In short:
- Good answers are correct. Make sure your answer is correct by doing research.
- This list of Pokemon websites will help you research. It will also improve your breadth of knowledge so you can answer more questions.
- Be transparent. Show where your information comes from, or what you did to test. Not everything needs a source, but important/obscure information does.
- Make sure your answer is complete, and will not leave the reader doubting that it's complete.
- Learn from the best. People who've been around a long time (example, example, example) know how to write helpful answers, so learn from their process.
- Be succinct. You only need enough detail to make a satisfying answer that solves the underlying problem. Don't include fluff or other distractions from the main point.
- If the question is asking for strategy advice, your job is to give the most effective solution. This requires research and experience, but also the ability to detect when you simply aren't an expert.
- Format nicely. Long paragraphs, long sentences, and overuse of formatting (including pictures and links) make your answer annoying to read.
- At the same time, formatting (especially pictures, like here) makes certain information way easier to understand than a plain sentence.
Research and cross-check
The most important element of a good answer is that it's correct (or gives good advice). The best way to make sure your answer achieves this is to do research.
Check what resources online have to say. A community-contributed collection of helpful resources is available here. Bulbapedia, Serebii, Smogon, etc. are reputable websites maintained by knowledgeable people.
Cross check the original source of information, especially if you are getting information from forums or videos. If the source seems dubious or there is conflicting info, explain this clearly.
You can also do your own tests in-game. If you do this, make sure to include the process you followed, so others can sanity-check or reproduce if they wish.
For strategy advice, get a full perspective before making recommendations. Especially for competitive Pokémon, there are usage stats (example) and discussion boards (example) you can use to see what the best players are doing. Your advice should tend toward what the best players are doing, unless you yourself are extremely knowledgeable and experienced.
A correct answer is necessarily a complete one. You should make sure you aren't missing any examples or situations that are important to the question. Do what you can to inspire confidence that your answer is, in fact, complete. More advice on showing credibility is below.
Make sure you directly link back to the pages where you found your information, especially if you quote content from it. We speak about this more below.
Get the level of detail just right
Sweeping advice like "keep it brief" and "be detailed" is shared around often, which can seem confusing or contradictory. In reality, the amount of detail you need depends entirely on the situation.
This answer contains one word and this answer contains nearly 1,500. Both are both helpful, correct answers that resolve the question completely. Which approach to take depends on how complex or broad the question is.
The only way to nail this every time is through experience, including writing your own answers and reading other people's. You will naturally notice what feels helpful and what doesn't.
You know an answer doesn't include enough detail if it invites comments like "why?", "can you explain?", "source?" and "how do you know?". You know it includes too much if, while skimming it, you can't tell which parts are most important to the question or think "I ain't readin all that".
Solve the underlying problem
Most questions are motivated by some problem or goal that the asker has. If you can recognise this, you can give a holistic answer that addresses the underlying issue.
For example, a person might ask whether their Pokémon’s ability will change upon evolution. A simple answer would say yes or no, and give a source. A better answer might explain the mechanics behind the answer (example). The underlying problem is that the asker doesn’t know how abilities work – you can address that, so they don’t have a similar question again.
A different question might ask if it's possible to evolve Keen Eye Rockruff into Dusk Lycanroc. A simple answer would say no, but clearly the underlying problem is the asker wants a Dusk Lycanroc. A better answer may additionally say the easiest way to get one, or link to someplace that explains in more detail.
Having said this, it's important to balance quality over quantity. It is possible to give info that is unnecessary or unwanted. Only include info that is directly related to the question (or its underlying problem), and that readers won't necessarily know already. A good answer is succinct, yet satisfying.
Show credibility
If you’re sharing information that isn’t well-known, then you should give a reference that shows the information is correct. A guide for when and how to reference is available here. If you sourced the information yourself, then you should explain how you did that, so the process can be repeated.
If you’re giving strategy advice, make sure to justify your answer. Give reasons and explanations. Do what you can to show that you’re expert in the topic (or you’re informed by experts in the topic).
If you aren't experienced on the subject matter or don't feel confident synthesising the findings/opinions of more knowledgeable people, leave the question for someone else to answer.
Please write to the best of your ability. It’s easier to follow answers with correct punctuation and spelling. Writing properly also makes you sound trustworthy. You don’t have to be perfect; just clear and precise.
Structure well
A well-structured answer is easier to use. Here are some tips to improve this area:
- If you're answering a "yes" or "no" question, make sure you explicitly write "yes" or "no". This makes your answer easy to understand at a glance.
- If you're able to summarise your answer in one or two sentences, it is good to do so early on, so people can connect back to your central point while they read.
- If your answer is long, you can bold the important points to make the answer easier to skim.
- If you're writing a series of items, requirements, options, etc., make sure you present this using a list (in the same way this guide is currently).
- If you're addressing multiple topics or perspectives in your answer, it can help to section it (in the same way this guide does using headings).
- Leave side notes, edge cases, and other less-important detail for the end of the answer. In general, "important stuff first" is a good rule to follow. (Another good rule is "tell a story" -- each part of the answer should connect to the next.)
- Use paragraph breaks. Very long blocks of text are offputting. Give separate ideas their own paragraphs, but don't overdo it.
- If you have a long quotation, summarise what it means before pasting. You can also bold the important parts (noting that the emphasis is yours). You can also remove irrelevant parts of the quote (again, noting that you did this).
- Good use of pictures is extremely powerful. For example, this answer uses pictures to show where a Pokemon is instead of typing out steps, which is way more succinct. This answer uses pictures to break things up and show a "real world" example of an intangible concept.
Answer good questions
Some questions are poorly written. They might be lacking context (such as the battle format or game involved), or they might lack a clear problem or goal (as discussed above). Save your energy for questions that are explained precisely and written by people with a genuine interest.
If you see a question that isn’t very good, you can leave a comment instead. You can ask the person for extra context or tell them what parts are unclear. This will improve the question, and it will improve the answers too, because good questions tend to get considerate answers.
The lowest quality questions will be removed by staff.
Learn from other people
One of the best ways to learn is to see what the most knowledgeable and experienced people are doing, then try to implement that in your own work. PokeBase has been around for over ten years, so there are plenty of people to learn from. Here are a few I'll pick on: KRLW890, fondant, Fritjof, Amethyst, Iridacea, vy, Scarlet, An Asocial Moth, and my own answers if you like how this guide is written.
Researchers from the wider Pokemon community set an example for how to make self-evident, original content: Dragonfree, SadisticMystic
You can also simply lurk the site and see what answers get voted and selected as BA.
Keep a good attitude
If you answer questions often, you’re likely to make a mistake or have somebody disagree with you. When that happens, please respond politely (and in a way that will help other people).
- If the person is misguided or you disagree with their opinion, then you can explain why. This could be useful to other people who thought the same thing. You might change something in your answer so that it’s clearer.
- If you know that your answer is incorrect, then you can change it or remove it. Be mature about this – if somebody critiques your post or your idea, they are not attacking you personally (and you should not attack them personally).
It is a good idea to detach your emotions from the things you post. This will help you focus on sharing useful and accurate information, instead of arguing or “competing” against other people who posted answers.
Follow up
Other people might leave comments on your answer. They might have follow up questions, or they might point out inaccurate info in the answer. You should be interested in this, so you can potentially change the answer to be more useful.
