Resource I, PDC, the greatest New Gens Player of the past 3 years, present ye peasants with a guide to self-betterment in competitive Pokemon

PDC

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is a Team Rater Alumnusis a Top Tiering Contributor Alumnusis a Smogon Media Contributor Alumnusis a Four-Time Past WCoP Champion

hello everybody, pdc here.

i've decided to start up a series that talks specifically about how to get better in the world of competitive pokemon. when i look at the ou forum, i see a lack of true guides and resources that teach specifics on how to actually "improve." most guides focus on nuances and metagame specific features which aren't very helpful unless a certain skill level is achieved. getting better doesn't come from data collection or "generic metagame knowledge," it comes from introspection and being able to use abstractions to interpret data.

this series is going to be long, probably. it's something that i've wanted to do for awhile, and youtube being the incredibly accessible medium it is means that this is the most presentable / effective way to get my points across. the written guide is an anachronism; the video is the new media of our day.

but seriously, suggest things (concepts, usually) you want to see me do! i'll update this every time a new part comes out!!

approved by the entire senior staff and community at large because i am friends with all of them and also am the people's champ
 
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Wow very cool ! I'm watching this right now ! Good initiative, it'll help some beginners or not-leveled players (like me) to play a lil' better. Thanks !
 
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DKM

Are you feeling nervous? Are you having fun?
is a Social Media Contributoris a Contributor to Smogon
Just wanted to say the first video was really helpful and I'm looking forward to more :]
 
This is a good project, PDC. I feel like the video could be a bit shorter (around 15 minutes) by focusing directly on the main points you want to express and not use long pauses between thoughts.
 
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PDC

street spirit fade out
is a Team Rater Alumnusis a Top Tiering Contributor Alumnusis a Smogon Media Contributor Alumnusis a Four-Time Past WCoP Champion
part 2! i focused on team preview and its use in forming a game plan in this one. win conditions / deciding how to win a game is the main feature here, something which i find a lot of newer players ignoring. the preview is not literal, but a practical and easy to use tool that can give you a leg up if you choose to use it. this specific aspect of the game can be practiced in any game, so i encourage you all to try this technique on your own and see how you can improve / get correct guesses.

part 2.5 will be focusing on set guessing! it is already recorded, should be out later in the week. after that i think i'm going to talk about how to analyze a metagame and the tour / ladder dichotomy.

as usual, feedback is great. thanks for watching :heart:
 

PDC

street spirit fade out
is a Team Rater Alumnusis a Top Tiering Contributor Alumnusis a Smogon Media Contributor Alumnusis a Four-Time Past WCoP Champion
part 2.5 is an extension of part 2. it still focuses exclusively on using team preview, but this time instead of win conditions it focuses more specifically on the sets your opponent may have and how to guess them. part 3 might be something like metagame analysis / trying to pinpoint the dichotomy of ladder vs tournaments.
 
I just watched part 2 and maybe if you talk about a replay but not watch the entire replay in the video you can link the replays so people can view the battle too if they want
 

PDC

street spirit fade out
is a Team Rater Alumnusis a Top Tiering Contributor Alumnusis a Smogon Media Contributor Alumnusis a Four-Time Past WCoP Champion
ok - i'm rolling


part 5 - team building part 2. i cover mostly innovation / separate entities of building on ladder tournament with examples. been trying to make these videos a bit faster as time goes on as i think ya'll want the speed
 
Maybe I'm missing something - but it looks like only 1, 2 and 2.5 are in your "Competitive Pokemon Guide" playlist on Youtube, although the others are on your channel adding them to the playlist could make them easier to find :) Thanks for doing these, they've been great so far!
 

Heika

I may very well be the worst player on this site
is a Pre-Contributor
Glad a new episode has been released, Even more when it's about risk & reward
 

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