Competitive Battling

What is competitive battling?

Competitive battling is similiar to link-up battling. The only thing that's different is that you get to choose whatever Pokemon you want with whatever moves, abilities, items, ect. that they have. It's basically just customizing your team without needing to go through the hassle of training them.

How do I experience competitive battling?

The best (and probably only way, come to think of it) way to 'experience' competitive battling is by downloading Netbattle. After you download it, just create a team and enter a server. It's that simple.

How do I get better at competitive battling?

So, after you've been through one or two battles, you've found out that you suck quite a lot and people have pounded you through and through, thinking 'This is nothing like the Pokemon games where I get to beat virtually anyone on my first try'. And you're exactly right. It isn't. Like always, the only way to get better at competitive battling is by practicing. Keep battling people no matter how many times you lose and keep fixing up your team to suit the game every time you lose. There are even some nice guides on concepts lying around this site, like the EV guide and the Hidden Power guide. But, to get you off the ground, I'll bring you this guide about making movesets that I wrote:

Basic Tips to Making a Moveset

Never make a moveset including attacking moves that are the same type. (Example: Flamethrower, Sunny Day, Fire Blast, Solarbeam) Of course, there are exceptions to this rule, which you will read about later on.
Avoid using low accuracy moves as your main attacking move. So, Blastoise's main attacking move should be a water type attack. Use Surf as a main attacking move, not Hydro Pump. Again, there are exceptions, like using moves to repel a specific thing. In this case, you can use a Salamence with Dragon Dance, Aerial Ace, Earthquake, and Fire Blast.
Avoid making a moveset consisting of 4 attacking moves. Unless you are using Choice Band, it is good to have some supporting moves to back your Pokemon up in battle.
Avoid making a moveset consisting of 4 supporting moves. If you have a Pokemon that has all 4 moveslots for supporting moves, it will most likely be a tank and last till the end. If it is your last Pokemon, then, well, there goes the game. There are some special cases like Umbreon and Smeargle.
Make sure your moveset covers a good amount of types. Let's say you have a moveset like Earthquake, Rock Slide, Body Slam, and Shadow Ball. Unless your Pokemon is a normal type, you should get rid of Body Slam for another move, because it is not Super Effective against anything that your other moves don't cover, making it a waste of a slot.

Got that all down? Now, it's time for the different types of moveset you can use.

Physical Sweeping Moveset

A pretty simple concept. A Physical Sweeping Moveset is just a moveset with Physical moves plus one or two supporting moves. For example:

Salamence @ Leftovers
- Hidden Power [Flying]
- Earthquake
- Rock Slide
- Dragon Dance

Salamence is a perfect example for a Physical Sweeper. The strategy behind it is simple and pretty obvious. First, power up with Dragon Dance so that your attacks will be almost guarenteed to kill every Pokemon and that you will go first every turn to avoid damage. Then, just sweep.

Choice Band Moveset

Like the other set, Choice Banders don't require much strategy and are easy to use. You'll just need to be able to predict well. You should have at least 1 CBer on your team to quickly clean up the opponent's damaged Pokemon. For example:

Heracross @ Choice Band
- Megahorn
- Rock Slide
- Brick Break
- Earthquake

This should require no explanation. Just kill the opponent's team with your moves. But, like I said earlier in the guide, there are exceptions to the rule: Never make a moveset including attacking moves that are the same type. And you will learn about them right now. For example:

Medicham @ Choice Band
- Hi Jump Kick
- Shadow Ball
- Fake Out
- Focus Punch

Hi Jump Kick and Focus Punch are the same type, yet, using them on the same set is fine. Why is that? Well, if you're still trying to get into the Netbattle swing, then skip over this section since you probably not going to be able to pull this off successfully, and I'll just be hindering your play. Hi Jump Kick is Medicham's main attacking move. So why is Focus Punch there? Focus Punch can be used to kill things quick and easy but you will need lots of prediction in order to pull it off. Let's say you switch into a Blissey. You know the Blissey is going to switch out and switch into something that can repel it, say, Skarmory. This is when Focus Punch goes into action. You're tightening your focus on the switch and when Skarmory comes out... BAM! Focus Punch it right into its pointy face. Most likely it'll be killed in one hit. If not, quickly switch out so it won't Drill Peck you. At least you lowered it down to the red zone. See the magic in Focus Punching CBers?

Special Sweeping Moveset

Special Sweeping Movesets are exactly like Physical Sweeping Moveset, except that you use Special moves instead of Physical moves. These sets aren't as effective with Blisseys and Regices running around, but they still can do a great deal of damage after those annoying Special sponges are out of the way. For example:

Alakazam @ Leftovers
- Psychic
- Ice Punch
- Fire Punch
- Calm Mind

Nothing really to explain here. Switch this into something like a Skarmory, power up with Calm Mind on the switch and blast the team away with Psychic or one of the elemental punches.

Tanking Moveset

Tank Movesets are used with Pokemon that have good defenses and decent offense. They are meant to attack and defend at the same time. For example:

Snorlax @ Leftovers
- Body Slam
- Shadow Ball
- Curse
- Rest

Snorlax can still play his role as a Special wall but it can still take out a lot of Pokemon at the same time. There aren't many Pokemon that can do this, but the ones that can can do it quite well.

Healing Moveset

It is recommended to have at least 1 healer on your team to cure any statuses that your Pokemon may have been inflicted with in battle. Healing movesets should usually have 1 attacking move and 3 other moves to support the team and itself. For example:

Blissey @ Leftovers
- Seismic Toss
- Aromatherapy
- Softboiled
- Thunder Wave

Blissey can cure the team of all status with Aroma Therapy, heal itself with Softboiled, and start inflicting the opponent's team with Thunder Wave. This is an overall great annoyance and a good Pokemon to have on your side, but a bit boring.

Supporting Moveset

Supporting movesets are basically the same as Healing Movesets, but they also support the whole team, not only heal it. For example:

Vaporeon @ Leftovers
- Surf
- Wish
- Substitute
- Baton Pass

Vaporeon is an excellent Supporter. With its huge HP, it can baton pass 101 HP substitutes to other Pokemon and heal those on your team that can't heal themselves with Wish. This can be a great help to your team and you will find out how useful it is when you try it yourself. Another good example is:

Forretress @ Leftovers
- Earthquake
- Spikes
- Reflect
- Rapid Spin

Forretress supports the team in a different way than Vaporeon does. Vaporeon is all about HP, but Forretress can hinder the other team with Spikes, spin away the Spikes laid out on your field, and increase your team's defense with Reflect.

Baton Passing Moveset

Baton Passers pass stats to other Pokemon, thus allowing the recipent to sweep the team. Now, you can build a whole team with Baton Passers that pass to one recipent, but we won't go there. This section focuses on only 1 Baton Passer with 2 or more recipents it can pass to. For example:

Smeargle @ Salac Berry
- Spore
- Belly Drum
- Substitute
- Baton Pass

Simple. Put the opponent asleep with Spore, and create a Substitute. Then use Belly Drum, which will make your HP low enough so that Salac Berry activates. After that, pass the goodies with Baton Pass to someone who is fast and has a lot of attack power. For example:

Aerodactyl @ Leftovers
- Rock Slide
- Double-Edge
- Earthquake
- Hidden Power [Flying]

Aerodactyl is the most popular recipent to pass to. It is one of the fastest Pokemon in the game and it boasts a nice 105 Attack. If you are able to pull this off successfully, then you might as well have won the game.