Do you plan out your team?

[Tyrfing]

Honestly, I only plan it out in the event that I have a particular theme going. Any other time, heck no. It takes the fun out of the experience, plus a shiny could show up or something and beg to replace one of your central 'mons. Also, you obviously can't in the event you are playing a Nuzlocke.

 

[Proxima Centauri B]

For me, I have the most fun not planning a team before playing and using Pokemon I find that I like in the game. Its not really as fun for me if I decide a full team before hand,though I will sometimes have a few Pokemon in mind I want.

 

[Osprey]

I never plan out a team very rigidly. Usually, I get my starter and build my team around it to cover the majority of types. These days, I end up using Pokemon I've never used before as my mains just to try something new, because lately, I've been discovering that Pokemon that I've overlooked in the past are actually pretty great fighters. Mightyena and Beautifly proved themselves to be great allies in my AS playthrough, and that Skill Link Minccino from W2 that I happened to use by chance has become one of my favorite Pokemon of all time.

... I'll be honest though, sometimes I'll plan to leave a slot open for the box legend. Whenever I have a team of six, I usually end up ditching the legendary because I can't stand either messing with my team's balance or replacing a member I've grown attached to. :sweatlol:

 

[WallflowerCanyon]

Ehh, kinda and kinda not. For the past two Gens what I would do is look at the list of obtainable 'mons on Serebii to see what's available in the games. The only reason that I do plan out a team is due to the use of HM's, because I like to spread out my HM's throughout my core team instead of using an "HM Slave".

 

[BlackButterfree]

Nope, never. But for AS, yes I did. And it was pretty fun lol

I do, however, have planned teams for every Gen. 3 game so I can do more playthroughs.

 

[HyruleAlpha]

Always do. I only build in-game teams, and for casual battling with friends. Nonetheless, I make sure their Nature and Ability best suits their style. Same with the moves and items they hold. It's a pain in the butt when I have to release a lot of the same Pokémon because I don't get the combo I want, but the payout is worth it.

 

[Alpha Sapphire May]

It really depends on the game for me, but in short, I usually have a team on mind before I play the game, especially if I know what's in the game; sometimes not everything goes according to plan though.

For ORAS for example, I knew I wanted to use Torchic and Beautifly, but I didn't know what the rest of the team would look like. Some Pokemon I was thinking about while playing were Swablu, Skitty, Aron (who would actually make the team), Trapinch, Ralts (of whom I would use on the second playthrough), and Feebas (I haven't used Feebas yet so maybe I'll use it when I replay OR). I also ended up with some Pokemon not on my list like Taillow, which I added since it had Brave Bird and it nearly KOed my entire team as it was a higher level. There were some other changes to my plans, like when I decided not to use Mega Altaria, as I made a rule to not use item so I guess my plan changes according to my mood.

For some other games (like HGSS) or for second or later playthroughs (like my X and Y), I tend to send a team over. This usually happens when I don't like what's in the game (HGSS) or I've played the game enough times that I want to try something else for a change.

Sometimes though, I like to play the game blind and just go with what I see. If I'm interested, I'll capture it and try it out. I use this method especially when there is little to no data on the game itself regarding wild Pokemon (like when I played my Black version in Japanese when it first came out, or when X & Y came out). I like to experience some of the new Pokemon for the first time in-game so this is one way to do it.

 

[Misty-Moo]

Yes, every time - like May ^, I have a general idea (special & physical sweepers, what types I want, etc.). I use placeholder Pokemon until I encounter the ones I want (eg. Ice types) or use one just to get through a certain Gym/as HM slaves. I always choose the Fire type Starter & even replace that sometimes if I can catch a Houndour early on. I use the Daycare as soon as possible to breed ones with the Natures/Abilities I want, too.

 

[Peachy]

On my first playthrough of games I don't really plan out anything, I just use what I think I'll like. In my second playthroughs I usually have some sort of team planned out.

 

[Silverwynde]

I usually have about half of my team planned out: by the time the game is about to be released, I've already chosen my starter and the first two team slots are reserved for a Golett and a Pawniard, respectively. As for the other three slots, it's anything goes.

 

[Sakuraa]

Yes, I plan out everything nowadays. Pearl and FireRed were the only games where I didn't since they were my first 2 games and was a noob.

Starting with Platinum, everything is chosen months before I even get the games. And I mean everything. Down to their nicknames (I usually have a theme), gender, and, starting with White 2, what type of Pokeball they'll be caught in.

 

[Fairy Ice Ricky]

For the most part I do, especially if I want to make a team that compliments a certain Pokémon I really want to use (like Lucario in White 2).

The new Exp. Share mechanics in Gen VI is great because it allows me to extend my team beyond just six Pokémon. Of course it makes it even more difficult to ultimately choose the final six for the Pokémon League, but otherwise it's nice that I can use, say, both Shiftry and Breloom in Omega Ruby without worrying about the fact that I'm training two Grass types in a theme-less team.

 

[Hidden Mew]

I plan out my teams. I think I started doing that with D/P. For the earlier games, I just caught whatever I liked without too much of planning out a team ahead of time. I try to not plan out much of a team for X/Y as well, aside from what starters to choose, but then I felt more indecisive about what to do in the game more so than usual. I prefer to get a team member as soon as possible to experience the journey of the storyline with me and planning out ahead of time makes it easier for me to know how I want to train them. It's a bit more relaxing for me to know what I want to do ahead of time, but I do try to leave it open to change as much as possible so if I see another Pokemon that I really like or I want to train, I can make some changes to my plans to include them.

 

[Life]

I try, but often don't succeed. I had a team planned out for my run of Alpha Sapphire, but ended up using two different Pokemon than planned. Not that I really minded, though. Typically I like to just use whatever Pokemon I find while traveling and want to use.

 

[Isaac Gravity]

I plan out my teams, yes. Starting with R/S I went ahead and knew in advance what monsters I wanted in my party. Come B/W I took it farther and also hunted for a specific nature. This was also the first time where my initial plans would get challenged as I played through the game due to length to get said monster and already possessing one who practically does the same thing (and probably better).

Jump to XY present I'm not above breeding during the main game if I see it fit. Even then, things are never set in stone.

 

[CalamityRobin]

Yes, for species at least, in a remake or when I'm playing through a game I've finished before. Even when I had to go through half of Alpha Sapphire before I could get the last three I wanted. If it's a new game in a new generation, no.

 

[Dieter]

Normally I'll have an idea of what kind of Pokemon I want to try, but not nearly all of them make it to the final team to challenge the league. Sometimes I even end up using Pokemon I initially hadn't thought about

In AS for example, I knew I wanted to use Swampert, Gardevoir and Banette for sure, but I didn't really know yet what else. I had a long list of Pokemon I wanted to try though (like Crobat, Roserade and Ninjask to name a few)

In the end I used the first three, plus Roserade, Aggron and Altaria to challenge the League, but before that I'd considered a lot of other options as well

 

[Muur]

I'd say I pan out most it not all of them. Sometimes I'll have a slot or two open and will pick something random.

 

[Almonds]

If it's a new game, I go with what I can get in the wild and switch pokemons accordingly. No real planning. I did this for Y version.

If it's a remake game, I plan out what pokemons I want in my team, maybe leave a slot or two open in case there are new gift pokemon. I did this for OR.

 

[Bolt Strike]

I've been planning out my team since Platinum, mainly because I have a couple of favorites I want to use and I design my team around them, making sure that I have a balanced team that can take on any type and that I don't have too many old or new Pokemon. But for XY, I tried to move away from planned teams and surprise myself, but I really only ended up with one non-planned team member.