Tips for new members

Greetings, and salutations!
I'm Marth, veteran of the URPG and official. At PE2K we compiled a list of "tips" that might help you get off a better start.

Behold, and enjoy!

1. One of the easiest ways to earn a top-tier pokemon is to write a story for Magikarp. Requiring only 3,000 characters, a Magikarp in one of the easiest pokemon to write for, and with only seven battles, can evolve into Gyrados, a powerful creature indeed.

2. Battle early and battle often! Each battle in the URPG will reward you for participating, no matter if you won or lost. Losing may only reward $500, but those tiny amounts slowly add up. Many refs would be happy to run a battle for you and if they're busy, simply ask another. After all, they earn money too for reffing.

3. Form rivalries with other members who have started around the same time as you. Not only does this give you someone to battle with when they're on, but most likely they will also be at the same skill level as you, making the duels a challenge in and of itself!

4. Don't pick a Pokemon that is available in the Pokemart as a starter. Story only Pokemon are, for the most part, better than a Pokemon obtainable from the Mart.

5. When you're in a battle, and you're not certain of something, for instance how much damage an attack will do or whether something works or not, never just guess and hope for the best. Ask the ref, they'll be glad to answer, even if it's something stupid.


6. When you train your first Pokémon, don't try to fight older, experienced members. Try to fight people that have newly-bought-or-caught basic Pokémon like you, so you'll have more chances of winning, and getting more money.

7. If you have AIM, go to the Reffing Encyclopedia and get the screen names of all the active refs so you'll have a big list of them on hand and won't keep bothering the same ones over and over again.

8. Begin to write early and it'll be easier lately.

9. Your second Pokémon should try to counter what your first Pokémon can't fight.

10. Ask older and more experienced members how things work. Sometimes you'll find exceptionally nice people who don't mind helping you out and teaching you a bit.

11. Be nice, be yourself, make friends. Remember that the other members are still real people too. If you make friends, you'll have more fun, and will probably have more support and go further.

12. Don't teach your Pokemon any TM just because they can know it and it seems cool at the time. Do your homework and figure out which TMs can benefit your Pokemon the most. Buy the most important ones first (like TM Calm Mind and Shadow Ball for Espeon) then, when you have more money, you can buy other TMs. Don't be afraid to ask more experienced members for advice as to which you should buy.

13. READ this thread before you even attempt to post a story. There are certain expectations for URPG stories that will differ from other stories you might be accustomed to writing. Don't get angry when graders criticize you, either. Take their advice, read it, and grow from it. They're here for your benefit.

14. Every Pokemon you have can be used whether it's just for battling, contests or extra-curricular activities. And if you want to use a Pokemon everyone says is useless, that's your choice. I say prove them wrong.

15. To get stronger quickly, only get a few mons and concentrate your money on giving them vital moves such as set-up moves, or moves that give you essential coverage, such as Ice Punch on Metagross. After you start winning a few battles, you can be more laissez-faire about spending and go into niche moves that may turn the tide of a battle (Jolteon's Shadow Ball).

 

The 10 In-Battle Mistakes Every Newbie Should Avoid​

1. Not using the strongest move that your Pokémon has.
The other day a trainer used Aurora Beam over Ice Beam. Or another guy who used Hyper Beam after Dragon Dancing with Gyarados. Do some research. Do the math. Ask questions. Get to know what hits the hardest.
And what is the strongest move your Pokémon has? It changes depending on the situation. Do the math!
For a move called psychic:
Psychic: Base Damage 90
If STAB (The pokémon using it is psychic-type) = 90 * 1.5 = 135 Base Damage.
If not STAB'd, but SE = 90 * 2 = 180 Base Damage.
If STAB and SE = 90 * 2 * 1.5 = 270 Base Damage.
Alakazam vs. Azumarill. What do you use, Psychic or Energy Ball? Guide yourself with the following steps:
-First, choose your strongest STAB'd attack with 100% accuracy. For my Alakazam, I choose Psychic, but for a fire-type it could be flamethrower, or heat wave if you're risking the 10% miss chance.
-Multiply your attack's base damage times 1.5, and then divide by 2. (Or, multiply it by .75). My result is 67.5.
-I will NEVER use an attack that has less than 67.5 Base Damage, but it's SE, over Psychic, which is Normal Effective, against an enemy. Thus against Azumarill I'm not using ShockWave since Psychic deals more damage. But I would use Energy Ball (Base 80), which does deal more damage over Psychic.
-Always take in mind type effectivenes. Perhaps I wouldn't use ShockWave against an Azumarill, but I would use it against a Gyarados.
-Always take in mind defensive stats. If your opponent has more defense than your attack, or more special defense than your special attack, you might want to consider other options.
If you don't know what STAB is, you still haven't grasped the basics of Pokémon fighting. Check the Encyclopedia.


2. Not switching when you are encored with a non-attacking move.
So you’ve got a Heracross encored and using Bulk-Up against an Alakazam. No worries, once encore is over, you’ll Megahorn him to oblivion. WRONG. If you’re slower than your opponent, or if your opponent can make you slower (with thunderwave), you’re better off switching, or he’ll re-encore you until he’s done toying with you, and then, he’ll use a 6 calm-minded Alakazam to sweep your whole team.

3. In DP rules, using a move that can be blocked by substitute when you are slower and send move first, or, NOT using substitute when your opponent sends move first and is slower.
You have your Weavile on the field, and your opponent has a Miltank. Shame on you if you use Thunderwave when you send first; your opponent will sub and laugh at your attempt. Even more shameful, though, if you are the Weavile and you DON'T substitute against your opponent's Thunderwave.

4. Using low-accuracy moves when it is not necessary.
If you can 2HKO with a pair of Surf or a pair of Hydro Pumps… why risk that 36% chance of any of them missing?

5. Not paying attention to the rules stated at the beginning of the fight.
Sleep clause is something you should take in mind in every fight. The other day this guy tried using sleep powder around 5 times with two different Pokémon. His opponent easily set up, and made him pay for his mistakes.

6. Not asking the ref for confirmation of a KO move.
If you’re not a ref, you can always ask a simple question such as “Does Flamethrower KO?” Most of them will answer with a “yes” or “no”. Even refs will sometimes ask this in order to confirm their results.

7. Not knowing what your Pokémon basic stages can do.
You have gotten your Lucario in a trade, and you wonder what it can do. You check his level-up moves; but forget to check Riolu’s unique moves. Make a list of your Pokémon and what they can do, but keep it to yourself, don’t show it in your stats so your opponent can see too!

8. Fighting a battle you can’t win by merely attacking.
Dusknoir and Cacturne in. Dusknoir has fire punch, so he’ll try to attack with it. Cacturne, in turn, will use Dark Pulse. Who’ll win in the end? Cacturne, by speed and damage. Switch or do something non-attacking, but don’t try to out-power him!

9. Not realizing that, in a DP ruleset, to send a Pokémon before your opponent does is to write a death sentence.
I'll use an example for this. Your opponent sends Magmortar at the beginning. Be smart and send something that will scare Magmortar away, like a faster Water-type Pokémon (Starmie). By doing this you'll force the switch, to a Jolteon perhaps. In this sense, now you can switch Starmie for a Pokémon that is effective against both Magmortar and Jolteon (Any ground-type Pokémon!).
Even better, though, is to use Roar to pull a random Pokémon from your opponent's stats. Don't underestimate it =)

10. Not sending in a faster Pokémon than your opponent when yours gets KO’d.
I’ve seen countless trainers sending in a Pokémon that is slower against an opponents low-health faster Pokémon. He’ll hit you first, and hard, before you hit him, and you’ll be at the mercy of his next Pokémon.

 

This is all very useful, but I cant even find the page where you start the game. Can anyone help?

 

The Starter Request thread is here. You should also have a read through the Rules here, and if you have any more questions then feel free to PM/VM me and I'll be more than happy to help. ^_^

 

That's where I stopped reading.

 

:spam::spam::spam::spam::spam::spam::spam:

EDIT: pikachu in a highchair

 

Nah, actually these are pretty decent tips. ^_~