What's Your Playthrough Style?

[cityvillain]

I talk to all npcs in the game as possible. I enjoy going through the story of the game. My first objective is to defeat the elite 4 to unlock the other features of the game. In catching or deciding pokemon teams, I try, as much as possible, to have different pokemons from different areas. I also don't like to over level them. I try to have them as same or one to two level higher than the gym leader's pokemons. I also don't buy potions, antidotes, etc. If it faints, it faints. But I use super or hyper potions in gym battles (rarely) and elite fours (often) when I really need to. I also save up before major battles. I don't use legendaries that are mascots of a game like Ho-oh, Lugia, Palkia, Dialga, Giratina, Kyogre, Groudon, Rayquaza, and other legendaries like Mew, Mewtwo, Jirachi, Deoxys, Celebi.

I don't go crazy over my pokemon's EV or IV. And I like collecting different berries.

 

[pikachu200]

Firstly I cherish my starter, it never or very very rarely leaves the in-game team until all is explored

I usually catch a new team member around each gym depending on what sort of support i need or what is in the area. Usually getting my team of 6 by the 4/5th gym.

Basic structure of my teams

If water starter: flying type, fast special attacker, fast physical attacker, electric type, misc

If grass/fire starter: Water type, flying type, fast physical attacker, misc, misc,

I usually try and keep my mon's at the same level, no more than 2 or 3 difference.

Get some HM slaves for useless battle moves like cut or rock climb rock smash, defog/whirlpool/dive,

For B/W I'm going to play though at a slower pace, unlike platinum where i went though it so fast i needed to play again ... and again... yeah

And I 'catch 'em all' i can't stand seeing a wild pokemon without the little ball showing me i've already got it!

Well I compare that to Red and Blue because I always caught pokemon I forgot I caught earlier

 

[hurristat]

I usually pick my favorite starter, and build my team around it beforehand.

I'll usually have two team members join before the third gym, two before the fifth, and the last before the seventh (although this is not a steadfast rule)

 

[ayiopop]

I usually train my starter, (Infernape HG) then find something that helps vs. one of its weaknesses (Raichu HG) and sometimes an HM Technician.

I fight most trainers and really dont rush... ok i do.
I also only train a good team after(or a bit B4)the E4

 

[V20]

Great thread.

Thank you, never imagined this many replies, and in such depth too ; I want to quote like 15 people but I think that'd breach to character limit, so I'll just add some things.

-Strangely, I have never been able to choose the grass starter. I promised my self that I'd choose it this time around, but Oshawott was too cute and Daikenki (Samurott?) was too awesome.

-I never really intentionally trained my legendaries; Palkia just kinda helped during the E4 and won a spot on my main Pearl team as did Giritina, but most of the others I just store away and cherish

-Most of my teams are also unbalanced; I had never planned ahead in my team until HG, which turned out to be utter chaos because most of the Pokemon I tried to train really were not compatible with the rest of the team, so I ended up having to stop training half of them because they didn't... fit.

-I think Gen V will be the first one where I nickname all my Pokes; I find it personalizes them a bit more; it's not like evry kid on the block has a dog named DOG

-And while I'm at it, to me Fly and Surf are the only HMs that are really useful in battle, so they come into most of my teams.

-Oh, and I refer to Bulbapedia for pretty much everything nowadays, though I've seen one guide, and it was pretty well laid out - but it lacked trivia

 

[Blue1225]

I explore every area, talk to every NPC I come across. I like to stroll through the game in a rather relaxed pace. I've never once tried to rush through the game as I don't really see a point to that.

I catch a full party very early and i'll replace pokemon as the game goes on. I NEVER replace my starter. I spread the HM moves between them. I tend to use Pokemon I like. I always have my starter, the version mascot and a flying type. I always buy every version so I can make any team I want on each. Sometimes for one version, based on what I saw in the anime, i'll have a vision in my head of the team I want. For Soulsilver I created my team before I turned on the game and the team was aimed at taking Red's team down.

When it comes to leveling, I tend to train a lot. I like to get all my Pokemon to about the same level (however, my Starter tends to be the forerunner in leveling up), especially if new recruits are low-leveled. Generally, I like to be prepared for any surprises when it comes to levels and battles, since, in past games, I used to get caught off-guard by suddenly high-powered Pokemon and Trainers.

I've never once completed the pokedex, though I hope to change that. I always keep the master ball for a "runner" legendary.

 

[Green Zubat]

What is your playthrough style? / How will your BW style differ if at all?

I like to take things slow, or at least I do compared to my friends IRL that finish every new game within the space of a week if not within several days, I usually take approximately a month I'd say.

I don't immediately fill up my team but instead like to keep it clear until I see a 'mon that I either a.) really like or, if I've drawn up a team plan, b.) fits the predetermined plan. However, I've stopped doing the team planning thing so when BW comes round (less than a month, woop woop!) I'll be going for the former.

Still, even when I've not mapped out a plan I like to have an ordered team, catching pokemon to suit a theme that gradually develops over the course of the game. If there are side-quests I like to have a go at those (So I expect the Musicals will be a nice distraction for me in Unova) though I really wish the side-quest thing (e.g. Pokethlon, Contests, Musicals) had a more prominent role in the games - its not all about battling for everyone you know!


-Do you cherish your starter and devote all your time to it?

I wouldn't say all of my time, however I don't think I've ever abandoned my starter yet (though I'm already considering dropping that policy...). I try to treat all of my team mates equally.

-Do you train a wide array of pokemon and live by the old 'catch 'em all' tagline?

Erm, not really, all my other friends that I've ever had and known to play pokemon have been like this but its never really been the main attraction of the game. I don't think this will change with Unova either.

-Or do you own only the pokemon you train, caring naught about those little Dex entries?

No, I like to read the (interesting) dex entries in fact and I will still catch pokemon that I don't own along the way (even if I end up boxing them anyway) I'm just not ultra-obsessed with it.

 

[OverlordRuby]

I catch another pokémon right after I get the starter, so the said starter doesn't become too experienced. Then I catch various pokémon that perform HMs or that I simply like a lot. Next I catch all the legendaries, and leave them in a PC box. All the while I am finding all the items and beating all the trainers I can find, leaving some so I can have an interesting post game.

 

[Tricky]

I like to catch all the Pokemon I can get, and use the ones that I need to for my team (or seem good).

I also try to just train, but somehow I pay attention too much to EVs.

 

[Hoze]

I'll always train my starter, a water type pokemon knowing surf, a flying type, a fire type, an electric type, the box legendary, and a pokemon knowing Dig.
The only difference in Pokemon White is that I've already planned my team.

My playthrough style is that I'll use a walkthrough for the main part of the game and then do all of the less important things over time.

 

[Kakuna Matata]

• I always use my starter. There was only one time when I didn't, back in my first playthrough of Ruby.
• I try to catch every Pokémon I possibly can, but I only train those that will be on my team, or that I want an evolution for to help me along in my Pokédex.
• In the first playthrough I talk to everyone I see, and look everywhere for hidden stuff.
• After the first playthrough, I don't fill up slots on my team unless I know that the Pokémon will be on my team until the end. Sometimes this has caused me to only have a starter up until halfway through the game.
• I always have a Flyer and a Surfer on my team, because it's a pain in the ass to have to go to a PC and swap my Mons everytime I want to Fly/Surf somewhere.
• When one of my Pokémon levels up, it goes to the end of the roster so that all of my party members level up equally.
• For some strange reason I never want to start a fight with a Gym Leader unless all of my Pokémon are at or above their highest leveled Pokémon.

 

[cityvillain]

Back in my emerald, I used to have 5 zigzagoon or linoone while training my pokemons to take advantage of their pick up ability. I got rich with that strategy.

 

[GatoRage]

When playing through the game I mostly use a balanced team. I'l try to not have two pokemon of the same type. I rarely use HM slaves (with the exception of when I have to use:cut,flash,rock smash etc.) I always have one pokemon that can use Fly, one that can Surf but the rest is just preference. When training I keep my team's levels as even as possible. For example let's say my whole team is at lv.27, then i'l level up my starter to 28 or 29 and then train the rest of the team until they reach that level, so every pokemon get's very equal training time. Most of the time I plan my team before the play-through and I won't catch any other pokemon other than my planned team until after the E4.

 

[Librarium]

Um... In my emerald, when I was just arrived at petalburg city, my party is already 6 pokemon-__- haha.

I've always catch all pokemon I can catch. And get one HM technician. Usually,the HM technician is my linoone.

Its different in my platinum though. I'm arrived at sunnyshore, but my party is just 4 poke.

 

[Karpi]

I have a small group of pokemon "permanent party members" that are usually random like Pelipper, Lombre, etc that I become very attached to for some reason.

Then there's the box rotation group where I rotate in pokemon that I need i.e. Rock Smash or a fire type to beat grass trainers

Aside from the way my team works, my general strategy is this: Sneak through the routes to go in the least amount of grass possible + avoid trainers and then come back later to train new captures against them

 

[Dodger Jazz]

Usually my starter is a few levels higher than my other pokemon, but in my Soulsilver game my Quilava rot in my pc for most of the game. I talk to nearly all the NPCs in the game, and I always try to capture every pokemon that I do not already have plus Gyarados. I never use any of the legendaries or psuedolegendaries except Salamence, because I only ever need one on my team. The only change I will make in White is that I will relie on the internet more.

 

[PixieeDragon]

Haha this is a really interesting question!
Well I guess my style has been for a while:

I get my starter and normally use it in almost all my battles. That is because at first, my starter is the only pokemon I use, and so it becomes over-leveled and the rest of my pokemon become under-leveled. And then when my starter is weak to a gym, there are no other pokemon who are a high enough level to beat it. (So yes, my Servine did beat the Castelia gym, sadly) I'll sometimes train my other pokemon, but it's really just a waste because I am at that point used to only using my starter. In the end, I will only have one to three normal leveled pokemon: My starter and two legendaries or one legendary and a pseudo legendary. I tend to lean towards pokemon that have high speed and higher special attack.

 

[turtlekid]

alright, I always keep starter,
I've neveer thought anbout disbanding it before but that seems kinda mean to me. I then try to pick a team of 6 that covers all the types so there isn't anything that I'm not good against (kinda messed up in white nothing good against dragon or normal although I usually just ignore normal types) then I usually train my guys same level and add 5 levels withh every gym starting at 15 for the first one. Then usually 10 more fore elite 4 which is level 60 then. I don't usually teach hm's because I feel they are a pain unless they are actually a good move like fly or surf.

 

[Oswin]

When playing through the game I mostly use a balanced team. I'l try to not have two pokemon of the same type. I rarely use HM slaves (with the exception of when I have to use:cut,flash,rock smash etc.) I always have one pokemon that can use Fly, one that can Surf but the rest is just preference. When training I keep my team's levels as even as possible. For example let's say my whole team is at lv.27, then i'l level up my starter to 28 or 29 and then train the rest of the team until they reach that level, so every pokemon get's very equal training time. Most of the time I plan my team before the play-through and I won't catch any other pokemon other than my planned team until after the E4.

Pretty much this. I never use HM slaves, (come on, it's a waste of a slot!) besides, that's what the Move deleter is for. I have never dropped my starter.I'll capture every new Pokémon I see and raise them until they evolve, and if they aren't going on my team I'll box them in numerical order.

 

[Caprizant]

I always train Pokémon with completely different typings, with no types repeated. I use Exp. Shares a lot to get weaker Pokémon up to whatever battling level needed, then I train them in battle from there. I prefer to use Pokémon from the region I'm playing in, with a few exceptions, especially in the remakes. I barely ever use non-damaging moves, and I always keep revives/max elixirs/hyper potions/ultra balls/etc. with me. I prefer to avoid Grass type starters, but in White I chose to use Serperior, cuz the other starters are the ugliest things I've ever seen.