Grand Central Station

[Kevin Garrett]

When is Pokemon greatest competitively?

This game has seen sweeping changes throughout the generations. There were periods when the game was so overcentralized all of the top level competitors would use the same core party members. To be successful in an atmosphere like that one needs to have an extension knowledge of how all of their roles needs to be executed in order to play them in the right way to win the battle. Other times the game had plenty of diversity, allowing players to choose from multiple options for the same roles on their teams. This also grants them more free will when it comes time to develop EV spreads and move sets. The downside is that you can lose strategic position during a match for a vulnerability to one of many options available for each team. However, creativity in the team builder is part of the spirit of competition.

The question is, which of these is better, or are they equal? Are there instances when either one can be better than the other depending upon the circumstances in a metagame?

 

[PMJ]

I feel both are important, but at different stages of the metagame.

When the metagame is at its most stable, and the biggest threats and best cores have been established, that is when knowing all the roles a Pokemon can have and how to effectively utilize them are most important. Knowing the strengths and weaknesses of your team will help you get better.

During this time, some people will try to find creative ways to beat the most popular sets, Pokemon, and/or cores. This will also happen when we get new additions to the metagame (like move tutors). After new additions, creativity is at its highest due to people finding out what works and what doesn't. Soon, this will become apparent, and it will become the new norm to beat.

Even at the highest level of play, you can't possibly overcome every threat because it just can't be done with only six Pokemon. There's also the luck aspect of things - a mistimed crit can throw all of your carefully laid plans right out the window, and becoming fully paralyzed on a crucial turn can cost you a game you had originally won.

I don't think there is any time one situation is better than the other because they're always shifting from one side to the other. If people think the metagame is getting boring, they will find cool ways to make it fun for them again. Different EV spreads, an uncommon Hidden Power, a Pokemon from RU on an OU team... Of course, if it becomes known enough, it's possible for that creative thing to become the new thing to beat.

 

[One Approved]

I think the metagame is at its best when it is somewhere in the middle- between diversity and stability. During the "stable" periods, where everybody knows what the top threats are, and everybody uses the same core members, it does make the game fun in its own way. Building a team becomes easier, because you have to check and counter less threats than you would otherwise, and matches normally become a measurement of skill. Aside from the unfortunate crits and paralyses, if you and your opponent's are using the same Pokémon, who's going to win? Normally, it's the person with the best strategy and skill.

On the flipside, it does get a tad boring to see the same threats show up on the ladder and in tournaments again and again and again. Diversity also has its moments, you get to experiment with Pokémon you would never have tried before, and you never know what you're up against. At the same time, however, teambuilding becomes difficult. In an extremely diverse metagame, it's simply not possible to prepare your team for every single threat on the board. Some would argue that it's not possible to do this even in a centralized metagame, let alone an extremely diverse one. It can get frustrating when you realize your team isn't weak to just one, but an entire group of Pokémon. So you go back and edit it, and make it weak to a different group of Pokémon, and so on and so forth. It simply isn't possible to cover everything.

I think the meta is at its best somewhere in the middle. I like it closer to the "centralized" side of the spectrum, however it is still cool when some creativity is possible. Even if it's just a little bit, or even if it's just reading about how somebody reached Top 5 on ladder with a Lanturn team in OU, it is definitely cool to see creativity show itself and win.