How long does it take for you to build a full team?

[CynthiaLover]

Like most everyone else, it varies. Depending on game, region, and available choices, it can be either quick or slow. I do try to get at least half of the team ironed out by badge 3 or 4, so I at least have a foundation to work with. Usually by the time I get to badge 6-7 is when I have a full team, but in some cases it may take longer than others. I rarely use pseudo Mons because they're often too late to be obtained, though Gible in Platinum is generally the most common one, and I did make an exception for Kommo-o as well. If it's something I REALLY want, however, I will wait for it, like Rufflet in White, though I don't always like to do that.

I do have a formula of sorts when building a team: always have a Fire and Water type, try to always have a Grass type (though that one is flexible, given that Grass Mons can be hard to put into play and I tend to not do well with Grass types), have at least one tank and one sweeper, try to have a mixed hitter if possible, try not to have too many shared weaknesses, and try to work with Mons that have a lot of flexible move choices. Granted, it's not always the most practical or quickest, but it gets the job done more often than not. I will use temporary members to fill in until one of my targets is available, like my current Platinum playthrough has a Bronzor filling in until I get Magmortar (plus it has Hypnosis, which has helped in catching various targets, like the Gible I'm using), but they often go into the box by the time I get my team finalized.

So, for the sake of the poll, I'll say Badge 6, as that's roughly when my various teams are finalized most of the time.

 

[IncineROAR]

In SM and USUM, I have my team pretty much built by the time I get to Akala island. In Pokemon Crystal, where the Pokemon distribution stinks, I have 6 badges and only 4 Pokemon I use, and 2 of them I don't even want on my team (Psyduck and Machoke).

Edit: I just caught the Shiny Gyarados at the Lake of Rage. That said, I actually plan to transfer that into USUM so I can be like Lysandre in the anime and have a shiny red Mega Gyarados.

 

[Krash]

I definitely max out my teamslots early in the game, but it's mostly for cannon fodder. Even by the time I've hit the mid-game I only have 3 or 4 solid choices on my team. usually by the 6th badge I've established how I'm going to approach the rest of the game, with my full team of six, and two in reserve.

 

[Harryghost]

I tend to catch around 20 to 30 Pokémon in each game I play, and level them up equally before challenging the Elite Four. Think this way, I usually have a full team of 6 Pokémon by the 2nd Gym. Later, from my entire team, I select 6 Pokémon who I think will be fitting for the Elite Four challenge.

 

[Arylett Charnoa]

Apparently, my own threshold of roughly around the 6th badge is common. If I don't have a full team by then, I will review my options and fill in that final slot. I like to plan out my teams in advance, but a lot of the times, I don't know exactly when I can catch all of the Pokémon, so plans may shift. (I might use another game to transfer said Pokémon in and then breed it if I really really want it though)

 

[Jyo]

for me, my main team is already form before I even start the game, I will have planned and bred the team well in advance

on first play throughs: not really sure, until I can catch my favorites is when the team is complete for me

 

[DarkMeow]

Back when I was an impulsive youngster, I'd have a full team by the second gym because I would excitedly capture everything in sight. Nowadays though I have a full team around the sixth gym or so. I tried to have an A team and a B team at some point so I could work with 12 Pokémon instead of just 6, but I gave that up because it was just too much grinding for me to keep up with it.

 

[xoddf2]

In recent years, I tend to obtain the desired Pokémon as soon as they are available. In my current playthrough of Silver, most desired team members were obtained around the time I reached Goldenrod.

 

[qualotberry]

I'm kinda useless when it comes to team building tbh... I always end up having at least ten different pokemon that I switch between, trying to get them all on the same level. I usually have two or three solid ones, but the rest varies depending on what I'm doing in game. Really need to learn how to settle for six pokemon so it won't take as much time every single playthrough, heh

 

[colours]

I'm far too perfectionist when it comes to team-building so it's likely that I won't have a full team in most games until really late game. Like, close to the Elite Four late. x.x

 

[Pilup99]

It varies. I often tend to plan out parts of my team, while staying a little bit flexible and changing things. If a number of my teammates won't be available until later I will sometimes use other mons until then. Something like in Red version, where there aren't many options early on, I'll use some extras.

 

[ocelotlrama jaguar]

I only carry four Pokemon at a time, so getting a full team doesn't take too long for me. It usually happens around the fourth or sixth badge. I rarely wait for pseudo-legendaries to add onto my team.

If a Pokemon I really like doesn't appear until super late in the game, I'll reluctantly skip over it just to finish the game or I'll find a way to get it early without cheating (beating a high level gym to get an HM needed to access whatever area to get something I really want).

 

[Boss1708]

Do you mean for the main game or for the post game?

For games where breeding is easy (Gen VI onwards) I just pick whatever Pokémon I feel like on the go, and then make a completely new team with perfect IVs during post game, and so on.

But for earlier games (aka Gen V or earlier), which is what I mostly play because I consider them the best games, the process is a lot slower:

1. Before I start to play a Pokémon game, I decide which Pokémon I want to use. I go to Serebii.net and click on the list of Pokémon available in said game. I start scrolling down, and make a shortlist of around 8 Pokémon that I feel like using. I always select my Pokémon based on looks (how "cool" or "awesome" it looks to me. Of course I also try to choose Pokémon that are not too weak, since I plan my teams for the endgame purpose of challenging the Battle Facilities (Frontier, PWT, etc). However, I would always rather get a slightly weaker Pokémon that I like (Charizard), instead of a tougher Pokemon who's design I am not digging as much (Moltres).

Of course, I also try to choose Pokémon that don't overlap too much in terms of their typing and I try to have both physical and special attackers. But those things are secondary to the design.

2. Then I reduce the list of 8 Pokémon to the 4 Pokémon I most feel like using. It is usually 4 Pokémon because that's the maximum number of Pokémon required for the different Battle Facilities (up to 3 for Single Battles, 4, for Double Battles). And also, because I usually need two of the slots for HM slaves.

3. When I am selecting the final 4 Pokémon, I check their habitats to see at which point of the game I would be able to get them. I try for most of them to be available during the main game. But sometimes, there are cases where I would be able to get 3 Pokémon during the main game, but the fourth would be available only in the post game. In such cases, I might spend the entire main game with just 3 ussble Pokémon, and only complete my team in the post game.

4. Then after I have decided everything, I start the game. So whenever I reach a point of the game where a Pokémon I want is available, I go in that area of the grass, save the game, and then the difficult part of the process starts. Since we are talking about games where post game competitive breeding is a pain in the ass, but I still wanna get a mostly very high IVs team, I basically capture as many Pokémon, of the same level, and compare their stats. One would have a higher IV in one stat or an other, so I keep writing the highest number of each stat of each Pokémon, until I come upon a mon that has mostly the highest possible number in most stats I need (plus a good enough nature). When I find such a Pokémon (it sometimes takes an entire day of soft resetting), I save and continue my journey.

It is a hard process, especially since the judge is not available earlier in the game, but it's worth it because it saves me time in the post game, since I don't need to breed, just change some EVs with berries.

 

[Gligarman]

Usually there's at least one Pokemon I want to use but I have to bring it over from another version so I don't usually make my definitive team until after I beat the final boss.

 

[Mew2]

For me, it really depends on the game and what Pokémon are available. I'll generally have six Pokémon by the first or second gym, but I generally won't use half of them at all and, thus, they generally will merely be taking up space until I find a Pokémon I want to be a part of my main team.