Question

How do I make a good moveset for in-game playthroughs?

Answer 1

For in-game playthroughs, you want to maximise your Pokemon's offensive potential so you can break through in difficult fights and clear routes without hassle.

With that in mind, here is a guide to building in-game movesets to beat the game easily and efficiently.

1. Include the strongest reliable attack the Pokemon can learn
   • Usually, this will be the highest-power STAB move the Pokemon can get at the current stage of the playthrough. This will become the Pokemon's primary attack, especially in important battles (ex: Gym Leaders, Pokemon League).
   • Usually, you get the best moves from TMs/TRs and level-up.
   • There are some situations where you have to think beyond STAB. For example, Lucario's strongest attack in B2/W2 is actually Return for a long stretch of the playthrough because it doesn't get access to high-power STAB moves until late. These scenarios are especially common prior to the physical-special split in Gen 4, and even more so in Gen 1/2 where many Pokemon have shallow movepools.
   • Your Pokemon's strongest attack doesn't necessarily come from its highest attacking stat. Especially in older games, many Pokemon have poor movepools that force you to use the other stat.
   • If your Pokemon has a second STAB or other powerful attack, you can consider having a stronger, inaccurate move for this slot (which can be used as a nuke for the Gym Leader's ace, etc). Otherwise, your main attack would ideally have high accuracy and >5 PP to minimise hassle.
2. Include a boosting move for your strongest attack
   • Boosting moves make it much easier to beat bosses e.g. Gym Leaders, who use Pokemon that survive raw attacks and can actually hit you back. By OHKOing the opponents before they have a chance to hit you, you will win more easily and efficiently.
   • Most bosses start off with their weakest Pokemon, which makes it easy to set up early and carry your boosts into the matchup with harder Pokemon. For example, it is much easier to beat Cynthia if you set up on her Spiritomb and carry the boosts into the fight with Garchomp.
   • Even weaker boosting moves like Work Up are considered worth using by the people who rigorously test Pokemon for playthrough performance. This is because in-game opponents rarely switch, meaning you have time to accrue many boosts.
   • If you have a slow but strong Pokemon, it might be worth boosting Speed. Bulky Pokemon with low offensive stats are not efficient in playthroughs but you can lean into that also.
3. Fill out your set with coverage for types that resist your main attack
   • You need moves that do good damage when your main attack is resisted. Ideally, this will be a high powered attack that is super effective against types that resist your main attack (e.g. if you use Return then you want something to hit Steel, Rock, and Ghost).
   • Even a move that does strong neutral damage is helpful when your Pokemon's main attack is resisted. This is especially true for Pokemon with a bad movepool.
   • If your Pokemon is dual-type, it is very likely you should include a STAB attack for its other type. Thanks to the 1.5x boost, this will be an extra powerful coverage move (and a good way to conserve PP on your strongest attack).
   • Covering your Pokemon's defensive weaknesses is not as important as covering the types that resist your main attack. We want to maximise our offensive game instead of preparing for scenarios (taking super effective damage) that we'd rather avoid altogether. However, there is often overlap between these things, and covering defensive weaknesses is better than covering nothing.
   • It's good if your boosting move also powers up your coverage moves.
4. Consider utility moves if your Pokemon doesn't learn or doesn't need more coverage
   • Where possible, you should fill out your set with coverage moves. However, some Pokemon have shallow movepools, which leaves utility moves like Thunder Wave and Sleep Powder as the best option. These can create setup opportunities or cripple a difficult Pokemon. Conversely, some Pokemon get really excellent coverage from their STAB alone, which leaves capacity for utility moves.
   • You can also fill out your set with lower-power STAB moves with high PP. This is especially helpful in older games where Ethers are a commodity.
   • Sometimes, moves of the same type differ enough to where they become coverage moves in and of themselves. For example, in playthroughs Machamp might carry Revenge for opponents it underspeeds and Dynamic Punch for everything else.
   • If your Pokemon is slow, you might lean into moves that increase its logevity (ex: Synthesis, defense-boosting moves), as it is more likely to take damage before attacking. In general, slow Pokemon are less efficient than fast Pokemon for in-game.
5. Put a boosting item on your Pokemon (or a useful berry)
   • Most games give access to boosting items like Silk Scarf and Mystic Water fairly easily and quite early. The 20% boost on your strongest attack will absolutely make a difference. Research where you can get these items.
   • Some games even offer competitive-grade items like Life Orb and Choice Specs early. These are also very strong for in-game play.
   • If you don't have a good boosting item, berries are a strong bet. Oran Berry early-game and Sitrus Berry later in the game are helpful.
   • Lum Berry (and other status-healers) are good for opponents that status you, such as Gym Leaders etc who lead with something using Will-o-Wisp or Confuse Ray.
   • Lucky Egg and Exp Share are good for keeping your team's levels high.
   • Remember you can swap your item for different opponents.
6. Put HMs on dedicated HM users instead of your attackers
   • In games with HMs, you can get bogged down carrying Rock Smash, etc on Pokemon that don't want it. Instead, catch a Pokemon that learns lots of HMs and keep it in your party so your attackers are free.
   • In all games with HMs, it is better not to use all six party slots on proper team members anyway. It is better to have four overlevelled Pokemon than six underlevelled Pokemon (and generally, the last few slots are surplus to requirements in playthoughs anyway). You can use the spare slots on HM users.
   • This is less applicable to games with global Exp Share (which also lack HMs).

And that's it! At a high level, all you need is your best possible attack, ways to boost that attack, and failsafes for when that attack isn't effective.

Comments

I think it's worth pointing out that you almost always want coverage moves that are more than 3/4 as powerful as your main spammable STAB move. For example, if your main STAB move has 100 base power, a 75 base power coverage move won't do more damage even when it's super effective.