Tips – Pinkie's Paradise

Senpai Noticed me! The Blogger Recognition Award

It is time for a fourth and for now final tag post. Luckily this one will be a LOT shorter than the last one. A lot of work went into that one. This last one really sounds fancy though! The Blogger Recognition Award. I mean I love that I have sunshine, I love that people think I am real neat and it was quite nice to put a tune to it or want to know about my geeky childhood. Yet to be recognised now that is something else. What makes this even better is this even better is that I am being recognised by one of my blogging role models. Irina from I Drink and Watch Anime nominated me for this. While I am positive all of you know how to reach her amazing site, you could also do it the easy way and click the cocktail below. Poetic that Irina ended up in a cocktail!

Thanks to Irina

Step 1 of this blog post is thanking the one who nominated you and leaving a link to their website. Sucks for me that I already did that in the intro. Though I guess not literally. So here is me fangirling about Rini! “OMG Irina- Senpai ARIGATOOO! You have brought HONORU! to my famuri! SUBERASHI! You are so Sugoi! Hime-Irina-Sama! Banzai Irini, Banzai Ai DRINKU ANDO WATSHU ANIME! Banzai Senpai! Banzai Senpai I really like that one, it rhymes. Yet seriously Irina is a big inspiration to me, I feel like lately I have beginning to loosen up a bit, show my own weirdness more. Irina’s content has been a great guide for that. She inspires me to find my own voice and develop it and for that I am thankful to her. There is something about her positivity that I is inspiring. Her new avatar is adorable! Her voice is one of the most unique among the bloggers I follow and if Arceus forbid you haven’t followed her … click on that cocktail I posted above as if you are Sonic the Hedgehog. Gotta go fast.. Use CTRL-Right Click though so you can finish reading this. Thanks again Irinia though! Step 2 of this tag is to tell the orgin story of your blog. So here is mine!

The Story of Paradise

A long time ago in a galaxy far far away.

Pinkie’s Pokémon
The Blogger Recognition Award

It’s a dark time for the internet, although TUMBLR has been destroyed, TROLLS have driven people with something interesting to say from 4chan and reddit and chase them across the WORLD WIDE WEB

Evading the dreaded shitposters a group of freedom fighters named the OWLS secret base on the amazing platform of WORDPRESS.

A very PINK aspiring Pokétuber obsessed with finding a COMMUNITY to call her own, is now posting numerous of blogs to probe the far reaches of the internet.

How’s that for an introduction? Yet while I kinda said it in a bit of a stylish way, it doesnt change the fact that it is true. I began running my blog with the idea of script testing some stuff for a youtube channel. While my voice is very weak I had a friend who would voice act Pinkie when we discovered that voice recording on my laptop is a major hassle. By the time we got it fixed I already had about fifty followers on WordPress and actually began to enjoy how positive it was While youtube went through one of it’s many crisis it went through in 2019. My friend bailed from the project and I decided to focus on Pinkie’s Pokemon as a blog. Trough amazing bloggers like Irina, Scott from Mechanical Anime, Lita Kino and many others I discovered the existence of the OWLS. The Otaku Warriors for Liberty and Self-respect is a group of bloggers promoting equality and community among everyone regardless, gender , sexual preference or the colour of your skin. Having many connections to the transgender community, being attracted to girls while I identify as a woman myself I could also relate to the gay part and having some disabilities the group fitted me like a glove.

Yet there was something lacking still. Even though my blog did get appreciation when it was just about Pokémon, I never got a real sense of community, the target audience I hoped to find in terms of my original goals did barely exist on wordpress. A lot of my posts were high effort to find out with a relatively low pay off. Appreciation sure, but I did not get the discussions I got when I joined a twitch chat or a youtube live stream of a pokétuber. Than I realized I DO already have that by being active on people’s youtube channel. Sure I can’t afford a subscription so I often go unheard but I still have the poké enthousiast talk and at least can fangirl along with others. So I realised my blog could be more than me being one of them…… I could be me. I was more than Pokémon and even though I love the franchise to bits I am not the person who keeps grinding it into numbers, guides or stats. I like to discover and play and keep things magical, by blogging about it daily I was making it to clinical and I was removing the magic for myself.I did not want that I wanted a happy place I wanted my own little paradise.

So I surfed on a Mantine until I found a deserted island and began to construct my happy little island. An island that reflected me, all aspects of geeky me. Where I could talk more about me and mental wellness and other stuff. A paradise for all geeks. A small depression kicked my ass early in the rebrand and creation of this blog, but with a new year upon and my own crazy voice(s) finally beginning to show true it is finally time for this blog to become that what i want it to be. A lot of it due to the lovely people here on wordpress.

Pinkie Senpai

Step 3 is giving at least two pieces of advice to new bloggers. With only six month worth of blogging under my belt I may not be the most inspiring blogger to to look up too. Yet at the same time I did manage to gather over 100 followers within 6 months. When I started out I would have been happy with five followers a month, but I quadrupled that number! So maybe I am still doing something right? So here’s a couple of lessons from Pinkie!..At least I am old enough to be a teacher.

*(Listen to this advice young whippersnappers)*

Pinkie Says: Say something

There’s two types of blogs I tend to see on WordPress the difference is most noticeable on sites that follow actualities, game news, anime news pokémon news. In my opinion a good blog adds something to the news. Let’s be honest here.. we are wordpress users.. we are not Kotaku. If we want to find out the new character in Super Smash Bros, our sites will not be the first ones to be picked up. Say “A Sim” from the sims would be the newest Smash character, then you have two ways to respond to this. ‘ Blog A: Hey Guys EA just leaked that the last fighter for Smash is their Sim.. you can buy loot crates to customise it” Blog B: “Hey Guys, they Added A Sim to Super Smash Bros, I think that is awesome because when Mario says woohoo my Sim will think he is being super lewd!, I hope to see our crystal change colour as we get more beat up and the redder it is.. the better we can use it for a powerful attack, or maybe….’ and so on. Sure Blog A is more informative, brief and you can really make a lot more posts about that, follower response will be zero. That story that blog A writes can be find exactly the same a billion times on the internet, with only marginally different words. Don’t rephrase others or only state factoids because let’s be honest as a beginning blogger no one really will turn to YOU for that. If you like to report the news go right ahead, if you want to to keep it objective go ahead but people will care more for you if they see at least a bit of you. You can still add personality to the news or informative posts but do make sure you don’t just summarise the story of Harry Potter or something. Most people here do not care about frame-rates, stat totals or changes to the Yugioh Banlist. We care about what YOU have to say about them.

Pinkie Says: Have Fun

Whatever you do the most important thing about your blog is that you have fun with it. If you do not want to spend hours on spelling control, do not do it, if you do not want to spend ages on your layout, select a simple design and stick by it. There will always be someone who does things better than you, whose blog looks prettier than yours or who has more viewers than you. Your blog is not about them though. Pick a schedule that suits you and post what you want to post, when you start don’t promise/force yourself to post content each day. This is a process where you will grow into. Allow yourself to test the waters a bit before you go into the deep end. Forcing you to be creative each day can be a painful process. Especially when you are like me and don’t write ahead a lot when you first start. To have the most fun with your blog I’d recommend drafting a few blogs you can put out at a later date. Stuff like top 5’s , your opinion on older anime/games. Something you can use to give yourself a day off should your regular schedule not work for you, it takes the edge off. Don’t start with a blog per day, but if you really must, make sure you have to have a few works stored. Allow yourself to have fun. Do not demonise your followers either, by thinking they can not live without you and will complain a minute after your deadline. I am going to be brutally honest here, most of us on this space follow A LOT of other bloggers. If you miss an upload day because you needed a day off chances are we would barely notice you missing your normal schedule. If you burn out and vanish for weeks on end however we might take notice that you aren’t there anymore causing us to not look out for your posts in our reader anymore.

WordPress isn’t Youtube at least it hasn’t been so far to me. There is a different mindset. Where youtube is more an Eat or be Eaten culture, WordPress is a lot more Live and Let Live. Don’t think fans are craving your nectar of sweet sweet words every day from the very start. Your fans/followers appreciate the fun you are having with making blogs and the sense of community more than the actual words. Youtube and other places have a very ungrateful culture. People are pissed at you for not uploading. WordPress is much more grateful, if you do not upload that is fine but people would like it if you did. Exploit that cuture, set your own pacing, make sure you are happy with your blog and write every post with a smile. If you feel you are forced to make a post, aside from maybe explaining certain situations, don’t let yourself get suckered into that. We just want to have fun with our hobbies, share our ideas and interact with others about that. Your blog should always be a passion project.. not the thing that keeps you from doing fun stuff. So do not take yourself too serious and smile each time you log into your website.

Pinkie Says: You are not alone

The final thing I would like to advice is to not be a loner. Blogging is about community, it’s about reading and be read. Half the fun is exploring the wonderful word of WordPress. Say hi to Irinina and she might visit your blog back, post something motivational on the 7mononoke’s blog to know they have a place to come back too, and maybe when it’s time they will do the same for you. These blog tags exist for a reason besides promoting our own site, it’s also about wishing each other well, about helping each other up and go beyond where you used to be. It’s about how you can travel further when walking besides somebody… well in reality I am not the strongest walker, I might need a cane and you might waste more energy sticking with me ..than it would allow you to make miles.. but you know what I mean. Feel free to ask for advice, be creative and create your own blog tag. When you first start your blog is not that beautiful shining bird it can become. It’s an egg.

WordPress is it’s nest and the rest of the internet is the entire forest. At first when your blog hatches it’s like a baby chick! It can’t make a lot of sounds yet, so to get some attention you need to turn to your brothers and sisters in the nest.. the bigger blogs like Rini-Senpai’s are the mother birds. If you shout they might vomit a half digested worm in your mouth to grow.
That doesn’t really sound nice but it’s a metaphor.. in reality it’s just a big blogger tagging you. So I guess Irina, or if you want to use her COOL NAME Ireena, just vomited worms inside me. … uhm yeah..just be social.. get twitter.. hang with other bloggers, now excuse me while I gotta go brush my teeth!

(Nomnonnom Feed me Blogtags) I had way to much fun making this picture!

The nominees

Hello my name is Violetta and while Pinkie brushes her teeth.. and uses a steel brush on her tongue I will tell you the ten nominees for this post.

As told By Carly:
Pinkie really wanted to hear the origin story of as told by Carly as told by Carly. Thats some Meta story telling..

A Girl and Her Anime:
One of the first bloggers to ever tag Pinkie. We haven’t been to her site enough lately..because Pinkie kinda messed up her reader with weird astrology stuff we miss her posts a lot.

Meriendeato:
They did one of the same real neat blogger tags as Pinkie, so let’s see how they handle this one. Also one of those bloggers Pinkie used to follow more.. but she ruined it with those astrology blogs that post 30 blogs a day. Sorry! Will fix it and be back to reading more. We will probably make a folder of blogs to check soon!

A Geeky Gal:
Another early connection this blog made, one of Pinkie’s greatest inspirations so she is curious to see what advice Megan will give people!

Au Natural:
Pinkie is quite curious about the orgins of this blog plus she is really curious about the advice this oracle of wisdom would give to new bloggers

Lita Kino Anime Corner:
Worlds best multi tasker. Former Youtuber, Amazing Blogger, Lovely Podcaster. It will be really nice to hear her origin story and advice

Al’s Manga Blog:
While we have never seen them do tags, it could be very interesting to here some advice from a blogger who has such a neat and structured website!

Ireena:
I don’t know if there is a real blogger out there with the handle.. or real life name but if you are out there it would be amazing if you did this. Yesterday I called Irina by this name so now I would like the real Ireena to step up and take the challenge. (Darn I dropped my cover.. it’s not Violetta it’s just me!)

The Otaku Author:
Lyn is one of the most supportive guys out there in the community. Liking so many posts I made, commenting at times and his blog is filled with daily goodness. How does he do it I wonder at times? Well with this tag we can find out.

Merlin’s Musings:
If you think that the devil emoji kinda looks wise, you clearly have been following Merlin and his blog! This is another one of those sites I do not visit enough! But my new system is coming! In the meanwhile let’s see how wise he is when he tackles this tag.

Okay so that’s 9 because there probably will not be an Ireena but I did a LOT of tags this week I dont want to swamp people with work. So like with my previous posts this is where it will get weird and random. My next nominees are “stranger” but if it calls out to you.. you are tagged!

A cooking blog:
I would love to follow more cooking blogs and if I know you read this , your probably a geek as well so that makes all your dishes taste even better!

A beauty blog:
Long has there been a rivalry between the beauty and the geek, now let us use this blog tag to transcend that so if you have a beauty blog and are reading this.. swag swag.. this is now your tag.

A marketing blog:
You all follow us, I’ve got like 20 or so of you subscribed to me. I bet a lot of others here have that as well. Now let’s find out if you are really a part of the community!

Someone who owns an uncommon pet:
Does your pig or pet elephant mess with your blogging? I would love this type of story

Someone with a truly original blog origin story:
It’s like half what this tag is about, if you have an amazing story to tell about how your blog came to be? I am sure we would all like to hear it.

Someone who knows what planet I am from:
I am pretty sure I am not from earth and I am pretty sure I am a princess somewhere, are there any other aliens out there who know the truth about me? Than use this tag to secretly communicate.

That is all folks. If you really want to be tagged, just claim that your dog.. or your sock is the most special pet in the world! That way you can always participate! Sometimes my big brain even amazes myself.

Pokémon Cosplay: Four Styles

Greetings little subjects , I have been called into action once more to talk to you about clothes. As a Princess I am sure to have the best opinion and taste on these matters. Today we will talk about the mundane entertainment known as cosplay. Something even I enjoy on occasion. While I could talk ages about MY cosplays as well, we will limited ourselves to strictly Pokémon Cosplay. All images used are random examples avaialbe in public spaces. Feel free to look up who these people are to pay them tribute…after paying tribute to me. I only used generic terms to search for these images. I will never use a cosplay photograph to make fun of it.

Dressing up as a Pokémon

Pokémon Cosplay can happen in about four different ways. You either dress up as a pokémon, dress up as a trainer, dress up as a Gijinka, which is a human rendition of a pokémon and than there is those people who think outside of the box and put al smile on everyone’s faces with a completely original concept. I will tackle these one by one.

The most common cosplay you will see is people dressing up like a Pokémon, frankly spoken this category we can divide into a high effort and low effort group with the latter being ever so present at conventions. Now do not mistake my words little subjects, low effort cosplay is still loads better than no cosplay at all, your expectations should however be different. The low effort group is the one that wears pokémon onesies or kigurumis and sometimes paint their face. This is by far the most found type of pokémon cosplay at conventions. Because they are so common however, it is very unlikely people will want to take a picture with you if you dress in that way. A lot of new cosplayers kind of feel like people will jump on any type of cosplayer to ask them for a photo, but this isn’t the case. Not even if you made your kigurumi yourself. People oftenly can not tell. Girls are a bit luckier in that matter but still it’s not a guarantee to success. If you want to be Pokémon Snapped, do not go basic, a rule which applies to basically every common cosplay, even high effort Harley Quinn’s oftenly go unsnapped because there are just so much of the. Onesies are quite partical though, you can put clothes with lots of storage space underneath or even store a small bag there, they are super easy to pack and great for example a final day where you will stop at a restaurant on the way back, just slip out of the onesie and reveal your outfit underneath, apply plenty of deodorant and if possible a quick wash and boom! Back to glam!
The perfect cosplay if you want to look like you belong on a con, without spending the money or effort on it.

Much like it’s more impressive high effort counterpart however, the Kigurumi has one big flaw. They are incredibly hot to wear. Especially if you wear clothes underneath (and usually with the quality of them .. you better do that) it feels like you are wearing a portable sauna.
While you can still walk through a Dealer Room, going to play DDR in it, in the middle of summer or going outside to hang with your friends, is not a healthy idea. So if you dress up as a Pokémon, make sure to stay hydrated. Lot’s of venues have poor air conditioning at least in certain parts of the Con. Full on body/mascotte suits usually limit you to these rooms. Lobbies, outside areas and the big open spaces are usually a lot harder to cool, but if you wear a mascotte suit you’ll get plenty of attention. If you want to receive some love and get hugs.. this is your way to go. One thing to note is that you are completely and utterly unable to pull this one off by yourself. You will need a buddy along if you want to walk across the convention or sometimes he even has to shout to you what others are saying, fake fur blocks a lot of sound and you are quite blind while walking, so this is a two person cosplay most of the time. If not it’s a very lonely one.

Dressing up as a trainer

Common enough on the convention floor, this one draws little attention as well, at least for those who cosplay Ash, Misty , Jessie or James and even Red will not get you buckets of love. Fans will respond though and go Hey Ash, or Hey Misty so i’d say it’s slightly more interactive than a Onesie. Trainers and Pokémon alike will band together though for fun photo moments.

If you really want some love but still keep your outfit reasonably affordable with no crafting effort (or easy crafting) cosplay famous trainers like Giovanni, Sabrina or honestly even a good Brock might work.. we barely see him..like he barely sees us. While Dragon Trainer Lance, may look super impressive and Blaine is a possible closet cosplay these read a lot harder. Misty and Ash you can pull of without a wig,Lance even with a wig kinda looks like he is a noble from Code Geass and Koga is a ninja… there will be plenty of ninja’s at the convention so it’s hard to tell. To make these clear you will have to use props like plushies, who can get a bit expensive on their own and are very easy to lose.

LT Surge is an easy cosplay.. but you’ll need a Raichu to be fully recognised. Maybe a set of pokéballs will do but most people see you when passing by, they might miss details such as Pokéballs. The clearer your costume is the best reactions you get… unless it’s not very inspirational like Ash or Misty of course. For the last ones go creative… dye your Ash costume grey and play Dead ash from the mewtwo movie or play Misty as a guy and let the girl play Ash. You won’t really get any fans when cosplaying as a trainer but these suits are practical , oftenly fit for most seasons (Misty is not very good for winter) and a fun way to meet other pokéfans. There is room for some appreciation as long as you make sure you have the right props to tell who you are. A lot of trainers look generic so you need context.. whether it be a ! sign or a slew of plushies! Do something to stand out or just have fun in your cosplay on your own! That’s great as well.

Gijinkas

Humanising Pokémon is one of my favorite artforms, I build a D&D campaign based on Gijinkas once and it was great. It is also a very popular cosplay form of the franchise that is mostly seen on stage. These are the cosplayers that want to hone their craft, compete and look good. Of course there are also more casual versions but those still want to be complimented on their costume let’s be honest. While this usually gives you a LOT of love as a cosplayer, especially from the fans of the franchise there are a few risks here with these cosplays. As I am a total klutz myself , everytime I pick up a needle and threat a professor in my head tells my now is not the time and place to use this. So crafting cosplays is out for me.. I tried once.. ended up bleeding all over it, than I glued my pants to the table.. I cried all over it.. ruined a set of towels by accidently dyeing them and I gave up. Gijinka cosplay however is not easily bought. Usually commissions or resales there is some risk in purchasing these. As much as I want to Cosplay a Sylveon Gijinka , I can not afford a proper commission even if I am a princess, my treasury is only filled with make-belief-money! Which does not pay for real life commissions, in my dream though I look adorable. Commissions easily run you in the several hundreds and the resales oftenly have very specific fitting. If you buy , try to pick something that is a size to big for you, worst case scenario .. it will look a bit to big on or you have to pay to have it slightly adjusted near you. With a bit of a brain .. like wearing a thicker under-shirt you can at least be sure you have not wasted money on something that doesn’t fit. Try to Gijinka only if you really have the money for it though.. or of course the ability to craft.

A second risk with the Gijinkas is the recognisability. Gen I is safe..everyone will recognise a human jigglypuff or Venusaur. Human Lucario or Human Darkrai though….tricky. While I personally really dig Darkrai it is a somewhat overlooked legendary. Gijinka Cresselia even more so. Pokémon is a massively loved franchise but a lot of that love is nostalgia. Take this into consideration when you craft. Do you want to make an awesome costume, or do you want people to go like.. oh hey that is Ludicolo from the Pokémon series. If you want people to ‘get ‘ your Gijinka your options are limited or you have to make it very clear. While a Lumineon in human form sounds like it could be an awesome most pokéfans don’t even know the pokémon let alone recognising it when it transformed into a beautiful human being. Masquerain can look super royal but maybe 1% of con-goers will read it as that.

So before you craft determine what you want to do. Do you want to impress people by your awesome crafting skills, or do you want to impress people by interpreting something they know and love and show how you turned it into something else. Gijinka photos purchasable for fans have a bit more liberty of course as they can select them and get them in context.. but at a Con.. there is no context. At least go big when you try to craft something like this, make it something really special and unique , that way people will love you regardless. Unfortunately when it comes to this type of cosplay there is a bit of the rule , go big or go home. The subtle ones can get overlooked quite easily and while .. if you craft, you probably have a group to hang out with anyway that will validate you like always .. the less is more people tend to get lost in the sea of spectacular that is a con.

Original

The best way to success however is to be completely original, think of something that hits the brief but is also one of a kind. These are the things you need to craft but it can be cheap yet still fun. Five dollar cosplay Jinx, Brock with a frying pan or just wear a cardboard actual Pokeball and you are already being eyed by many. Dressing up like a pokémon card or dressing up IN pokémon cards are among your options here as well. Of course this one is quite difficult to go into details about because originality comes from within you or a very rare idea. The more I push ideas the less original they become. It can be as cheap or expensive as you want. In fact.. the pitfall of this one I’d say is that you don’t need to sink more and more money into it for it to show the appreciation it gets. Usually these ideas are too out there to go on the stage so these are usually lobby cosplayers as I call them. They hang out receive a lot of love and vanish from your life when they head out that front door. Some are original again the next year others you don’t really notice anymore. Yet they leave the most powerful memory on those whose life they touch. You will always remember that girl who was dressed as a pokeball that can unfold into a gardevoir ish dress. You will always remember the bloke that dressed like a Pikachu card or the guy who made a playable version of pokémon blue on his costume. with a controller and screen on his back. These are one in a life encounters and that is how they should stay. The guy can not really play a pokémon at the same convention again and the pokémon game people have played isn’t that impressive the second year around. Original cosplays have a very limited life span (at least in a small country like mine) yet in our minds that single weekend cosplay will live on forever…or at least until something does something even more awesome and unique.

Now while I have spoken about the “rules” of cosplay a lot but this is only based on mindset , too often i see a subject who gets disappointed because they had different expectations of how cosplay is viewed at a con. It is easy to get lost between the passion to cosplay and the goal you actually want to reach with it. There is nothing wrong with any of these cosplays as long as YOU want to wear them, but sometimes in our excitement we set ourselves up for disappointment .. or fainting from the heat. So you do you, but do ask yourself why you do you and cosplay accordingly!

The Pinkest Poké Blogger is blasting off again.
XO
Pinkie

How to: Beat A Team of Legendaries with a Magikarp

Hey big people reader folks. Chibi Pinki here! This week is all about having fun. Our regular schedule is thrown out the window and now the Pinkie that has something fun to tell for the day will write their thing. I encountered a super cute song yesterday while i was playing with my Mime Jr. It talks a little about magikarp.. and since mondays are supposed to highlight a single pokémon we still kinda meet the brief… but differently.

The Subject

Name: Magikarp
Original Name (Japan) : Koiking
National Dex Number: 129
Base Stat Total: 200
Battle Tier: Never Used
Combat Role: Physical Sweeper
Best know for: Splashing…but nothing happens

Magikarp is a cute little koi fish that was known as the useless pokémon in generation I. You could fish it up with the first rod you got and only knew one move! However you would soon find out that while using Splash nothing happened. With the old rod you would catch it at level 5 and for 10 levels it would not have any offensive moves. After that it would only get tackle, a very weak physical move with one of the lowest base powers. It’s base attack stat , which powers up the tackle is only at 10 to this day putting it in the absolute bottom in terms of strength. To this day he still holds that honour along with a few other pokémon.But off all the pokémon with a physical attack of 10.. magikarp has the lowest base stat total (power level). Nearly every stat for magikarp is bad.. it’s defence is close to okay and it’s speed is fair. On paper it is useless in every sense of the word until it evolves in the mighty gyarados.

It’s still cute though right?! I mean.. I still like it.. and so did the world. Poor Magikarp has been memed a lot , but it’s also gotten a lot of love. It’s gotten it’s own game , has been featured in some pokémon stadium minigames and to this day there is always a trainer somewhere in the pokémon games that uses a full team of magikarp. Game Freak must have loved Magikarp as well because nowadays the red koi can ‘oneshot’ every legendary in the game…in fact he can even take down a whole team of them if you set it up right.

The Inspiration

I don’t think the lady in the video has sung this song all that pretty but she has a pretty good point. Magikarp is a lovely pokémon because of how iconic it is to the franchise. Yet so much is unknown about this Pokémon. Did you for example know there is a gender difference visible between male and female magikarp? The males have gold tendrils and the females have white ones. See now I made it even MORE special. Because of how great and useless it is Game Freak even decided to make it’s shiny gold. Quite like caterpie the weakest bug pokémon in generation I. For the longest while that golden bug was also able to oneshot everything, but these days it needs a bit more luck to take down Ultra Necrozma and the likes… Magikarp however can still take that beasty down. One can wonder, is the game balanced in such a way that magikarp could? Is it something they take into account?… Well no.. unfortunately it has trouble taking down steel types so Palkia , Registeel and perhaps Solgaleo are safe from it’s wrath. Magikarp can easily beat Mewtwo though.. So is the song wrong? Does magikarp have some hidden super saiyan like ability or something? …. Not really.. to sweep Magikarp needs the powers of love and friendship!

The Shopping List

What do you need to make this possible in online battles? A stupid amount of luck and a enemy team that has no hazard removal. Tricky..but in fairness those who use all legendary teams are usually twelve year old boys/your average fortnite player trying to show of the size of their trouser ekans. Magikarp can’t take down these enemies all by himself though..but in the set up he is the only one that has to actually attack. The rest is just there to help magikarp shine. To pull this off though there is a lot of things you need, and not all of these are easy to comeby.

By far the easiest is thing you need is a Skarmory. It needs to know the moves stealth rock and spikes and has to have the ability sturdy. You’d be smart to teach it some speed IV’s and EV”s as well. The way to train these up vary to much in each game for me to discuss how to do that. It will require some time though.

Then you need a speedy bug that knows sticky web, either equip it with a choice scarf (an item that boosts speed but locks you into a single move) or a focus sash (easier to get) to ensure it can use the move. Araquanid is a good choice in recent games , but any bug will do. Shiny Ariados is my favorite because it’s pink! Just find a spider you like.

You could add a pokémon that sets up toxic spikes as well..but this is unreliable, yet since you are allowed to use a team of six why would you not? In our set up would would have a spot left. Anything that can learn toxic spikes will do. I recommend a Fortress for survivability but you could also show off and run a mega beedrill for example. This one really doesn’t matter that much it’s just a cherry on top.

The most important pokémon you need besides Magikarp is a Smeargle. The painter pokémon this one you need to give some speed ev’s and equip with with a focus sash. It needs the moves spore, belly drum baton pass and substitute. It would be best off with a timid or jolly nature. Since this one is so crucial to our team, you’ll want to run it twice. Give them an Iapapa berry to hold.. but make sure the nature is either Timid or Jolly. A Hasty nature will ruin your run.. because the berry would confuse it in the match!

Now finally our magikarp! Since it’s a legendary killer would would like it to be shiny which of course is not required..but hey.. the set up isn’t easy anyway and you’ll need to hatch quite a few smeargle so why not shiny hunt a bit while doing it. I prefer to use lonely natured one but a naughty one can also work. Using a Hasty or Naive one allows it to easier outspeed things at the cost of damage which could also be helpful. It needs full EV’s in both Attack and Speed as well as IV’s of course so be prepared to suffer while making this team.

I recommend trying this team on Pokémon Showdown rather than the actual game for convenience and speed. Magikarp needs to know the move Flail, which now it can learn, but he only gets splash tackle bounce and flail nowadays anyway. Flail however is going to be your bread and butter. Equip it with a Focus Sash and we are good to go.

The Spiel

Lead of with your webbing Bug and use sticky webs. Stickywebs reduce the speed of your opponents incoming pokémon to 65% of the original value, which is crucial to Magikarp being faster than them. If they are removed for any reason.. you lose the game. However legendaries tend not to get access to hazard removal so for the sake of this mock game.. we are good. Watch as your bug gets crushed by the legendary might. Should it survive a turn.. just make sure it has a non damaging move.. let it know string shot thats a good addition.

Next skarmory comes in…Stealth rocks are must! They break sturdy (some pokémon can not be oneshot) unlike spikes for example who don’t hit flying types. It also invalidates the enemies use of items like focus sashes. You need that for Magikarp to sweep. If an enemy holds on with 1 hp.. you will lose the run. So stealth rocks go first. Should skarmory live just set up more entry hazards with spikes to make magikarp job a bit easier. I know it would detract from the oneshot feeling a bit.. but in some cases these sweeps are damage rolls (damage is partially determined by rng) and spikes can help you reduce the odds at a bad luck fail.

Your toxic spiker goes in next if you decide to use one, again this one is just here for RNG manipulation. You stack the deck in your favor with these, which is kinda cool right?! You could also run a third Smeargle to ensure you get the actual trick off, just know that if one Smeargle pulls it off the other two become useless. So just do what you think is best. With the forretress you could still win the game if magikarp would get killed with toxic stalling or exploding on a last enemy or such.. so he’s my choice. You can choose to let them go down or swap in a sacrificial smeargle depending on the odds.. the magikarp spiel has better odds of success if you let the spiker go down first.

Next comes in the Smeargle… this is the one who will ascend magikarp to levels of godliness. Use spore to send the enemy to sleep… if the enemy is a grass type..you are in a pretty bad position.. but use substitute instead and hope the enemy doesn’t break your little fake buddy right away. When the enemy is (hopefully) asleep use the move Belly Drum. This move quadruples damage output. If the enemy is still asleep set up a substitute otherwise use Baton Pass to swap into Magikarp. Should you manage to set up a substitute use Baton Pass to go into magikarp anyway. Hard Swapping into Magikarp will not work as the stat boost will not carry over. Baton Pass allows stat buffs to be passed on to the pokémon coming in so it’s crucial.

Now it’s time for Magikarp to obliterate. In this stage a few scenarios can happen. What is important is to find out of Magikarp is faster than your opponent. This is most likely the case if your enemy has made a switch while fighting or if the enemy uses a really slow base speed pokémon.. you probably outspeed it. If this is the case you just keep splashing around unti your enemy manages to hit you once and your focus sash keeps Magikarp at 1hp. After that you just keep happily flailing about and watch as one after another legendary will fall. If your enemy is still the one that opened the game just start flailing from the get go. This should ensure a victory over nearly every legendary with just one attack.

The Message

So the pokémon that has the weakest stats in offence of all pokémon, the one that could not do ANYTHING for quite a while has just taken down an entire team of legendaries. Gods or pinnacles of science alike. With a lot of hard work, some help of your friends and just the right amount of luck even you can take down mountains. In real life you also might not have the right stats for the job but never give up hope. Your friends can raise you to new levels and at times you can get a lucky break. When life knocks you down just crawl back up and show it the skin of your teeth. The impossible is often way more possible than we initially would have thought. Just add love and never fight your battles alone.

Now you know how to take on legends with a low tier Pokémon. Shout out to Pimpnite’s youtube channel , I used his video’s to provide some screengrabs of the battling as I don’t have proper means to capture my own screens myself. Check out his youtube channel for some great how to’s on pokémon battles. Our sets are a bit different in some choices but they function the same. In fact I adapted my core to mimic his latest.. my smeargle did not have substitute first.. but his set was better. You teach me and I teach you Pokémon.. yet again. Did you know Magikarp could take down legendaries? Let me know in the comments.

This Pinkest Poké Blogger is blasting off again!
XO Pinkie

Top 5: Games to start your Pokémon adventure with.

Subjects, it has come to my attention that a great many of you never really played Pokémon! I should have you flogged and put in the dungeons! I’d rather use the dungeons for my afternoon naps though. Quite cool and not a lot of light equals quality napping and this princess needs her beauty sleep! So instead I will spend the time until said nap to inform you how to get into Pokémon, what game can you best start with! So prepare yourselves for a wonderful journey across some amazing games in the radiant presence of yours truly.

Starting Point number 5 : Pokémon Let’s Go Eevee and Pikachu.

The game that was designed to get more people into pokémon is indeed in my top 5 but barely so! Some might find this controversial but I do not care about those feelings! Iamwright, my Aipom agrees with me. In let’s go you control a trainer of a new generation. Living in Pallet Town in the Kanto region , you’ll soon catch a super special Eevee or Pikachu to travel with on a journey to get 8 gym badges to challenge the championship known as the Pokémon League. Meanwhile you stumble onto the evil Team Rocket who is trying to capture the ultimate Pokémon. Featuring only 153 pokémon to collect this is definitely one of the least daunting games on this list. However this one is this low on the list because it enforces a lot of the stereotypes about Pokémon, nor does it truly reflect what it’s like to play a main line game. This game feels very mechanical and somewhat arcade like. Chaining together catch combo’s of 30+ to gain levels and shiny chances reduces the impact of a capture quite a bit.

It is super streamlined and sleek but the capture and improvement system is so slimmed down that it will result in the main games feeling odd. Now don’t get me wrong this is a fair choice to make if you do not want to be overwhelmed..but let’s be honest if you are reading this you have most likely past the age of 10 a decade or so ago at least. So we can handle a bit of depth. Lets go isn’t deep at all, it is a very shallow dive into Pokémon but a very charming one. Seeing your partner Pokémon interact and react to you is nice.

Dressing it up in a matching outfit to you has its charm as well. Eevee and Pikachu really shine as your partners..but they do shine a bit too much. They are infinitely powerful and get all sorts of moves they normally would not get. Pikachu gets a lot of weakness covering attacks and can breeze by every gym by himself. Eevee gets attacks of each and every one of it’s Eeveelutions ..and those moves are brokenly OP. With Kiddy names like Glitzy Glow and Bouncy Bubble and Zippy Zap it’s not that surprising people stereotype it as a kids only game. In truth it really isn’t. The game is a great trip down memory lane, it’s sweet and charming..but if you really want to know what Pokémon is about .. this is not it. If you are looking for some low brow , quick to finish Pokémon fun where you can catch them all in about a week or so, this IS the game for you.

Starting Point number 4: Pokémon Red and Blue

Available both digitally as well on the original cartridge the first games would be an obvious plays to start. Sharing the exact same story as Let’s Go.. with the twist that you can actually pick three starters it the form of Bulbasaur Charmander and Squirtle. In this game you have to work yo catch them all and you aren’t hoarding a million and one captures you have to train (or glitch) them all up the hard way, catching them is harder and getting them all is more rewarding on it’s own. However nostalgia tends to blind people and in truth, the originals could be a bit of a broken mess. Special Defence and Offence weren’t split yet, abilities and held items were not a thing and the Ai and a lot of the NPC things were quite busted. It isn’t that hard to break this game and create infinite loops , glitch your game into forcing a hard reset and others things.

Now these can have their charms and contribute to the retro feeling, but this isnt a list about the most fun to play Pokémon games. It’s a list on where best to start. For the dedicated completionist who haven’t tried this yet , but t I doubt there are any of those. here, this would be the place to start. If you want to do anything in chronological order this would be the place to start as well. Gold and Silver would be the best classic game to start , in truth were it not for one thing I had to mark it down for. They break. Gold and Silver cartridges can become unplayable because the internal battery can dry, the game will not start if this is the case. Pokémon Crystal is on digital marketplaces but do NOT buy Gold or Silver original cartridges it could get you into a lot of trouble.

Red and Blue however are safe to buy regardless of what media you buy it on, going back waaay to the beginning you will miss out on a few new types but you get a mostly enjoyable experience that was improved upon for next generations. I only recommend this one if you really want to start at the beginning! I do however think that starting at the beginning is very natural for a lot of people so that’s why this one takes the number 4 spot. Be warned though, unlike every other game of this list, this one has 0 post game. Well… there’s one thing.

Starting Point number 3: Pokémon Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire (ORAS)

This one would be my ‘The Empires Strikes Back’ of the Pokémon franchise. The holy grail and shining beacon of the franchise. One of the best Pokémon games ever in quite possibly the best region. To me only trumped by Heart Gold. With the remake taking part in the 6th generation you have every typing available and you even have access to new features like Mega-Evolution which..for now.. is an important element in the games after. The story takes you through the Hoenn region as the child of a gym leader you want to make your father proud. Once you hear the cries of professor Birch and help him out, you get that chance by going on a journey with your newly acquired friend Mudkip, Torchic or Treecko, one of the best starter sets throughout the series. Hoenn is plagued by two criminal teams. Team Magma and Team Aqua, who want to use ancient creatures to reshape the earth. Team Magma wants more land and Team Aqua wants more water. You quickly find out that both these options will not do the world any favors and have to stop these teams from creating a cataclysmic event.

The game has a great journey from receiving your starter to claiming the title, quite possibly the best elements in every pokémon game are present (though I miss trainer customisation in this one..that’s more because I just love outfit stuff). It has an amazing post game story revolving around a meteor coming to end the earth. We have Wally, who takes the number 1 spot in my favorite pokémon battles. (ORAS holds the entire top 3) The music is spectacular. As a special character in this remake we have Zinnia. The Dragon Type trainer who named her Whismur after her deceased daughter.

ORAS shows Pokémon can be both cute but also can be a bit more serious and has a great diverse set of Pokémon. This would have taken the number one spot of it didn’t skip over some important game elements. The game little in terms of explaining HM’s , Mega-evolutions and some other elements. It’s not THAT hard to figure out as you are given some clues but you can tell this was designed as a bit of a follow up game. Definitely the best game in the series so far but less user friendly than number one and two.

Starting Point Number 2: Pokémon Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon (USUM)

This one might be a bit of an odd pick for a number two spot , because this isnt exactly the most beloved game. However all gripes with the game come on how similar it was to the regular Sun and Moon and if we are talking about a great place to start, you wouldn’t have played those.. so that argument is invalid. USUM has a much more epic conclusion, better post game content and more pokémon so I do not see a point in recommending the originals over it. In this game you play the nephew or niece of professor Kukui, Pokémon professor of the much more traditional Alola region. As you came from Kanto you inspire KuKui to host the Pokémon League for the first time ever, but trainers would have to prove their worth by taking on the island challenge, which consists of a series of trials followed by battling the four Kahuna’s of the Alolain isles. Meanwhile you stumble upon a mysterious young girl named Lillie who is fleeing from something. She carries a mysterious smoke cloud pokémon she named Nebby..which doesn’t like to stay in it’s bag around and all you know her pursuers want Nebby for some reason or another. While you travel you discover there are.. for the lack of a better description, eldritch abominations dwelling in a realm named Ultra Space. These so called Ultra Beasts are different from Pokémon and you will have to stop the evil that is trying to bring them into Alola, but that is not all from Ultra Space comes a group of people saying that there is an even bigger threat in this timeline as they warn you for Ultra Necrozma which has the power to devastate the world.

This game by far is the most cinematic one. Lot’s of dramatic scenes which leads to tons of character development. The journey we see Lillie take as well as the roles we see your rivals named Hau and Gladion fulfill are all top of the bill. Rarely has a Pokémon game felt this alive. The second time you play through you’ll be annoyed as frizzlesticks because of all the cutscenes.. but again.. that doesn’t hurt it’s spot on THIS list

The trials and fights against totem beasts are a bit easier to get into than the classical gym battles and offer some nice variation, the lack of Hidden Machines or HM moves allow to get more creative when teambuilding, trainer customisation is neat.. but a lot better for a female trainer (but Ultra improved options for boys as well compared to regular sun and moon). The setting is very comfy to play around in as well, an adventure on subtropical islands is more compelling than seeing a reimagination of a very specific japanese region.

. This game is this high on the list because it does an excellent job on explaining mechanics. It also hands new players some proper tools to deduce which types are effective against other types. It will display which moves are super effective or are not very effective against a type. Not from the get go however, you have to discover it by trying stuff out against certain types or dual types. Once more featuring great music, fun new mechanics and a lot of support for the player this game will be THE game to pick up if you want to get into Pokémon right now and if you like to follow a narrative. It also will display symbols on maps where you need to go so unlike the other games you will never really get lost if you miss over some dialogue It also offers you a fair bit of challenge with the Rainbow Rocket challenges or the Ultra Necrozma fight for example. It will show of most villains throughout the show and overall is a very good choice to start with..

Starting Point Number 1: Pokémon Sword and Shield

Now my loyal subjects , I know it is weird to recommend a game that hasn’t event come out yet but here me out on this one. Sword and Shield has a lot going for it already to be a great starter game. First of all is the whole Dexit controversy, the region based on Britain will not have the full Pokédex and people are going mad over it. However it will have a fair chunk. However this is exactly why it will be a great starting point. You can collect around 500 to 600 pokémon rather than a daunting 1000 or so. What’s more , the new game will feature raids meaning you can play alongside friends who can help you get better and get better pokémon. The Job system will make it easier to EV train, the lack of HM’s will give you the ability to run a team in the way you want too. Battling will be held in tiers meaning you might even be able to enjoy a bit of the competitive side without being forced to spend a million hours on breeding.

Max Raids , which once more you do tackle with friends, offer pokémon with better natures and abilities already so it won’t be too hard to actually learn. The biggest reason I put it on this spot is actually how much of the game will change. Mega Evolution is gone, enter dynamax and gigantamax. Z-moves are no longer a thing but are replaced by Max Moves. We don’t know much about the story yet but it seems to be quite deep, with several rivals and an evil team that doesn’t seem THAT evil implying there surely is more evil lurking somewhere else. The rules of Pokémon are changing quite a lot as it would seem in this game with new options to play with and against others players it’s the perfect moment to learn alongside the veterans or show your skills against other rookies.

Being released on switch which doubles a home console and handheld only makes this easier. The displayed effectiveness of attacks makes it return as well as well as new cleaner menus being easier to manage. On the 15th of november we are entering a new phase of pokémon and you can be part of those pioneers which discover Galar… this time we can explore together……sortoff!

Of course these are only the main titles, there still is plenty other content to explore, such as the mystery dungeon series, the pokémon ranger games and even the Nobunaga inspired Pokémon Conquest. You can play Pokémon Puzzle League or Brawl it out in Pokken. Just as easy, potentially just as fun. Regardless of your preferred genre there more than likely is a Pokémon game out there for you as well. Though there isn’t a pokémon financial sim just yet. Let me know what type of Pokémon game you would like to play..or which game you would recommend to a starting adult or just write something nice in the comments and remember.
I am not weird! Just very pink!
Until we read again.

Time for a dungeon nap!

Top 5 : Beginners tips for battling

Hello there little monsters, the sun is shining and it’s about as hot as a Torkoals as…uhm tail out there, so I am staying in to write you another Top 5. This week I will be there for you! Well at least those who are just dipping their feet in the world of Pokémon We all started our journey by just slapping four powerful attacks on our entire team, and sweep leagues with it. However if you ever want to Nuzlocke, play fan games or maybe play a few Pokémon matches for real, you should do well to heed these tips.

Bonus tip: Check out Pokemon Showdown
What is Pokémon Showdown? Well it is a browser based Pokémon battling game, in which you can build and test out teams, by allowing you easy access to all moves without having to go through breeding for it, or even IV or EV training. With easy slider controls anyone can build their custom Pokémon very easily and test them out in a battle. A perfect tool to practice the tips I am about to share. Play the option to do random battles as well,to get a good feeling on what movesets work and which don’t .
Furthermore I won’t be going into EV’ and IV’s in this post because these are too complex for a non dedicated post. Showdown is such an amazing tool for the aspiring battle you should really pay it a visit, after you are done reading the post of course! Otherwise I will come online on Showdown and kick your Mudbray.

*“Tehee She doesn’t mean she’ll kick me me she means your Arse’*

Tip 5: Know your move categories.
“Pinke what do you mean by that move categories, that’s not even a word’ Well no it’s two, but when I would have called it move type it would get confusing , as I am not referring to Pokémon typings. I am referring to physical and special moves.
You know the reason why you have attack and special attack with the same going for defence and special defence. Yet, so many rookie trainers run bite on Espeon or Dark Pulse on Absol, because it kinda looks cool. Now don’t get me wrong, running either of these moves can still be smart but you would not be playing to your Pokémon’s strengths, partially because the game doesn’t properly teach you how to do it correctly. When you learn a new move, it features one of three symbols. A red and Yellow explody mark, a purplish blue, ripple in the water like symbol, and a grey Yin and Yang. The grey yin and yang symbol, signifies status moves. Non combat moves that effect either stats or conditions. Toxic, Calm Mind and Laser Focus are all in this category, and should not be slept upon. The red and yellow explosion thingy signifies a physical move, it means the pokémon have a lot of muscle their, punches and clawing hurts. Most physical attackers are fairly recogniseable. If their physical stat (after like level 30 or so) is like 25% higher or more, its oftenly a good idea to run them with physical moves only. If your Pokémon is level 50, and it’s stats in a category are less than 70 I’d say for a rookie its best to ignore said move type.
The purple blue, rings signify a special attacker, these are your ‘ranged’ attackers. In generally if you feel the move would classify as magic, it’s quite oftenly a special attack. Pokémon with a high special attack stat, you oftenly want to equip with moves like Psychic, Thunder and Fireblast. Pokémon who have high defensive status you’ll oftenly want to equip with moves of the Yin Yang categorie.. Chansey for example has a high special defence modifier, and is quite safe to swap into a , let’s say Primarina. It will benefit most from the yin-yang type moves, a defensive mon will oftenly deal more damage with toxic or leech seed, then with it’s own attacks. If you understand your stats, and the role moves take onto the battlefield, you will understand what role your Pokémon has and you will be able to utilize them better.

Punching , spiiting, drugging, this is how we play Pokémon

Tip 4: Status to victory
Assuming you read the last tip, it is important to keep in mind though too not overly rely in high power special attackers and attackers either, most of the time it is unwise to run four random attacks, or even four chosen attacks, yes there are Pokémon who are so good at offence you should let them focus on it, in general you will want to be able to inflict some status conditions as well. However, aside from poison, young trainers oftenly are under the misconception that you status for its primary effect, which in some cases are true, but both burn and paralysis offer secondary beneficial effects that are way more important than a 30% skip chance or a bit of damage over time. Paralysis halves an opponent’s speed stat, which allows you to get the drop on an opponent who otherwise might have outsped and knocked out your sweet friend. Burn halves the physical attack stat, Slaking and Hitmonchan might seem scary, but when burned they will deal but a fraction of the damage they could before. Charm and confuse are great, but be sure to bring moves that are sure to hit, you do not want to deal with supersonics miss chance. Sleep still is a great status, Yawn is great for forcing an opponent to swap his pokémon, allowing you to create favorable momentum for yourself, while Spore is the best sleep move in the game with it’s 100% accuracy. Stay away from dream eater though, comboing of status you inflict can be fairly unreliable, so only use these if your Pokémon can take a hit. The best moves to combo of a status would be Hex and Venoshock. Hex being the more versatile of the two. Whatever you do, never bring a team with only offensive moves. Pokémon is not just about raw power, it has a lot to do with momentum as well and nothing can shift the balance as much as status.

Pinkie’s Life Lesson : Burning a physical pokemon is smart, but burn Ursaring and you’ll get burned yourself.

Tip 3: A good defence and build up
A good Mon is easy to build, a good team is much harder. When you begin battling, I would very much recommend taking one or two walls along. I am not referring to stakkatakka , though he actually is a wall… and a wall. The word in Pokémon terms is most of the time what a “tank” would be in your MMO like setting, however in a 1V1 format, agro isn’t much of a thing. So you will want to bring a Mon that can take a hit, Shuckle, Umbreon, Chansey, Aggron, Tyranitar, Snorlax and Slaking are functional examples but Sigilyph and Politoed are also some amazing walls. You can defend yourself in other ways as well. Protect in itself might be somewhat pointless, a well timed one, can prevent you from an explosion or even a one hit knockout move. Rest is your friend! Though it seems very unfavorable to go to sleep for two turns, the 100% heal, including any other status, because rest overrules it, is one of the greatest tools in your arsenal to build a great team. Combine it with some build up moves, that increase your stats, like calm mind , swords dance or bulk up, if possible alongside sleep talk.. and you got your first destructive combo on your hands. Buff your stats or debuff your opponent to a point where you control the momentum, Babydoll eyes, and smokescreen are quite useful moves if your opponent is not a underleveled cpu. Regardless if you heal, tank or debuff, if your opponent has to struggle to finish your pokemon, you gain the momentum and you are well on your way to victory.

Pinkie Says: Aegislash, with King’s Shield, Swords Dance,Shadow Sneak and Sacred Sword, is a good set

Tip 2: Battlefield Control
You and your opponent do not want to send out a Pokémon and use it up until it dies, if it is at a disadvantage you want to swap it out to regain control, however you can not keep swapping in and out , as a skilled opponent can probably predict that you will withdraw your Parasect when facing his Charizard and might even prepare a grass move anticipating that rock type that can hit it 4x effective. So you have to think of ways to control the battlefield in your favor, force your opponent to swap when you want to, or make it harder for him to swap so you have more liberties. We can achieve this by bringing hazard setting moves, like spikes, toxic spikes, and stealth rocks to discourage swapping, as they will take damage each time a new pokémon is sent in. On the other hand we can encourage swapping, by using moves like Toxic, Perish Song and Leech seed. Encouraging swap outs is very beneficial when your opponents tries to constantly buff himself to gain the upperhand, or to combo it with a move like pursuit. If you have the momentum, you might want your opponent to stay in, so you don’t have to predict as much an can just pick the team off one at a time.
You can even combine the two, where you force your opponent to choose between bleed damage from swapping out, or taking an increasing amount of dots, shifting the momentum dramatically in your favor. With firespin, whirlpool or other trapping moves like spirit shackle you can also force your opponent to stay in, or when he is gather to much buffs you can force a swap out, with Circle Throw, Dragon Tail or Roar. However, both methods of forced control have the disadvantage that they are rather situational. Trapping moves, lock you into your Pokémon as well, and swapping moves oftenly have negative priority meaning your opponent can always move first, play them at the wrong time and you will be the one losing control instead. So consider your options carefully, in my opinion forced control works better in double battles, while “encouraged” control is often edges out in singles.

Spikes, Seeds, Stealthrocks and toxic, Ferrothorn is a great and giving you momentum.

Tip 1: Items and Abilities
Items and abilities can flat out determine a game. If your opponent predicts the wrong item, he can lose all his momentum in a single turn. If you equip a choice scarf (speed rises by a lot but you can only use the first move you choose) and your opponent underestimates your speed, allowing you the quick kill, a match can be done , then and there. With all the items out there it might seem very overwhelming to choose one, but don’t worry, there are only a handful of good items. Forget about your charcoal, or your nevermeltice boosting one move type is a no go! Forget about most situational items as well. Sure a quick claw can shift a game if it triggers but a focus band.. not worth the risk. Aside from some berries, it will mostly be the items you will get from whatever your game’s rendition of the battle institute is. Your standard Life Orb, Assault Vest, Leftovers , Air Balloons and Choice (item) will be your bread and butter. There are a few other options out there, but those cater to a specific use of a Pokémon. Play some Pokémon Showdown to learn more about items and how they work or check out the youtube channel of Duncan Can’t Die, his channel focuses on battling with random Pokémon a lot so there is a lot to learn there for the beginning battler, and quite entertaining. Aside from a Pokémon’s item you’ll need to determine your ability as well, these are less flexible then items, and you oftenly are limited to one or two good choices. Your abiltiy generally determines your chosen moveset for example if you have a pokémon that can cure it’s status in the rain, you’d bring raindance and rest 9 out of 10 times since it just works like a dream together, if you have the pixilate ability , you’ll want to run normal moves and so on. While your ability determines your moveset, your moveset determines your item, you do not want to run an Assault Vest (higher defences but you can only bring attacking moves) on your hazard setter, you do not want to give Shedinja a Life Orb (takes 10% of your max hp after each attack but boosts power). Yet if you think about your build, and let your ability and your item synergise with your moveset, you can control the battlefield and soon THE WORLD!

Now you are ready to battle, have you ever played Showdown? Have you watched a roulette free for all on Duncan’s Channel? I certainly love them, and they have made me a better battler. So young trainer, or pro who actually bothered to read through this all, to arms! Tonight we shall claim victory on the Showdown battlegrounds! Win or lose , remember to stay pink!

*Disclaimer, staying Pink is a mindset, Pinkie does not encourage you to get sunburned or bodypaint yourself pink in any shape way or form, I love everyone, you dont have to actually be pink.* <-These are needed nowadays.