I Need Help (It's for school)

LostNo.

Hi, I haven't been on here in a long while and while I was I didn't post a lot. However, I have been perusing these forums off and on as I am thoroughly interested in math. As it stands, my appreciation for math and my love for Pokémon have landed me with an assignment for school. As part of the rules I cannot reveal much about it (other than it has to do with math and Pokémon) but I need something. I need good definitions of the following terms:
Level
Stat
Base Power
Damage
Please remember this will be presented to adults with potentially no understanding that Pokémon is even a video game. I would use my own definitions but I have to cite anything that's not common knowledge and even though this stuff is common knowledge here it is not there. Thus I would prefer direct quotes I can cite, even if they are your personal definitions of them. If you have a link to an awesome definition that would fit my purposes well (simple yet informative, teaching words without delving into them) then by all means, show me! Or, just give me your own.

I do hope that when this paper is done and submitted I will be allowed to post it here. My goal is to find out more of what I can say, though, and exactly when I can put it on here. Yes, I know you haven't seen any of my work, and quite frankly, this is my first, but still.

Anyway, thank you for any help you can give!
(By the way, I posted this here even though it has to do with contributions because it's not quite a contribution yet.)
 
I'm not sure how good these are, but I'll help anyway ....

Level - A measure between 1 and 100 that determines the overall power of the Pokémon. As a Pokémon gains enough experience (defeats enough opponents in battle), it will increase in level, which also increases its stats.

Stat - A numerical representation of how well a Pokémon performs within a certain field. A Pokémon with a high Speed stat for example, is very fast, or a Pokémon with a high Attack stat is very strong.

Base Power - The power a certain move has before any external factors are applied. Many moves with a very high base power (such as 120 or above) may have a drawback associated with using them.

Damage - When a Pokémon is harmed in battle, it takes damage. Damage is a number (which is also frequently converted to a percent of the affected Pokémon's maximum health) subtracted from the Pokémon's current Hit Points. When enough damage is inflicted on a Pokémon to take its Hit Points down to 0, the Pokémon faints. The main "goal" of Pokémon is to inflict as much damage as possible, making each Pokémon on your opponent's team faint.

EDIT: I also typed the following up for a guide I was writing a looong time a go I may or may not finish later. It sort of applies to stats, use it if you wish :

Hit Points act as your Pokémon’s health, and they are decreased as the Pokémon takes hits. Once a Pokémon’s Hit Points reach 0, it faints, and is no longer able to participate in battle. Attack and Special Attack determine how hard your Pokémon can hit with Physical and Special moves respectively. Defense and Special Defense reduce the damage done from Physical and Special Moves, so that less Hit Points are taken away. Last, but certainly not least, the Speed stat determines how fast your Pokémon is; what it can outrun in the heat of battle.
Click to expand...
 
Level - how experienced a pokemon is, ranging from Level 1 to 100.
A pokemon is most powerful at Level 100.

Stat - statistic which equivocates raw power and defnese, similar to the military. Consider each stat point as a man of your army (small armies)

The HP is how many people can die before the country falls.
The attack is how many bullets you have
The defense is the physical defense against projectiles such as bullets and bombs.
The special attack is how powerful the lasers are.
The special defense is based on how resistant you are to the lasers from the opponent.
The speed determines who advances first.


The base power is how powerful the weapons are - is it a bb gun bullet, or an anti-tank missile. Is it a mere flashlight, or a high powered laser able to penetrate lead or something?

With damage, you can go into the damage calculator and statistics.
For types, go into how certain nations have weaknesses (ie, some nations where asthma is high won't fight int he cold and damp, but can fight int he hot and dry).




Like that ^^^^
 
@ Tytus: I thought about that, but here are two reasons I don't want to use it.
First off, the definitions are sometimes unpractical. Look at this one, taken from Level:
"Levels are used in many of the Pokémon RPGs as a measurement of how strong a Pokémon currently is. It is determined by how much experience that Pokémon has. A Pokémon's level will range from 1 to 100."
This definition uses two terms that don't relate to my paper: RPG and Experience (and since I'm on a word count, I'd like to have the definitions concise) and besides that they may not know what experience is.

To further convey what I would like to see in the definition is this: only reference to the other Pokémon terms being defined in the list I gave (to the best possible way).

Another reason I don't want to use Bulbapedia is its name; it sounds like Wikipedia and where I come from Wikipedia is very much looked down on.

@ Arseus: I'm using your Base Power definition.

@ Peanut-Lover: I'm using your Level definition. Oh, and props to your stat definition. It made me laugh. I'm putting that in my memorable quotes file, but I can't use it in the paper.
 
If it's at all possible (and I know you still need to find out) I'd really want to see what exactly this project is. I love any assignments that allow me to take advantage of my time spent video gaming, few and far between as they may have been.

Anyway, I'll try to help... and yeah, I can understand your reluctance to use Bulbapedia. Wikipedia really isn't viewed kindly at academic institutions, and god help you if you actually put it on a "works cited" list. (I did that once in high school. Not a good idea.)

Stat - a numerical attribute of a Pokemon, representing part of its combat abilities.

Damage - a numerical representation of the injury dealt to a Pokemon.

You may want to try to define Hit Points as well... it might make it easier to understand damage and the way the combat system works. Have you thought about that at all? Of course, the only way I can really define it is by referencing both "stat" and "damage"...

Hit Points - One of the stats of a Pokemon; represents the total amount of damage a Pokemon can take.
 
Formally a level is a series of iterations i=1, 2, ... ,100 that increase to i+1 iff an arbitrary amount of experience points has been reached. and at each iteration stat points are added together for simplicity, and exist so that new moves [and sometimes evolutions] may be added at a standardized path.

Even if levels themselves have formulas attributed to them (i.e. number of experience points to be gained depending on the pokemon etc), as far as the "math" of pokemon levels act as a discreet point at which to observe stat growth formulas. They also have a place in the damage formula.

I hope thats more clear than "they measure the strength of a pokemon". how do you define strength mathematically lol


dude as far as citations you are gonna have to talk to your teacher because nintendo isnt printing textbooks of this shit lol
 
Well, for simple official definitions, have you checked the manual or guides? They might have one or two usable definitions.
 
Level- A numerical representation of how experienced a Pokemon is at combat. Level ranges from 1 to 100, with 1 being absolutely no combat experience, and 100 being a complete master with nothing remaining to learn. Each level increases the Pokemon's stats, and can also teach it new moves to perform.

Stat- The physical and special abilities of a Pokemon, measured in a numerical fashion. These stats include:

Hit Points, a measure of how much damage the Pokemon can absorb before it faints.
Attack, a measure of how hard it hits with physical attacks.
Defense, a measure of how well it absorbs physical attacks from other Pokemon.
Special Attack, a measure of how hard it hits with energy attacks, based on things like fire, water, plants, and the like.
Special Defense, a measure of how well it absorbs energy attacks from other Pokemon.
Speed, a measure of how quickly the Pokemon moves in battle. Faster Pokemon can move before slower Pokemon get a chance.

Damage- a measure of the destructive power an attack inflicts on a Pokemon. When damage dealt exceeds the Pokemon's hit points, the Pokemon faints. Damage is measured by comparing the (Special) Attack and Defense of a Pokemon, and then applying the Base Power of the move.

Base Power- A numerical representation of the destructive potential of an ability. Stronger moves tend to have drawbacks to balance their great power.
 
Level- A numerical representation of how experienced a Pokemon is at combat.
Click to expand...
again, "combat experience" is not a mathematical concept. i still think my definition is the best.
 
I would define them as the following.

Level: A milestone a pokemon obtains after gaining enough experience in battle, the amount of experience arbitrarily designated on a geometrically increasing series. A pokemon's level can range from 1-100; gaining a level results in an increase in stats and possibly the opportunity to learn a new move or evolve, that is, to transform into another pokemon, usually with an apreciable increase in stats.

Base Stats: Each pokemon has 6 stats. These are Hit Points, Attack, Defense, Special Attack, Special Defense, and Speed, each having a different, positive effect on a pokemon in battle. In brief:

Hit Points is a value of how much "damage" a pokemon can take. If a pokemon aquires more damage than it has hit points, it faints and cannot battle.

Attack is a value used in calculating damage from physical attacks; a pokemon with a higher attack stat will generally do more damage from physical attacks than a pokemon with a lower attack stat.

Defense is a value used in calculating damage taken from physical attacks; a pokemon with a higher defense stat will generally recieve less damage from physical attacks than a pokemon with a lower defense stat.

Special Attack is a value used in calculating damage from special attacks; a pokemon with a higher special attack stat will generally do more damage from special attacks than a pokemon with a lower special attack stat.

Special Defense is a value used in calculating damage taken from special attacks; a pokemon with a higher special defense stat will generally recieve less damage from special attacks than a pokemon with a lower special defense stat.

Speed is a simple value used in determining who will move first in a round of combat. Generally the pokemon with the higher speed stat than its opponents' will act first.

Base Power is a value attached to offensive pokemon moves used in damage calculation. A move with a high base power generally inflicts more damage on an opponent than a move with lower base power.

Damage is the effect of a properly executed offensive move. In rounds of combat, damage is added to pokemon as moves are executed, and that damage is checked with the hit points of the pokemon that has been inflicted with damage. If damage meets or exceeds the hit points of a pokemon it "faints" and cannot be used in combat, it must be replaced with another. Damage is calculated as a function of: move base power, attack or special attack of attacker, defense or special defense of defender, a random number, and several other scenario-dependant values, including type effectiveness, abilities, and same type attack bonus.

Moves: A pokemon can know up to four moves at a time; when a pokemon with four moves known is taught a new move it must forget an old one. Moves can be divided into three types: physical, special, and other. Physical moves are attacks that use attack and defense calls for damage calculations, while special moves are attacks that use special attack and special defense calls for damage calculations. Other moves can have various effects, including temporary stat buffs or debuffs for pokemon, damage reduction, status inflictions, or field effects such as weather changes and entry hazards.

Types: Type is an important element of pokemon, in which every pokemon is the combination of one or two types, and every move also has a type. There are 17 types in all, including Fire, Normal, Steel, and Fighting, and each has an advantage or disadvantage over another. Certain types moves have increased or decreased effectiveness over the other. For example, a fire type attack has effectively double damage against an ice pokemon, but halved damage against a water pokemon, and a flying type move would have effectively quadrupled damage against grass/bug two type pokemon.

Status, not to be confused with stats, are special attributes a pokemon may temporarily have. A pokemon normally has no status, but can be inflicted with 5 statuses, Burn, Paralyze, Poison, Sleep, and Frozen. A pokemon can only be inflicted with one status at once. Burn temporarily decreases attack and inflicts steady damage over time. Paralyze drastically reduces speed and has a 25% chance to render a pokemon immobile when it makes a move. Poison inflicts steady damage over time. Sleep renders a pokemon immobile until it awakens in time. Frozen also renders a pokemon immobile until it thaws, either through time or through being hit by a fire attack.

That should be more than enough.
 
Are these math savvy people you're presenting to? Or just random parents, teacher(s), etc?
 
There are two types of poison, regular poison and toxic poison. Regular poison takes away 1/8 of your health every turn. Toxic poison is worse, sapping 1/16 health the first turn, 2/16 the second, 3/16 the third, and so on. When you are toxically poisoned, the message says:
(BLANK) was badly poisoned!
...as opposed to when you are regularly poisoned:
(BLANK) was poisoned!

The move toxic spikes poisons opponents switching in. One layer regularly poisons you, while two toxically poisons you. Remember that Toxic spikes cannot affect Flying types or pokemon with the ability levitate, unless said pokemon is holding an iron ball, or if the move gravity is in effect. I'm not sure if you get poisoned or not when you use roost.

Good luck!
 
ap13095 said:
There are two types of poison, regular poison and toxic poison. Regular poison takes away 1/8 of your health every turn. Toxic poison is worse, sapping 1/16 health the first turn, 2/16 the second, 3/16 the third, and so on. When you are toxically poisoned, the message says:
(BLANK) was badly poisoned!
...as opposed to when you are regularly poisoned:
(BLANK) was poisoned!

The move toxic spikes poisons opponents switching in. One layer regularly poisons you, while two toxically poisons you. Remember that Toxic spikes cannot affect Flying types or pokemon with the ability levitate, unless said pokemon is holding an iron ball, or if the move gravity is in effect. I'm not sure if you get poisoned or not when you use roost.

Good luck!
Click to expand...

i thought it was 1/16, 1/8, 1/4, 1/2
 
Here's The New Verdict/Edict/Whatever...

Wow... Responses when you're gone at school can pile up...

OK, guys, thanks for all your help.
Yes, I checked and I can get formal help, so here it is...
Basically, I had once read that in general, Hit Points is a better option than defensive stats when your Hit Points was low (by the way, this is all before a battle starts, so before any +/- to stat levels) and Def was a better thing to increase if your Hit Points was inherently high. I disagreed with that, so my mathematics paper (which in its current rough draft amounts to 24 pages, appendices included) is about disproving that thought and proving that no matter what, Hit Points is the better option to increase overall.

I have since decided to change that.
I now think I will be showing that it is with an inherently low Def that you should increase Def and a high Def should you increase Hit Points, which may or may not disprove of what I had read but certainly clarifies some things and if nothing else, helps to show why.

So...
@ Counterpower: I'm taking your Damage and Hit Points definitions.
@ Gormenghast: I do have to have at least (two?) not-online sources (on-line journals are fine, but they couldn't have originated on-line) and for the on-line stuff, either what I cite has to be intuitive (like "Since bats live in caves [common knowledge] they are warm-blooded; to be otherwise would defeat the purpose of living in a cave [someonlinesource.com]". Once you thought about it it made sense and that'd be all) or I must back it up with other sources that are in agreement.
@ XienZo: Yes, I think I'll chech a guidebook or something. That'll count to my two non-online sources anyway.
@ Kittymew: This isn't for grade 9, though. This is if I want to graduate. What exactly did you do, anyway? (Maybe I can learn something :toast:)
@ Tay: I don't know if these people will be math savvy or not, and that's just worse for me. I gotta present it in a way that if they aren't math Einstiens they'll understand but if they are I'm not insulting their intellegence.
@ Counterpower: About you wanting to know what assignment lets you play videogames, I know of none. With this one, I haven't touched Pearl in a while. But I do use the damage equation in OOo Calc (OpenOffice.org Calc) to do this paper. For the assignment, look here: http://www.ibo.org/diploma/curriculum/core/essay/
 
@ eric the espeon: I already have the damage formula.
@ scorchedsky: Kinda. I'm trying to prove that it's sometimes better to increase HTP over Def and vice versa, not when it is. I'll look into the guide, though.
 
I apologize for the misunderstanding I think I ended up creating... I didn't really need to know what assignments let me play video games; I was just saying that I like it when I get assignments that allow me to use the knowledge I've gained paying video games. Although I do appreciate the info about your particular assignment.

And I'm glad to have helped a little. Seeing the assignment you're doing, though, you'll probably also need definitions for "Special Defense" at least...

Special Defense - One of the stats of a Pokemon; represents a Pokemon's ability to resist special attacks.

The problem with that definition is that it requires a definition of "special attack" as well, and you'll need to also differentiate it from the Special Attack stat. I can't seem to come up with a good definition for "special attack (attack type)", since I'm trying to avoid using either Special Defense or Special Attack in that definition, and beyond saying "an attack whose damage is governed by the attacking Pokemon's Special Attack stat and the defending Pokemon's Special Defense stat" I've got nothing. If you're okay with using the stats to define the attack, then that could work, but then you get into, "So a special attack is one that's governed by SAtk and SDef, and SDef represents the ability to resist a special attack..." I can't seem to define one term without using the other.
 
@ Counterpower: I'm going to group Defense and Special Defense in one category, mainly called Def. Thus, I just need one that says something about it resisting the opponent's attacks.
 
I wondered why the brackets were there, but now it makes sense. Okay, well, then...

[Special] Defense - The stats of a Pokemon that represent its ability to resist attacks.

And with that, I'll also offer this definition of "attacks", since I no longer need to worry about differentiating between physical and special versions:

Attack - An action taken by a Pokemon in battle that deals damage to the opposing Pokemon.

Although effort might have to be taken to avoid confusion between the [Special] Attack stat and an attack as a combat action. I'm not sure how best to avoid that pitfall, without defining "move" as well and adding (move type) to the term "Attack" above. But I can try to define "move":

Move - An action that always has the same pre-defined effect on a battle.

And while I'm at it... (Note: Most of these are ones you probably don't need, so feel free to skip them. I'm just on a roll here...)

Buff (move type) - An action taken by a Pokemon in battle that temporarily increases its stats.

Debuff (move type) - An action taken by a Pokemon in battle that temporarily decreases the opposing Pokemon's stats.

Field Move (move type) - A move that has an effect outside of battle.

Status Attack (move type) - An action taken by a Pokemon in battle that does no damage but inflicts a status condition on the opposing Pokemon. ("Status Attack" is kind of unwieldly, but I couldn't think of a better phrase to describe moves like this.)

Status Condition - A condition that negatively effects a Pokemon in battle. Depending on the specific condition, can deal damage, reduce stats, prevent the Pokemon from executing a move, or a combination of the above.
 
Counterpower said:
Although effort might have to be taken to avoid confusion between the [Special] Attack stat and an attack as a combat action. I'm not sure how best to avoid that pitfall, without defining "move" as well
Click to expand...
I'm avoiding that pitfall several ways:
An attack the foe uses is lowercased (if it's not the beginning of the sentence) and is only used in sentences in the proper context.
At first, the attacking stat (Atk) is called Atk Stat, then transitions to Atk, so that anytime the reader sees Atk they should think "Stat".
Third, variables are in Courier New, quotes in Italicized Times New Roman, and the rest, including the regular word "attack" in Arial.

So I'll take your Def and Attack definitions.:nerd:
 
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