New Player, Two Questions

[StLouis]

Hey guys, I’ve always been interested in competitive Pokémon battling but until I found this site I had no idea how to get started.

I have just two questions

First, what’s the point of a tank Pokémon in your lineup. Obviously it's to absorb damage but to what end? It seems like all a tank is going to do is die a bit slower but still leave at -1 in the end.

Also how on earth do people have time to get so many Pokémon to level 100. please tell me there is a way to do this quickly. I'm a college student with a job there is no way I have time to do all this the "natural" way.

I appreciate any help in answering what must seem like obvious questions.

 

[marilli]

Well, you seem to be new here--just note that this is the wrong subforum to ask this. Next time you have questions, just try this thread. That's the simple questions simple answers thread, and they use it so that people don't clog the forums with simple questions that can be answered in a one-liner. A mod will probably lock this, but don't take that personally.

As for the first question, tanks usually have a way to deal small amount of damage. Example of this is Brave Bird on Skarmory or Seismic Toss on Blissey. Many tanks usually have recovery moves. Now take some time to think about this: if opposing pokemon isn't dealing enough damage, your tank will have all the time in the world to recover, and chip away at it until it dies. Or your tank can rely on entry hazards or status (Toxic) to do damage.

As for your second question, I think you'd be better off asking here: The Wifi SQSA thread. Same concept, but it deals with real Cartridge games, while the first one just assumes that you're playing in a simulator, and you have access to all types of hidden power/ good EVs/100 Lv / Event-only Pokemon without extra effort.