Research During Battles

[Sandstreamer]

Lol, I didn't know there actually are that many people doing that stuff. I mean, sometimes it's clear that my opponents look up stuff on Smogon (I once used a Lanturn in OU and MANY people thought it was the parafusion set Smogon suggests as "the way to go" for OU, although that set is terrible... lol) But geez, are you serious?

Personally, I've never done that a single time since I started battling in the GSC era. lol

The main reason probably is, that once I got a team out of "testing phase" I'm familiar enough with my Pokemon to know pretty much anything that could happen, including the damage it would be doing. And then again, I do not fear standard smogon sets enough to actually care to calculate their effects.

But well, everybody has his own style of play. I must say I really raged about people looking stuff up in the days of NetBattle, but as long as Shoddy allows me to do two or three battles at the same time, my enemies shall take all the time they want. =)

 

[Im new here]

I've done it on a few occasions if i'm not sure the types of a certain pokemon that i'm against, and therefore not sure what's best to send out against what i'm currently fighting against, but apart from looking up the types i dont think i've done it ;)

 

[Dave [old]]

You overestimate the amount of time it takes. It's much closer to 10 seconds if you already have the tab for the SDC open. Just selecting two Pokemon, two move sets, and one move is easy. While they may not be entirely accurate (because your opponent may have shifted EVs), using sets that appear similar (Swords Dance Scizor if you see LO, for example) will give you a rough estimate which can work. 10 seconds or less, really.

I also don't understand why everyone is pretending like people would run damage calculations every move instead of every 10 or so moves. I wouldn't calculate unless a) I didn't know if I could KO / 2HKO, b) I don't know if I can survive one / two hits, or c) I don't know if I can switch something in safely. That probably won't be every turn, especially since I probably won't need to re-run the calc after doing it once. Really, overall in a match it would probably eat up a minute or two. I wouldn't call that strenuous on such an already fast paced game.

This seems like one of those 'favorite vs superior' topics.

This.

Calculations don't take long at all if you're doing it right. Compared to the time it takes in a truly intense battle to make the correct predictions I'd say the time inputting standard sets onto Smogon's calculator is rather negligible. Whenever I engage in a real competitive battle, I usually open a new Chrome window with a tab for the Calculator, and another one for the StrategyDex from which I'll open a tab for each of my opponent's remaining Pokemon. These habits have proven very helpful, and believe me it doesn't lessen the excitement of the Pokemon battle.

But I'm sure a lot of this can be attributed to the fact that I'm primarily a Wi-Fi player, and the turns normally don't progress as quickly on Wi-Fi as they do on Shoddy.

 

[Jats605]

I only use calcs if im not sure whether to switch, and who to.
For that most part, I can just about guesstimate damage/speed (although my Lead D-nite is taking some getting used too. I thought he was much faster >_>)

 

[Spenstar]

Personally, I don't use calcs, because then I'm forgetting the spirit of a pokemon battle in itself. Competitive or no, I battle for fun, and the calcs seem like a chore to me.

 

[Chou Toshio]

You overestimate the amount of time it takes. It's much closer to 10 seconds if you already have the tab for the SDC open. Just selecting two Pokemon, two move sets, and one move is easy. While they may not be entirely accurate (because your opponent may have shifted EVs), using sets that appear similar (Swords Dance Scizor if you see LO, for example) will give you a rough estimate which can work. 10 seconds or less, really.

I also don't understand why everyone is pretending like people would run damage calculations every move instead of every 10 or so moves. I wouldn't calculate unless a) I didn't know if I could KO / 2HKO, b) I don't know if I can survive one / two hits, or c) I don't know if I can switch something in safely. That probably won't be every turn, especially since I probably won't need to re-run the calc after doing it once. Really, overall in a match it would probably eat up a minute or two. I wouldn't call that strenuous on such an already fast paced game.

This seems like one of those 'favorite vs superior' topics.

Well the main point is I'd like stricter time settings regardless. Too many people who wonder off and do other stuff in the middle of a battle, and yes there are players who take 20-30 seconds a move. >___>

 

[RayePenbur]

I frequently open up Smogon or Serebii during a match, usually to look up base stats and types. I know I know, I should be able to know or at least guess a type but when a Purugly shows up, something I've never used, I'm going to hop out for a second to find out what that thing is.

 

[RayePenbur]

Well the main point is I'd like stricter time settings regardless. Too many people who wonder off and do other stuff in the middle of a battle, and yes there are players who take 20-30 seconds a move. >___>

Dude 20-30 seconds? Get over it. So what if you think you have some awesome plan brewing for my pokemon? A guy has to pee sometimes!

I at least always apologize when I take too long for a move, whether they accept it or not is non consequential.

 

[ThePatriot]

i run calcs if i cant estimate how much damge will be delt. I will also run calcs if i think the oppontes pokemon is holding a damage decreasing berry (like an occa berry on a metagross) to see if i can still ko if it is not at full health.

 

[red12345]

on wifi battles, i do calcs on the most crucial move. it only really takes 30 seconds using SDC since i have it ready with a notepad (to mark down who i slept and whatnot since i multitask while playing :D).

 

[scorchedsky]

i just use libelldra's calc. i can more easily figure out raw stats than enter a specific pokemon and pick a specific move etc

also it's way faster for ballpark calcs, like ~350 attack using a 100 bp STAB move on 200def, 300HP or something

i'd say i only run calcs when i'm surprised by something, or unsure of the OHKO/2HKO threshold

 

[Lights Out]

I'll do calcs one in a while, but only if I particularly care about winning a match (if I'm playing someone I know or a big name on the ladder). Other than that, I really feel that calcs diminish the excitement of a battle. I'd rather learn how much Scizor's BP does to Flygon from experience than have to run a calc on it in the middle of a battle.

 

[Shadow Dawn]

I never run calcs. All my moves I base on type effectivness, prediction, and guts. Pokémon battling is supposed to be a test of wits, skill, and prediction. If you're running damage calcs, you're just going through the motions.

 

[connoisseur]

Unless you see something startling that you've never seen before such as one of those linoones or something. You should trust yourself to ball park calculations if you are a good battler.

 

[Hobbers]

It's quite fun when you use sets that nobody expects. I'm using the next set on PO

Miltank (F) @ Leftovers
Jolly 252 Atk/252 Spd/4Hp
Ability: Scrappy
T-Wave
Attract
Stomp
Milk Drink

As most people don't care about gender on PO, they are all male. Miltank is female, so attract will always hit. T-Wave makes you outspeed anything and the opponent goes crazy. Para + Attract + Flinch = Nice. Only Steel & Rock are a problem.

 

[Man On The Moon]

I don't know if this is possible, but It would be helpful if you could see how much a move could do to the target in the actual battle window.Regarding the topic I don't mind my opponent doing research as long as it doesn't take 30 seconds. I will do research pretty frequently in a battle but that's because I'm a beginner.



Edit:Oh wait it would reveal strategic information on the pokemon,but maybe a calculator in the battle window

 

[Vascha]

I dont generally do any calcs during a match.. I might look up a move-set, or check smogon to get a general idea of what the person *might* be using.... however since I generally battle people that don't stick to the smogon sets, its kind of pointless.
I also don't use shoddy... I play in tournaments at conventions, and with people on other sites, who may or may not use smogon for a baseline.

I do not care if my opponent does any kind of calcs or checking... as long as they are relatively quick about it. If it takes more than about 2 minutes, I'll say something.. more than 5 minutes... I'll say something again.. and if they don't reply, I'll just drop... if it takes you more than 5 minutes to make a decision, your not there.

 

[cosmicexplorer]

I almost never run damage calcs in a battle simply because I never feel the need to use them. But I almost always take the few seconds necessary to look up the analysis page for a pokemon unless it's really obvious because I've found that a lot of players stick to the standard sets, and with the analysis, I know what I have to look out for and can make a plan based on that; it usually takes around 3-4 seconds.

 

[Landog22]

i dont look it up online, but i research my opponet by seeing if attacks/lowers your stats/ raises his attacks.

 

[CBshuckle]

Whenever I'm in a battle (shoddy, mind you), I want to optimize my chances of winning - and if that means performing every necessary damage calc or looking up all possible reasonable sets for a given pokemon on smogon, that's what I'm going to do.

Although it can occasionally be annoying for my opponent, I don't usually take too long.