misc newb questions. pokemon y

[DekuScrub]

i tried to research this elsewhere but all of the resource sites ive visited are either unnavigable or full of hearsay and opinion.

so i figured i would save myself some time (maybe) and just ask on a forum.

just finished the elite 4 so im getting into post game.

i still have my masterball is there anything that cant be caught without it? i was going to use it on the mewtwo in that cave but read hes capturable without it. (last and only pokemon game i played was leaf green)

whats the deal with shinies? the only difference is the aesthetics right? are the stats random like any other pokemon? and if so can you even breed shiny pokemon and have their offspring have the same skin?

and my last question ive done like 2 battles and failed miserably. i started watching shofu vids on youtube and i feel like i havent even been playing the same game. i have almost no understanding of game mechanics beyond which types damage which types and what moves do massive damage. is there some guide somewhere to get a better understanding of what moves ACTUALLY do and what the counters are for them? or is it just a matter of experience and memorizing all of the moves?

so my questions are

1) masterball on what?

2)shinies, why?

3)how to not newb?

thanks for any input.

 

[Stratelier]

1 - You can catch anything with any Ball, the only differences is the actual probability of catching it with each throw. The lower a Pokemon's base catch rate, the more likely it is to break free (and break free sooner). Master Balls just have a 100% success rate out of the box.

General principles about catch rate:
- Weakening a Pokemon's HP can boost the catch rate up to 3x. False Swipe (which never KO's the opponent) and Super Fang (reduces the Pokemon's current HP by half) are your friends here -- you don't actually need to reduce the Pokemon to literally 1; once their HP is in the red, that's a 2.5x boost to the catch rate.
- Status ailments boost the catch rate by 1.5x (paralysis/poison/burned) to 2.0x (sleep/frozen). Thunder Wave and Spore/Yawn are your friends here; you don't want to Burn or Poison a Pokemon that's tough to catch because the damage-per-turn will kill it before you land a winning throw.
- Various Poke Balls can boost the catch rate too (Great Balls = 1.5x; Ultra = 2.0x; etc.)
- The more Pokemon you catch, the more likely you are to see a "critical capture" when you throw a ball; this is the critical-hit version of throwing a Poke Ball, and it's more likely to catch the Pokemon (the ball shakes once and the Pokemon either breaks free or is caught right away).

More information: Catch rate - Bulbapedia, the community-driven Pokémon encyclopedia

2 - Shiny Pokemon have no actual differences from normal Pokemon, they are just much, much rarer.
More information: Shiny Pokémon - Bulbapedia, the community-driven Pokémon encyclopedia

3 - As for moves, a lot of it just comes down to experience. Some general tips:

- Memorize the type chart. You absolutely need to know what your Pokemon's weaknesses are, especially with dual types (for example: Psychic is vulnerable to Ghost, Bug and Dark but the Psychic+Fairy typed Ralts family is vulnerable to Ghost, Poison, and Steel due to the Fairy influence).
- Get to know your Pokemon's natural strengths. On the Super Training screen, the dark green portion of the Effort-O-Meter represents the base statistical ratings for that Pokemon's species along each axis. This paints a slightly better picture than the numbers on their Status screen.
- Attacks that match your Pokemon's type are boosted by 50% in power, but try to pack one or two moves of an off-type to give them some utility against opponents they might not fare so well against. At the same time, be aware that your opponent might be packing a surprise move for precisely this reason.
- Try setting your single player game to "Set" battle style in your game options; "Shift" is the default but in real multiplayer matches you don't get a free switch when you KO your opponent's Pokemon. This will help you make better calls about when it's safe to switch your Pokemon, because you know it'll give your opponent a free shot at whatever you're sending in.
- Try teaching a Pokemon Protect to block an opponent's move. It'll buy you a free turn and chances are good your opponent will simply try to use the same move over again.
- Moves with an accuracy of "---" never miss the target. Try to pack one of them in case you run up against something with Double Team (an evasion technique).
- Moves with a power of 90 or more often have low accuracy or negative side effects, and lower PP counts; be wary of this. Sometimes it's better to have a lower-power move (like 60 or 70) because it's just more reliable.

 

[kaseybuxton]

Look what I catched lol it's awesome

I love kyurem man

 

[Winterdaze]

In the future please take these kinds of questions to Video Games' simple question, simple answer thread.