Quick little question about the game

[VamPieta]

So, i just downloaded the game and would like to ask something before starting

 

First,a little inside on how i play pokemon games: i'm the type of player that, when i go to a new pokemon game, i Always look at the list of pokemon that are in that game and decide what mons i'm gonna use, so i Always have a full team and "placeholders" ready before starting, and if one of them is only catchable after sometime playing(like gligar on heart gold,for example,where you can only catch him on route 45,wich is very further in the game)i just fill the slot of that mon with the placeholders until i get the one that i want,just so i don't walk around with only 1-2 mons. So,by doing that, i usually ignore pokemon that i either dont want to use or just dont like and stick with a team of 3-4 mons until i get 3-2 that are on my final team,and then just switch the "placeholders" with the other ones as i get them.

 

So,basically my question is: can i play like that in this game? Cause i'm aware that gym leaders have 6 mons in their party,so i want to know if i also need to have 6 mons all the time.

[iDunno]

In this game, you'll have to sometimes train a specific Pokemon that you don't particularly want just for a specific gym (for example, having to train a Makuhita/Hariyama to beat the 2nd Gym's ace pokemon). I recommend always having a full team of 6 members, even though you will constantly have to replace them.

 

Also, I don't really recommend for you to be constantly pining for a specific Pokemon, because a lot of "quality Pokemon" are only available fairly late into the game. Magikarp, for example, is only obtainable after 14 gym badges, Ralts after 13, etc. I recommend you look beforehand into guides to find out just when your desired Pokemon will be available in-game.

Edited August 1, 2018 by iDunno

[andracass]

Pokemon availability is pretty significantly limited throughout most of the game. You'll probably want to have a number of pokemon on rotation and you'll probably change them out as you play.

[Swampellow]

What Cass said is pretty much true.

 

It is possible to plan out your team before hand so that you don't have to have that many pokemon on rotation. My first playthrough of Reborn I only ended up using 7 different pokemon because I eventually settled into a team of 6 that I liked. It is possible you will get more than 6 pokemon that you like and have rotate mons in and out of your party, but that may not happen on your first run.

 

As for gym leaders, it is possible that you will have to get a specific pokemon trained up for them, but at the same time you might not have to. On my first playthrough (with the 7 different mons) I never actually ended up training specific pokemon for each gym, I just changed around the movesets of the pokemon in my party to beat them.

[Lorisaur]

In my first playthrough, I've had a very good time using Venusaur Volcarona Ariados Gastrodon Eelektross and a Simisear replaced by a Silvally later on in the game. Now, I'm having a streammed run on yt with the same method - no placeholders, no rotation, no subs, only using the first 6 caught pokemon until defeating Amaria and I'm going to use Chestnaught Noivern Garbodor Manectric Gastrodon and Chandelure. A pretty nice team, huh? Many strong pokemon can be met very soon in the game, they might just be... unconventional

[Commander]

If you are wondering: yes, you have limited choices to start out and if you want to swap something out you will need to do grinding but the game isn't so brutally hard it's impossible to finish underleveled. Just gotta learn to work with what you have. My current team is this:

 

Typhlosion, Flygon, Gardevoir, Lanturn, Honchkrow, Roserade + Metagross and after completing E18, I can say that the only one who has really fallen off is Lanturn who likely will get replaced (she was an HM slave anyways...a good HM slave) and Honchkrow is mixed. Sometimes good. Sometimes bad. I did pick something up from E17 that was unintentionally super helpful this episode due to it being really high leveled. Ame throws some high leveled things here and there that can be used off the bat for that gym fight to help you get through if you don't have the best team. So don't worry too much about having the best team, but also don't hold your breath planning a final team and only using that. Work towards a team throughout and change if you want to. That's my best advice.  And as an FYI, my team is very, very unoptimized and most of my Pokemon have bad movesets.