friendyousohard | 22nd Spell: [Video/Action for Route 38]

[The video clicks on with a view of a Magnezone hovering over the long grass, peering around as though looking for something. After several moments, it turns back to the gear and shakes its body back and forth, looking remarkably like a shaking head.]

Well, it's not surprising. I did have to search for weeks to find you, after all.

[The Magnezone bleeps unintelligibly at the gear. Even those who can understand Pokemon (and other Pokemon themselves) will only hear noises that sound oddly like R2-D2.]

Maybe someone else has one you can talk to. [The gear turns around to show Twilight's face.] A question. Well, two. First off, who out there has a Pokemon from the Magnemite line? And second, does anyone else have... trouble communicating with them? Of course most of us can't understand Pokemon when they talk, but even my other Pokemon can't seem to understand anything Tesla has to say. Are there other Magnemites who seem to have that issue? For that matter, other Pokemon in general? It's something I've never even heard of before.

Hmmm... and on a more general topic, here's something I've been wondering about for a while. If you were to take six Pokemon, start them at level one, and try to train them together as a coherent team, which ones would you pick? I've been considering the idea for a while now, and while I'm not certain it's practical to start right now I'd like to start gathering input.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Are you looking to cultivate a special team specifically for challenging the gyms?

No. I think even if I never captured another Pokemon I could handle the gyms just fine. This is more of an experiment.

An experiment of what variety?

To test a hypothesis. Specifically, that training a group of Pokemon as a unit rather than one-by-one will improve their teamwork on the field and their comaraderie off of it, as well as the trainer's ability to utilize them as a full team rather than simply focus on whichever Pokemon is active at the time.

I'm surprised that's a hypothesis in need of testing. Any creature specifically trained to work in a group should inherently be a better team player than one without that specialized training, shouldn't it?

Well that much goes without saying, but there are ways to work in that sort of group training outside of gathering a full group to train at the same time. Double battles, for instance, or even the trainer working in a specific strategy. But if the old saying about younger minds learning faster than older ones holds true, there should be a notable difference between Pokemon who work together because they were trained in it after they were strong individually, and those who worked as a team from the beginning.

If there is no noticeable difference, this would imply that Pokmeon continue to hold the same capacity to retain knowledge for their full lifespan.

If that's how you're doing it, then presumably you'll also need to control against possible variations in species — meaning, two teams to observe, one in which all members were trained independently but then taught to work as a group afterward, and one in which all members were trained as a group from the very beginning. They'd need to mirror each other in species, type, and team role, and you'd have to examine them once they were all at the same level to control for possible variations that way.

It'd be quite the undertaking, going about it like that..

Not to mention personality. Are you familiar with Pokemon Natures? Bold, Adamant, and such?

[Oh yeah, she's that much of a nerd.]

I've heard something about them. The nature of a Pokemon has some bearing on its skills and strengths, or something to that effect?

Essentially. Some of them are better at offensive abilities and slack on defense or speed, or vice versa.

Meaning for your test to be truly valid, you would need a set of Pokemon with identical natures in both test groups, as well.

Which would require either many, many test groups to pick out two ideal ones or a gigantic amount of luck. It's not exactly an ideal situation to test, I'll admit. But it's a problem that's been nagging at me, and any data on the subject I can get would be useful.

That's true. It may not be a perfect experiment, but it should at least tell you something.

Exactly.

Also, I'll admit I've gotten bored with most of my Pokemon being at their maximum level. Further training after that in anything but strategy doesn't really seem to do anything at all, and only some of them seem to absorb the tactical advice I try to give.

Edited (wrong font) 2013-09-09 03:35 (UTC)

22nd Spell: [Video/Action for Route 38]

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