because I never saw myself having the time and stuff, but now I decided that it seemed like a really neat community with a lot to offer, so what the heck right? :)

Oh and my favourite game has to be Emerald. Battle Frontier was thebomb.com/bestpostgameever , am I right?

Noice, another Canadian :D

Totally agree, Battle Frontier was great. Really wish they'd included it in ORAS.

 

[QueBien]

Hello people! I love pokemon videogames and I have played them a long time, but I never went to deep into the competitive game. However, during the 2nd stage of the V generation (B2/W2) I quit.

The resent release of ORAS versions made me comeback to pokemon and even prompted me to buy an X version.

I decided to join to the Smogon community with the hope of learning more the competitive gaming and also meet new people who love pokemon videogames.

Hey there, scdcs!
I got into competitive soon after I started playing, when my friend introduced me to Showdown! The first Pokemon game that I actually owned was Y, and I got AS a while back, too. Anyways, welcome to Smogon! If you have any questions, or need help with anything, PM a mentor or check out our help form. Have a good time, and please give us your feedback if you have the chance!

 

[Avesta]

Hey guys, I'm Avesta. I just started competitive after having bought a transparent 2DS / ORAS bundle (always loved the transparent GameBoy from when I was a kid but never got one). After having done my research and all I want to join this week's Hoenn Battle, got to around 1250 rating on Showdown now I just need to get the actual mons in-game, although I doubt I'll have the time to get them perfectly.

 

[Minus]

Hey guys, I'm Avesta. I just started competitive after having bought a transparent 2DS / ORAS bundle (always loved the transparent GameBoy from when I was a kid but never got one). After having done my research and all I want to join this week's Hoenn Battle, got to around 1250 rating on Showdown now I just need to get the actual mons in-game, although I doubt I'll have the time to get them perfectly.

Transparent 2DS? sounds really cool haha. I just have the normal black 3DS :<. Have you checked out the Wifi subforum? you might be able to trade for some Pokemon there!

 

[martyrDOM]

Hi there everyone, I'm Dom. I have only been on Smogon for about a month and want to be more involved in the community. I've been playing since i was 5 and started competitive battling at 14 in gen 4. I was active in the pokemongts forum way back when but I took a break and now want to be a part of a community again. I just got into Wifi recently and I'm always on showdown, feel free to hit me up for a battle or just to talk! :]

 

[BlackyXD]

Hi there everyone, I'm Dom. I have only been on Smogon for about a month and want to be more involved in the community. I've been playing since i was 5 and started competitive battling at 14 in gen 4. I was active in the pokemongts forum way back when but I took a break and now want to be a part of a community again. I just got into Wifi recently and I'm always on showdown, feel free to hit me up for a battle or just to talk! :]

Welcome, to smogon! If you have any questions feel or just want to chat feel free to pm me.

 

[Owen Xekrain]

Hi, Owen Xekrain/Jared Sabor Here! I've been on Smogon for 5 months-ish. I am a major sports fan, and have been on showdown for 1 year. I have played Pokemon since FR/LG came out, and am a HUGE Charizard fanboy. I have started to understand the competitive metagame much more in the last 3 months. My favorite pokemon i have ingame is my 6 IV Shiny Charizard... it took me 1,432 eggs to get this one. His Nickname is Mighty Owen! I LOVE Kanto and Hoenn. Hope to be staying around on Smogon a long time!

 

[Stardust_SOLDIER]

Hey everyone, I'm Joseph. Just joined a little while ago. Like many I have been lurking around Smogon occasionally but have finally decided to make a account. Been playing Pokemon since the originals (20 years old). I really started getting competitive in XY and have also been using Showdown since then as well. I always love learning as much as I can from the competitive metagame, as there is always something more to learn. I'm always trying to stay dedicated to the game, frequently getting distracted a lot by other games. I get bored a lot of seeing the same teams and try to mix it up a bit as best as I can. My favorite Pokemon is Sceptile, followed by Greninja and Pangoro. My favorite region is Johto and type to use is Water.

 

[GnralLao]

Hi everyone! I've been on Smogon since the B/W era, but I've never considered having an account here up until recently. I'm studying to be a high school math teacher and I've been a clarinetist for 10 years now. I've discovered Showdown when X/Y came out and I hope to be involved and greatly contribute to this community! Oh, and my native language is French. So, I apologize if my english is not perfect, but I'll try my best to not make any grammar errors and stuff along the way!

PS.: I feel kinda dumb to not present myself. I'm Laurent. You can call me Larry if it's too hard to pronounce, I'll understand.

 

[QueBien]

Hi, Owen Xekrain/Jared Sabor Here! I've been on Smogon for 5 months-ish. I am a major sports fan, and have been on showdown for 1 year. I have played Pokemon since FR/LG came out, and am a HUGE Charizard fanboy. I have started to understand the competitive metagame much more in the last 3 months. My favorite pokemon i have ingame is my 6 IV Shiny Charizard... it took me 1,432 eggs to get this one. His Nickname is Mighty Owen! I LOVE Kanto and Hoenn. Hope to be staying around on Smogon a long time!

Hey Owen Xekrain!
Sports fan, eh? How bout them Seahawks? Check out this subforum if you would like to talk more about sports here at Smogon. I've been playing since about three(-ish) years ago, starting with Emerald. My favorite Pokemon I have in-game is my Mew from Emerald I got from a trade. If you have any questions, PM a mentor and/or consult the Help form. Have fun!

Hey everyone, I'm Joseph. Just joined a little while ago. Like many I have been lurking around Smogon occasionally but have finally decided to make a account. Been playing Pokemon since the originals (20 years old). I really started getting competitive in XY and have also been using Showdown since then as well. I always love learning as much as I can from the competitive metagame, as there is always something more to learn. I'm always trying to stay dedicated to the game, frequently getting distracted a lot by other games. I get bored a lot of seeing the same teams and try to mix it up a bit as best as I can. My favorite Pokemon is Sceptile, followed by Greninja and Pangoro. My favorite region is Johto and type to use is Water.

Hi Stardust_SOLDIER!
Wow, always cool to meet an original player! I also love being creative with teams, as I don't really care for cliches. My favorite Pokemon are Lucario, then Bisharp, then Scizor. My favorite region is Hoenn, and my favorite type is Steel. Anyways, feel free to ask questions if you need to, and have a good time!

Hi everyone! I've been on Smogon since the B/W era, but I've never considered having an account here up until recently. I'm studying to be a high school math teacher and I've been a clarinetist for 10 years now. I've discovered Showdown when X/Y came out and I hope to be involved and greatly contribute to this community! Oh, and my native language is French. So, I apologize if my english is not perfect, but I'll try my best to not make any grammar errors and stuff along the way!

PS.: I feel kinda dumb to not present myself. I'm Laurent. You can call me Larry if it's too hard to pronounce, I'll understand.

Hello GnralLao!
I also started my Showdown journey when XY came out, and only recently started trying to contribute here at Smogon. You can check out the "Contribute" section of the forums if you would like to find some ways to help out, but you can also contribute to tier discussions and other related threads. My native language is English, but I highly doubt I speak perfectly. :/ Welcome to Smogon; have a great time and I'll see you around!


P.S. If you guys could give us your feedback of the site once you've gotten settled in, that would be great. We want to hear your thoughts! :o

 

[martyrDOM]

Hey everyone, I'm Joseph. Just joined a little while ago. Like many I have been lurking around Smogon occasionally but have finally decided to make a account. Been playing Pokemon since the originals (20 years old). I really started getting competitive in XY and have also been using Showdown since then as well. I always love learning as much as I can from the competitive metagame, as there is always something more to learn. I'm always trying to stay dedicated to the game, frequently getting distracted a lot by other games. I get bored a lot of seeing the same teams and try to mix it up a bit as best as I can. My favorite Pokemon is Sceptile, followed by Greninja and Pangoro. My favorite region is Johto and type to use is Water.

I feel you on the distracted by other games part lol. I'm currently hyped up about Dying Light next week, what other games do you play?

 

[chez_incognito]

Whelp, hello everyone. My name's Kurtis, I'm living in Madison, WI right now, but I grew up in Green Bay (how 'bout dem dere Packers?) I've been lurking Smogon, especially the StrategyDex for...I dunno since the summer before entering college I think. I'm a Sophomore at the UW now. I haven't been able to play too many metas, mostly OU and UU for me. I almost always run Special Attacker Nidoking, and am patiently waiting for Sinnoh remakes. That or a second remake of Kanto. Oh, and I study Russian Language.

 

[Stardust_SOLDIER]

Hi Stardust_SOLDIER!
Wow, always cool to meet an original player! I also love being creative with teams, as I don't really care for cliches. My favorite Pokemon are Lucario, then Bisharp, then Scizor. My favorite region is Hoenn, and my favorite type is Steel. Anyways, feel free to ask questions if you need to, and have a good time!

Thanks I forgot to mention Bisharp is one of my retired secret weapons as well. I always gotta have love for Steel types second.

I feel you on the distracted by other games part lol. I'm currently hyped up about Dying Light next week, what other games do you play?

I play a lot of different things. Really a fan of RPGs but my Xbox One is bringing my FPS side out right now. Currently trying to beat The Crew/Halo MCC/Sunset Overdrive/GTA V and now im downloading the remake of Resident Evil. Final Fantasy 7 is my bible and i worship it every night I sleep. I could be here for days listing games lol.