How to become a Pokémon Master

What you will learn

Greetings, Pokémon Trainer! You want to become a Pokémon Master? Then this website might be the place to be for you! Here you will find some information about the current Pokémon meta game. An in-depth guide about being successful in online PvP battles is provided.
First of all, if you are not yet into the newest Pokémon Games, you will learn about the latest Nintendo Switch Games "Pokémon Scarlet and Violet". Right after that, we jump into the theory about Pokémon strengths and weaknesses, which is essential knowledge when it comes to a Pokémon battle. Also you will learn what stats are, which stats exist and how every stat works. To maximize them, you will be able to read, what EV and DV stand for and how to increase them. Also Pokémon natures will be explained and it is shown how to change them if necessary. You will be introduced to Pokémon abilities, hidden abilities and how to decide, which ability your Pokémon will have. Also you will find out, what items are in Pokémon battles and why the correct item pick is crucial to succeed in PvP online battles. Finally, the new feature "Tera Type" will be introduced. You will find out, what this type stands for and how to use it properly.
In the next section of this website, you will find the latest tier list for online battles. Here you will find out, which Pokémon are currently the best when competing against real players. Additionally the current ban list is attached to make sure not to use prohibited Pokémon online.
If this is your first contact with Pokémon online battles, you will love the third section of this website, which shows you a training example. You will learn how to get your first Pokémon ready for PvP battles. Therefore, a checklist is provided to optimize your Pokémon step by step. In our training example, you will see an in-depth guide for training a physical attacking Dragonite perfectly.
Finally I will introduce myself briefly. Thank you for visiting my website. Have fun and good luck in your upcoming online battles.

Pokémon Scarlet and Violet

Pokémon Scarlet and Pokémon Violet are the first open-world RPGs in the Pokémon series. As you enjoy the hallmarks of the series—meeting, teaming up with, battling, training, and trading Pokémon—you'll be able to immerse yourself in a newly evolved adventure. To compete in totally new and actual online battles which are constantly evolving and being updated, you need to own a Nintendo Switch and at least one of both Pokémon Scarlet or Violet. These games were released on November 18 in 2022.
In Pokémon Scarlet, your professor is Professor Sada, in Pokémon Violet, it's Professor Turo. For the first time in a new Pokémon generation, the two versions of the game have version-exclusive profs. The two different professors tie in to the thematic differences between the games.
Pokémon Scarlet generally embodies the past, whilst Violet embodies the future. This is true of several different aesthetics in the games. The version-exclusive legendaries, for example, and their vehicular transformations. Koraidon, exclusive to Scarlet, uses its legs and wheels to drive around, whereas Miraidon is a kind of jet bike. You'll see similar differences when riding them on the water and while flying around Paldea's expansive map.

The Pokémon school in Mesagoza is named “Naranja Academy” in Scarlet and “Uva Academy” in Violet. The badges are different in both games, too, which brings us to the final differences between the games. You'll notice all the little motifs are subtly different in both versions. School uniform is red in Scarlet and, er, violet in Violet.
You'll notice similar changes throughout both games on various characters and items, including the Scarlet and Violet Book. Additionally, each Pokémon game will contain exclusive Pokémon which the opposite edition doesn't provide. You can still obtain them by trading with trainers of the other edition.
For example, in Pokémon Scarlet you will be able to catch Koraidon, Armarogue, Larvitar and its evolved forms, Stonjourner and Great Tusk. Respectively, in Pokémon Violet you will be able to catch Pokémon like Miraidon, Ceruledge, Bagon and its evolved forms, Eiscue and Iron Treads exclusively.

Strengths and Weaknesses

All Pokémon creatures and their moves are assigned certain types. Each type has several strengths and weaknesses in both attack and defense. In battle, you should use Pokémon and moves that have a type advantage over your opponent; doing so will cause much more damage than normal.
A single-type advantage (for instance a Water attack against a Ground-type Pokémon) will net you double normal damage. The advantages also stack up, so a double-type advantage (for instance a Water attack against a Ground/Rock-type Pokémon) will net you quadruple damage. In both these cases you will see the message It's super effective! in-game after the attack.
Conversely, a single- and double-type disadvantage will afflict half and a quarter normal damage respectively. Here you will see the message It's not very effective... in-game.
Another advantage you can gain is Same Type Attack Bonus (STAB). As the name implies, this increases the power of the move if the attacking Pokémon has the same type as the move used (for example a Fire-type Pokémon using a Fire-type move). In this case the damage is 1.5 times normal. Again this is added to any other advantages, so a Water-type Pokémon using a Water-type move against a Ground/Rock-type Pokémon will bag you six times (2 times 2 times 1.5) normal damage!

On the right hand side you will find the current strengths and weaknesses chart.

Stats

Stats determine, how "strong" or "weak" a Pokémon is in battle. Each Pokémon has six stats, which are all working in a different way. Every Pokémon has a base value for each stat. Stats can be increased by leveling, allocating EV and increacing DV. Here you which stats do exist and how they are working:

HP: Stands for "Health Points". The more HP a Pokémon has, the longer it tends to survice. A Pokémon is defeated when reaching 0 HP.
ATK: Stands for "Attack". Affects how much damage physical attacks will inflict to your opponent. The higher the ATK value of a Pokémon, the more physical damage it will deal to your opponent.
DEF: Stands for "Defense". Affects how much damage your Pokémon will mitigate when receiving a physical attack. The more DEF your Pokémon has, the less physical damage it will receicve.
SpATK: Stands for "Special Attack". Analogue to ATK, but with respect to special, not physical, attacks.
SpDEF: Stands for "Special Defense". Analogue to DEF, but with respect to special, not physical, attacks.
SPD: Stands for "Speed". The Pokémon with the higher SPD stat attacks first. Priority Attacks will still executed first, no matter how high the SPD value of a Pokémon is.

EV & DV

"EV" stands for "Efford Values". Every Pokémon can obtain 510 EV. This can happen either by fighting other Pokémon in PvE battles or by giving your Pokémon "Feathers" or "Vitamins". Each Pokémon can obtain a maximum of 255 EV per stat. Every 4 EV will increase the value of a certain stat by 1 point. Therefore to maximize the value of your EV, allocate 252 EV on two stats and 4 EV on another stat regilarly. 2 EV will remain useless. You can see an abstract overview of you EV on the interface on the left hand side.

"DV" stands for "Deter Values". As the name suggests, DV are determined when catching a Pokémon randomly in general. Several Pokémon, e.g. Pokémon you find in Tera Raids or legendary Pokémon, have some maximized DV per default when catching them. DV can't be changed, except you use "Gold Bottle Caps" or "Silver Bottle Caps" to maximize the stats of your choice. DV can be described by a value between 0 and 31. DV can be observed by using your Pokémon Box and examining the evaluation of your Pokémon. Therefore, several terms are used:

Best: 31
Fantastic: 30
Very Good: 26-29
Pretty Good: 16-25
Decent: 1-15
No Good: 0

Pokémon Natures

Every Pokémon has a special nature per default. While a Pokémon nature increases the value of one stat by 10%, another stats will be decreased by 10%. Exceptional natures are "Hardy", "Docile", "Bashful", "Quirky" and "Serious", which will have no impact on the stats of a Pokémon. HP cannot be affected by the nature of a Pokémon.
On the right hand side you will find a table, which shows all natures and which stats they affect.

Pokémon Abilities

An ability is a game mechanic introduced in Generation III that provides a passive effect in battle or in the overworld. Individual Pokémon may have only one Ability at a time. Prior to Generation VI, an Ability could not be changed after a Pokémon was obtained except by evolution—where the new Ability is determined by the former Ability—and form change. Not every Ability is entirely beneficial; some of them are hindering. Most Pokémon are able to learn a hidden ability by default or by using an "Ability Patch".

Items

An item is an object in the Pokémon games which the player can pick up, keep in their Bag, and use in some manner. They have various uses, including healing, powering up, helping one to catch Pokémon, or accessing new areas. When it comes to competitive PvP battles, each Pokémon is authoized to hold exactly one item, which may increase your fighting performance. Here you can find a list of all Pokémon items. Note, that only items with the category "Hold items" can be used in online PvP battles.

Tera Types

Pokémon Scarlet and Violet, like most other games in the Pokémon series, has a new gimmick that changes up how Pokémon work. We've been through Mega Evolutions, Z-Moves, Dynamax Pokémon, and now we have Terastallization — a crystal-like addition to a Pokémon's appearance that has the power to change their type. But how does the Pokémon's Tera Type change their moves? Does it change their STAB stats? Does it protect those Pokémon from their weaknesses?
To put it simply: A Tera Type will replace that Pokémon's offensive typing, but add to its types defensively. Basically, Terastallization makes most sense as a defensive strategy in most cases. Let's use an example. The Flying Tera Type Pikachu that you'll be able to get as an early purchase bonus is a great start. Pikachu's normal typing is Electric. Electric types moves are super effective against Water and Flying, not very effective against Electric, Grass, and Dragon and they do no damage to Ground-type Pokémon. However, once you Terastallize into Flying type, that changes Pikachu to Flying type. Flying types are strong against Grass, Fighting, and Bug and weak to Electric, Rock, and Steel. This Pikachu still cannot use Electric moves against a ground Pokémon, but it is now no longer weak to Grass and Dragon types. Flying Pikachu will also now have a Same-Type Attack Bonus for Flying moves, but will not lose its Same-Type Attack Bonus for Electric moves.
You are able to terastallize a Pokémon once per battle.