A strong team is more than simply using six powerful Pokémon. Each Pokémon should have a purpose and work well alongside the rest of the team. When building a team, consider:

• Type coverage
• Offensive and defensive roles
• Physical vs. Special attackers
• Speed and bulk
• Abilities and held items
• Moves that cover weaknesses or support teammates

Try to avoid building a team where several Pokémon share the same major weaknesses.

Before hunting or purchasing a Pokémon, you can research whether it fits your team.

• /pwiki <pokemon> — View information about a Pokémon such as its stats, typing, abilities, evolutions, and spawn conditions.
• Check its base stats to determine what role it performs best.
• Check its abilities and movepool before committing resources to it.
• Use its spawn information when hunting for the Pokémon yourself.

This is especially useful when deciding between multiple Pokémon that could fill the same role.

There are several ways to obtain Pokémon for your team.

• Wild Pokémon — Find Pokémon naturally using the spawn information available through /pwiki.
• Hunts — Hunt Pokémon can receive increased IVs, making them useful starting points for stronger team members.
• /auction or /ah — Purchase Pokémon listed by other players.
• /trade <player> — Safely trade Pokémon directly with another player.

When buying or trading Pokémon, pay attention to their IVs, nature, ability, and moves rather than only the species.

IVs are permanent values that affect how high each of a Pokémon's stats can become. Each Pokémon has IVs for:

• HP
• Attack
• Defense
• Special Attack
• Special Defense
• Speed

Once you have the Pokémon you want, you can begin optimizing it.

• /pb — Opens PokéBuilder, allowing you to modify several aspects of your Pokémon using the required currencies or tokens.
• PokéBuilder can assist with things such as IVs, EVs, natures, abilities, and moves.

You do not need to obtain a perfect Pokémon immediately. Most Pokémon can be improved later!

EVs allow you to specialize a Pokémon toward a particular role. For example:

• Fast physical attackers commonly invest in Attack + Speed.
• Special attackers commonly invest in Special Attack + Speed.
• Defensive Pokémon may invest in HP + Defense or HP + Special Defense.

Your Pokémon's EVs should complement its stats, moveset, and intended role. PokéBuilder can also be used to adjust EVs when preparing Pokémon for competitive battles.

A Pokémon's Nature increases one stat while decreasing another, making choosing the correct nature an important part of optimization. For example, a Pokémon that only uses physical attacks usually has little need for Special Attack and can use a nature that lowers it.

Abilities can be just as important. Some Pokémon have several available abilities that completely change how they function in battle. Both Natures and Abilities can be adjusted through /pb when necessary.

A Pokémon's moveset determines what it can actually accomplish during battle. Try to avoid simply choosing the four strongest attacks available. A good moveset may contain a mixture of:

• Same-Type Attack Bonus (STAB) moves
• Coverage moves
• Setup moves
• Status moves
• Recovery
• Team support

Moves should complement both the Pokémon's role and the rest of your team.

Some Pokémon can access Mega Evolution, allowing them to temporarily transform during battle. Mega Evolution generally requires the appropriate Mega Stone alongside the necessary Mega Evolution equipment.

Different Mega Evolutions can dramatically change a Pokémon's stats, typing, or ability, so they should be considered when planning your overall team.

Once your team is prepared, the best way to find weaknesses is to actually use it. Good places to test your team include:

• Gyms — Test general team composition and coverage.
• Battle Tower — Face increasingly challenging battles while earning progression rewards.
• Battle Cafe - Explore and fight increasingly challenging trainers through 5 unique battle areas.
• Tournaments — Compete against other players using structured competitive rules.
• Ranked — Battle other players competitively and earn gems from wins.

Losing a battle does not necessarily mean you need different Pokémon. Sometimes changing a moveset, EV spread, item, or strategy is enough to fix a weakness!