Best way to raise your pokemon?

[Dragon818]

Ok, I have two questions.

1. Going from best to worst, how should you raise you're pokemon? Is leveling via battling the best, with leveling via Exp. Share the second best, and Rare Candy's being the worst? I remember reading that for Diamond, Rare Candy's was the worst way to level you're pokemon, does that still hold true? According to what was said, Rare Candy's caused a pokemon's stats to not go up as much as battling did. If that's still the case, then could you fix that by giving your pokemon a bunch of protein's and such?

And 2. Whats the best way to level weaker pokemon? Like, high 20's, low 30's. I'm tired of riding around looking for trainers, or running around in grass and killing something my level to gain only 100 Exp from the battle. Is there somewhere I can do, a building or something, with a ton of trainers inside so I can battle one after another for good exp?

[wraith89]

1. The reason why Rare Candy was considered the "worst" form of leveling up is only because you are leveling up a Pokemon without giving them Effort Values. You gain Effort Values through battling different Pokemon (as every Pokemon gives different EVs) or if you use special vitamins such as Protein, Carbos, etc. However, the latter will only work until that specified stat reaches 100 EV value, and will not work afterwards. The max amount of EVs a Pokemon can have is 510, while 255 is the max in each individual stat. 4 EVs = 1 whole extra stat, so keep that in mind. Consult a guide for the EV/IV system, because it is a lot to explain here. If you are playing in game and not playing competitively, do not worry too much about that. Until your Pokemon's EVs are maxed, then remember that if you are Rare Candying, you are effectively selling your soul to the devil.

2. Depends on where you are. In this game, the exp gain is dynamic and depends on the Pokemon level. If the Pokemon is higher leveled than yours, you will gain more EXP than usual when you defeat it, while lower level Pokemon yield lower EXP (hint: use type advantages). There is an office building in 3rd Gym City with trainers with Lv. 20s. The route to the right of the 4th Gym City also has a few trainers. Oh, and Desert Resort, despite being boring and all, can be a good source of grinding. Just don't grind too long unless you absolutely need to. The route to the left of the 4th Gym City has Liepards, which are good source of EXP. I don't really know where you are, so I'd like to know. Also, in Chargestone Cave, Professor Juniper will give you Lucky Egg, which will net you double EXP if you hold it, so that can help. Of course, there's always the classic switch lead weak Pokemon tactic (beware of Pursuiters, however).

[[insert user name here]]

I find it EXTREMELY easy to level up in this game

You may try going into dark green tall grass, theres stronger pokemon in there to battle

[Dragon818]

1. The reason why Rare Candy was considered the "worst" form of leveling up is only because you are leveling up a Pokemon without giving them Effort Values. You gain Effort Values through battling different Pokemon (as every Pokemon gives different EVs) or if you use special vitamins such as Protein, Carbos, etc. However, the latter will only work until that specified stat reaches 100 EV value, and will not work afterwards. The max amount of EVs a Pokemon can have is 510, while 255 is the max in each individual stat. 4 EVs = 1 whole extra stat, so keep that in mind. Consult a guide for the EV/IV system, because it is a lot to explain here. If you are playing in game and not playing competitively, do not worry too much about that. Until your Pokemon's EVs are maxed, then remember that if you are Rare Candying, you are effectively selling your soul to the devil.

2. Depends on where you are. In this game, the exp gain is dynamic and depends on the Pokemon level. If the Pokemon is higher leveled than yours, you will gain more EXP than usual when you defeat it, while lower level Pokemon yield lower EXP (hint: use type advantages). There is an office building in 3rd Gym City with trainers with Lv. 20s. The route to the right of the 4th Gym City also has a few trainers. Oh, and Desert Resort, despite being boring and all, can be a good source of grinding. Just don't grind too long unless you absolutely need to. The route to the left of the 4th Gym City has Liepards, which are good source of EXP. I don't really know where you are, so I'd like to know. Also, in Chargestone Cave, Professor Juniper will give you Lucky Egg, which will net you double EXP if you hold it, so that can help. Of course, there's always the classic switch lead weak Pokemon tactic (beware of Pursuiters, however).

Ah, I see. That explains why people were against the Candy leveling. I'm not to worried about that though, since I don't battle competitively. And as far as the game goes, the highest pokemon I encountered were the Elite Four's 70-ish pokemon. If you Candy your's to 100, even if your EV's aren't maxed, you're stil 30 levels above everything, if not more, so there's little worry about having something bad happen. For me, anyway.

Right now I'm on Route 7. I just got here and was told to meet Skyla at the Celestial Tower. My strongest Pokemon is a level 32 Servine, and the weakest is a level 26 Darumaka. I've always had issues with leveling pokemon. Either I use just one all the time and get it to a super high level while the rest are very low. Or I alternate pokemon to try and level them all equally, but that usually winds up with some of them low levels, or all of them low levels. I tried to alternate them during this go through (My first) and look at what happened. I wound up with pokemon around level 26-ish, in a level 33 area.

[wraith89]

Strange. I had a Serperior right after I defeated Elesa, and I am usually underleveled (a member here UnderXRay overlevels his Pokemon and fought Elesa with Lv. 40s). But that was because I only trained two Pokemon, Tranquill and Servine, at that time. I would suggest that Forest right before Chargestone Cave for your Darumaka, and there is the double battle grass patch near Cold Storage, which can also net you some good experience. Get your Servine up if you can, as Serperior is rather pro, possibly in the grass patch near Celestial Tower. Have you trained in Desert Resort yet? It's a good optional training place that some people tend to miss.

[Guest]

Until your Pokemon's EVs are maxed, then remember that if you are Rare Candying, you are effectively selling your soul to the devil.

He can always give the EV's later.

[Dragon818]

Strange. I had a Serperior right after I defeated Elesa, and I am usually underleveled (a member here UnderXRay overlevels his Pokemon and fought Elesa with Lv. 40s). But that was because I only trained two Pokemon, Tranquill and Servine, at that time. I would suggest that Forest right before Chargestone Cave for your Darumaka, and there is the double battle grass patch near Cold Storage, which can also net you some good experience. Get your Servine up if you can, as Serperior is rather pro, possibly in the grass patch near Celestial Tower. Have you trained in Desert Resort yet? It's a good optional training place that some people tend to miss.

Training one/two pokemon at a time has always been my 'fault' sort to speak. I started playing with pokemon Red. Ever since the beginning, I would find a pokemon I liked, that worked well, and stick with it for the entire game, working with basically just that pokemon. (I used it so much that it out leveled everything I fought. So to me it was like, "If I can kill everything with just this, why change pokemon?") But now and again I would do that (With different games/play throughs) and have issues. I would run into a Gym Leader or something, that used pokemon that my main pokemon was weak against, and I couldn't beat it. All my other pokemon though, were 20 levels below the Gym Leaders, so they were no help. After a few times of this happening, I started rotating pokemon. Level one up five levels, change, rinse and repeat.

Unfortunately that gives me your under leveling problem. I'll definitely try your advice though about the forest before Chargestone, and the Cold Storage area as well. What may be slowing me down is that I'm using an Exp Share to level my weaker pokemon without fighting them, which means that even during trainer battles, my main pokemon gets only a fraction of the Exp it would if I wasn't using the Exp. Share. I may stop doing that and concentrate on 2v2 battles in dark grass.

[[insert user name here]]

Yeah I was always about 5-7 levels above the townsgym leader..

That may be over leveling

But I honestly think its super easy to do that

[Dragon818]

For some people it is, and for other's, not so much. XP

[wraith89]

I am usually the underleveler. I do not want to overtrain, and I refuse to play a game that REQUIRES a LOT of grinding. To me, I find it better to use lower leveled Pokemon and overcome higher leveled foes, even though I do fight every trainers I can find and try to defeat the wild Pokemon I encounter. I must admit though, I was overleveled by 5-7 levels until I reached the 8th gym, but once I reached the Elite 4, they were much higher leveled than I was. The level curve all of a sudden spikes after defeating the E4, because the trainers you fight will have Lv. 60 + Pokemon, so beware.

[Dragon818]

I have no problem being a few levels underleveled. I enjoy the challenge. But when it gets to the point where the opponent has pokemon that, although only, say, 4 levels above me, are one shoting me because of strong moves, then I need to train some. I run from 9 out of 10 wild encounters, and try to avoid every trainer possible. And even doing that, I still manage to level. (Obviously, I've been doing that, and still wound up with high 20, low 30 pokemon) I finally got my Serperior. *rock sign and head bang* I probably should have went with the fire type though...I say that because I've always picked fire types before, and I was unbeatable with them. For Gen 1 it was Charizard. Gen 2 was Typhlosion. Gen 3 it was Blaziken.After that, they screwed me over with a retarded flame monkey thing, so I had to go water/earth. The only reason I picked Serperior this time, is because I love snakes, and I love the look of it. For me to beat the crap out of things though, I probably would have went with the pig.

Oh, and earlier you asked if I trained at all t the Desert Resort. I apologize for not answering you, it slipped my mind. I did not. I went there, explored a little, ran into a crap load of psychic type's that almost one shotted me, got annoyed, and left. I don't recall the level of the pokemon there, mid 20's I believe. But now my party is all 30's. With one 36 Serperior. Where is there some dark grass by the Celestial Tower? (Don't know the name of the town.) I'm looking to train more then one pokemon at a time, if at all possible.

[wraith89]

Avoid every trainer possible? You should not do that... fight every trainer you can. There are grasses near Celestial Tower that aren't dark, but has Zebstrikas which do give some good EXP. And as for Serperior, I picked her because she looked so French and though I hate snakes, I wanted a challenge. Her movepool is literally barren, so I went with her. For you to actually beat stuff up, yeah either the pig or the otter would have done. But congrats on your new Serperior. Mine was overleveled from the rest of my entire party too; she was Lv. 55 or something when everyone was in their mid 40s.

As for Desert resort, you mean Sigilyphs? Those are rare, I don't know how you keep encountering them. In fact, I wish I could find them. There are trainers there and a doctor there who will heal your Pokemon every time when you beat him in a battle. Seriously, fight every trainers you can. I had no idea that you avoided them all.

[PKMN_trainer]

Hey, why not just run around a small patch of grass until it rustles then you can find audinos...

[Dragon818]

Avoid every trainer possible? You should not do that... fight every trainer you can. There are grasses near Celestial Tower that aren't dark, but has Zebstrikas which do give some good EXP. And as for Serperior, I picked her because she looked so French and though I hate snakes, I wanted a challenge. Her movepool is literally barren, so I went with her. For you to actually beat stuff up, yeah either the pig or the otter would have done. But congrats on your new Serperior. Mine was overleveled from the rest of my entire party too; she was Lv. 55 or something when everyone was in their mid 40s.

As for Desert resort, you mean Sigilyphs? Those are rare, I don't know how you keep encountering them. In fact, I wish I could find them. There are trainers there and a doctor there who will heal your Pokemon every time when you beat him in a battle. Seriously, fight every trainers you can. I had no idea that you avoided them all.

I probably shouldn't. Thats just been my thing since Pokemon Blue in the beginning. It always worked for me, even if I avoid all the trainers, I still manage to be the right levels for gyms, and I still reach the pokemon league with level 70 pokemon. Still, I suppose I shouldn't be doing that. I actually started battling trainers the other night. Not to easy, but it worked good.

You have a female Serperior? I hate you. ._. I've noticed that Serperior's move set is sorta....lacking. Right now he has Leaf Blade, Mega Drain, Leech Seed, and Tackle. Not many one hit wonder moves. I guess thats part of the challenge though. And thank you. So far I haven't played with it at all. I got 36, evolved, and then began working on other pokemon.

And yeah, I mean the Sigilyph's. When I was 20-ish they were annoying as hell. It seemed like every other pokemon I ran into was one of them. I went there last night though, and it wasn't to bad. Not much exp from wild encounters, but battles worked out well. I'm back near the Celestial Tower though, battling pokemon and trainers.

That reminds me, I have a question. How does Exp work exactly? I noticed that if I beat a level 29 Zebstrika I get over 1K exp. But if I beat a level 29 Watchhog, I get like, 430 exp. Is the amount of exp you get predetermined? Or does it depend on the length of the battle.

[wraith89]

I used to do what you did too when I was little, but I realised how bad that was overall. I used a Level 73 Dugtrio with Cut Dig Earthquake and Fissure (yes, I didn't even teach Rock Slide) against the Elite 4, and I got completely decimated at Lance. In retrospect, I have no idea how I did that...

B-b-but, I love my Serperior... it is definitely a more feminine creature than a masculine one, much like Meganium or Gardevoir (yes males do exist!). The thing about Serperior is, you have to take advantage of its higher defences. Serperior can take a few hits, but what it CAN also do is set up Growths, boosting its Attack and Special attack by one stage, which is not bad, considering Serperior is REALLY fast. Also, if you forgot Growth, PLEASE DO NOT SKIP COIL. You probably have by now, but you have another chance at Level 38, so try learning it. Buy TM27 at the Electric Gym City and replace Tackle. All you really need is Leaf Blade, Return, Coil, and another move, maybe Giga Drain or Leech Seed. Coil raises attack, defence, and accuracy by 1 stage. You should learn to use non-attack moves, as they are important with strategies as well, and Serperior seems to be built around taking advantage of that. In fact, it was due to Coil I swept N with Serperior ALONE. Yep, you'd better believe it.

I'm still searching for Sigilyphs, and so far no luck. Desert Resort is mostly for 20s and all.

As for EXP, yes, some Pokemon will give more EXP than others. A Zebstrika gives a lot more than a Watchog, for example. But if your level is higher than the opponent Pokemon, you will gain less EXP than you are supposed to, but if the Pokemon is higher leveled than yours, you will gain more Experience than usual.

[wraith89]

I used to do what you did too when I was little, but I realised how bad that was overall. I used a Level 73 Dugtrio with Cut Dig Earthquake and Fissure (yes, I didn't even teach Rock Slide) against the Elite 4, and I got completely decimated at Lance. In retrospect, I have no idea how I did that...

B-b-but, I love my Serperior... it is definitely a more feminine creature than a masculine one, much like Meganium or Gardevoir (yes males do exist!). The thing about Serperior is, you have to take advantage of its higher defences. Serperior can take a few hits, but what it CAN also do is set up Growths, boosting its Attack and Special attack by one stage, which is not bad, considering Serperior is REALLY fast. Also, if you forgot Growth, PLEASE DO NOT SKIP COIL. You probably have by now, but you have another chance at Level 38, so try learning it. Buy TM27 at the Electric Gym City and replace Tackle. All you really need is Leaf Blade, Return, Coil, and another move, maybe Giga Drain or Leech Seed. Coil raises attack, defence, and accuracy by 1 stage. You should learn to use non-attack moves, as they are important with strategies as well, and Serperior seems to be built around taking advantage of that. In fact, it was due to Coil I swept N with Serperior ALONE. Yep, you'd better believe it.

I'm still searching for Sigilyphs, and so far no luck. Desert Resort is mostly for 20s and all.

As for EXP, yes, some Pokemon will give more EXP than others. A Zebstrika gives a lot more than a Watchog, for example. But if your level is higher than the opponent Pokemon, you will gain less EXP than you are supposed to, but if the Pokemon is higher leveled than yours, you will gain more Experience than usual.

[Dragon818]

Actually, now that I think about it, that did start when I was little. I hated battling trainers, so I skipped all I could, and I guess it just stuck with me.

Serperior is definitely a feminine pokemon, even if it is a male. x.x Maybe thats why I like the pig pokemon best. Not only is it fire, but the final evolution is very beastly. I...Uh...Kinda...Sorta...Maybe...skipped Coil and Growth. *Hides under rock* I've never been the type to use moves like that. Not in any game. I've played many, many RPG's before, along with all types of other games. I've always favored the "Run and gun" style. I've always preferred to go on the attack, over trying to raise defense and such. Perhaps its time to try something new. Even if its just with Serperior. I can always relearn the moves I like.

Keep searching, you'll find one!

Ah, ok. I wasn't sure what was going on. I couldn't understand why, two pokemon the same level, gave such different EXP.

[wraith89]

You have a second chance to learn Coil at Level 38... try it out. It might be a new experience for you, but barring random critical hits, it will make Serperior a rather scary figure. Coil is used normally for major battles, like Gym Leaders or E4, for example. Unless you want to stick with all Grass and Normal moves... which will become tedious quickly. And like I said, replace Tackle with TM27 (Return)... it is a lot more powerful (I am assuming your Serperior is HAPPY WITH YOU).

[Dragon818]

I'm definitely going to have to give that a shot. Maybe it'll open a whole new style to me. Hopefully it goes well! If Coil is used during Major Battles, is Growth for regular battles?

[wraith89]

Well, I didn't mean to make it sound like it was EXCLUSIVELY used in Major battles, but both are used MOSTLY in major battles, but if the occasion calls for it, they are used in regular battles as well. Both of them are quite viable, but I find Coil safer to set up because it raises Serperior's Defence too. Hopefully, this will also help you understand how competitive battling works, which is a different subject altogether, but it will help you get a taste of how it is like.

[Dragon818]

Ah, I see. Defense is always good to have. I never really planned on getting into competitive battling, but this will give me a slight view into it. What would you say is better, Mega Drain, or Leech Seed? Mega Drain sometimes doesn't hit that hard, but its instant. Leech Seed is an "End of every turn" move, which means that it could take a while to replenish any of your HP.

[wraith89]

That depends on what you use it against and how it is used. Generally, Leech Seed is better, especially competitively. It works wonders against high HP targets like Blissey or Snorlax very well, and is a staple for most if not all defensive Grass Pokemon. Mega Drain should be replaced with Giga Drain eventually, but the general idea with those moves is to use it against targets that hate it, such as Water/Ground or Rock/Ground Pokemon, for instance. To give you an idea of how I use my Serperior....

Coil

Return

Leaf Blade

Giga Drain

Note the KEY difference between in game and competitive battling is that the AI does NOT usually switch Pokemon, so setting up is way too easy. In competitive battling, you will need to plan out well when to set up and how to execute it. Anyways, I Coil up against Ground Pokemon like Krookodile, and when I'm done with around + 4 I use Giga Drain to absorb some nice health and damage Krookodile, possibly OHKOing it. Then afterwards the rest of the other guy's Pokemon will go down with either Leaf Blade or Return. Note that when Serperior's HP is around 1/3 or lower, its Grass moves become stronger thanks to Overgrow, its ability. Usually, this ends up destroying the entire foe's team. Worked like a charm against N, especially as Carracosta was easy set up bait.

[Dragon818]

I see, that explains a lot. Does Serperior learn Giga Drain? Or do I have to get a TM for it? And I knew that there was still a lot different between Competitive battling, and the game. The main one being, as you said, that the game is an AI. My Zebstrika fought a wild Zebstrika before. The wild one kept trying to use Electric type moves, and kept boosting my speed. A player would never do that.

[wraith89]

Level 44 Giga Drain... yeah it takes a while.

[Dragon818]

Thats not to bad. I'm at 37 now. 7 More levels and I get it.