Hello, long time lurker. But where are my manners?! I should introduce myself!
My name is Joel, which you may address me by, or JES if you prefer.
I have been lurking this forum for many, many months, using the different move sets and natures as suggestions for which to breed Pokemon better meant for battle. That has been going on for probably close to a year now, and I think I've pretty much gotten breeding in IVs and moves down pat at this point, though only now have I finally found the excuse to actually sign up. Pokemon isn't my only interest. So is concept art/design (I'm specifically on a Star Trek kick at this point, having made many sketches for designs for that universe) and Zoids. I bred even quite a few Pokemon for my Alpha Sapphire play-through, and soft-reset for a beneficial nature for my Torchic, Latias, and Beldum, not to mention my Kyogre. Kind of take the fun out a little, until you use them in battle, but losing in wi-fi battles is even less fun, and it is well worth being able to beat any opponents you encounter in-game (though not having my Pokemon obey me while challenging Roxanne: not fun!)!
I first got into Pokemon when every kid was doing it, first the trading card game, then later the video game series, though that had to wait, since my parents would buy it for me. I had to do chores, and save up enough money. I think around this time, Gold and Silver was announced, because that was what I got: a Pichu Pikachu Edition Game Boy Color, and a brand new Silver Version. Ever since, I've remained loyal to the game series. I have no one to play the Trading Card Game with anymore, but the cards that I obtained through the years remain in a closet. I still have the Game Boy Color and Silver Version, and the former and the Crystal version survived being stolen by a bunch of school bullies and hidden behind a bush, which a gardener eventually found, albeit that the GBC has it's wear and tear, and the batteries expired in the cartridges, so of course the save files are gone, but the memories of those who I befriended and played with still remains.
Though after the second generation, I didn't have any friends to play with after moving to Florida, at least not until after Emerald came out, when I found someone else who also played. Unfortunately, after graduating high school, I again found myself with no one else to play with. Oh, he still comes over to my house, so that we can trade, battle, or transfer Pokemon, but it is hardly the same as being able to do so on a regular basis at school.
By the time Generation 5 came out, I was only playing out of tradition, though that changed when I finally managed to get a compatible signal on a regular basis, when my dad changed his router security to WEP (I hated how the WPA encryption was incompatible with my DS). Of course, this made it possible for me to use the Dream World, which I did every day, though I also found out that the Pokemon I was using were no match for my opponents on the internet. I didn't know about IV breeding at the time, or natures, so I suppose that the Pokemon that I started raising afterwards wouldn't've done me much good anyways. On the plus side, I managed to get most of the hidden abilities in this manner, before the DW was sadly shut down.
I suppose that I needed the good kick in the rear, because I only got the White Version: no B2 or W2, since I wasn't playing my White Version much anyways. But after loosing many times in Wifi battles, that really sparked my competitive side, and snapped me out of my complacency, because I didn't like the fact that I wasn't The Very Best, or even close, and that didn't sit very well. I was no more in their league, than the in game characters are in mine. Kind of pathetic really, isn't it?
Though it wasn't until the 6th generation that I found out about this site, and breeding competitive battles, and that I found out that I'd have to revolutionize the way that I raised Pokemon, or I'd continue not to have the upper edge in competitive battles. Though now, I find myself breeding most of the time, and still rarely participate in Wifi battles. I'm always trying to improve, trying to find better strategies and move sets and teams to use. Though at the rate I'm doing things (even with hours spent per day), I'll probably just be an average excuse for a Master.
