A Guide to Theorymon

[Senile]

Hopefully someone will learn something.

What is "Theorymon"?:

Theorymon is essentially hypothetical situations in pokemon thought out. Pokemon sets/spreads, damage calculations, x vs y situations and even teambuilding are all essentially theorymon, as they're thought out, not actually done during battles. Teambuilding won't be delved into, however, as it's a whole other ball game compared to everything else.

Damage Calculations; Use Them:

Something some people seem to forget (cough) is damage calculations. This is fundamentally important to any theorymonning. You cannot simply say that x beats y because it seems like it should; Getting exact numbers is necessary, otherwise, your theorymonning is pointless. This cannot be emphasized enough; If you do not run damage calculations to determine things, you will get not get anywhere.

The ideal damage calculator is the Smogon one. Use the 4th gen damage calculator, because that accounts for the physical/special split and has, as far as I'm aware, the current PokeMMO damage formula. An important thing to note is that some PokeMMO moves have different base powers than those in the 4th gen calc, and some of the listed 4th generation moves don't actually exist in PokeMMO, so keep that in mind.

Distinction Between "Counter" and "Check":

A counter and a check are two very distinct terms that arguably don't have a clear definition. For the purpose of this guide, they are as follows:

Counter: A pokemon that can switch into any move from an opposing pokemon under normal conditions with little to no risk to itself, and can reliably beat the pokemon it is countering. Counters can typically switch into the same pokemon multiple times, assuming they remain healthy. 

An example would be a Blissey against a Starmie; It can switch in on any of Starmie's attacks, take it out with whatever attacking move it has while healing off any potential damage with Softboiled, and absorb any Toxics/Thunder Waves (If a Starmie would ever run them anyway) by switching out thanks to natural cure. Assuming the Blissey remains healthy, it can switch into Starmie indefinitely.

Check: A pokemon that can switch into another pokemon under normal conditions, but isn't safe from all of the moves/options the opposing pokemon has, however, can still beat the pokemon before it itself is beaten. Cannot typically switch into the same pokemon many times, as it's worn down by the attacks of the pokemon or threatened by certain moves it carries.

An example would be an Alakazam against a Starmie. Alakazam can switch in on a resisted Psychic or non-STAB Ice Beams/Thunderbolts and Calm Mind up, or go directly for a 2HKO with Thunderpunch. As it outspeeds, it can beat Starmie before Starmie can do enough damage to KO with a Ice Beam/Thunderbolt/Psychic + Surf Combo. However, if Starmie uses Surf as Alakazam switches in, it 2HKO's Zam and can survive the Thunderpunch. Therefore, Alakazam can "Check" Starmie, but he's no where near as reliable as a counter such as Blissey, as Zam can only switch in once and risks being hit by Surf.

Obviously, these examples only cover one kind of "Check/Counter". As the terms themselves are so broad, checks/counters each have different levels of viability. For example, Alakazam is actually not a very good Starmie check, due to it's limitations, however, a check does not have to be as limited as the Alakazam in the example is, and can be much better. Similarly, a counter doesn't have to be as good at countering a pokemon as Blissey is at countering Starmie, as Blissey is just an extreme example of a counter.

Note: "Normal Conditions" typically assumes both pokemon are at full HP, unstatused, and there are no entry hazards. (No, it's not realistic to have 3 layers of spikes all the time, I don't care who you are)
 

Realistic Situations; Nonsense Doesn't Make Sense In Theory or Practice:

Self explanatory; Do not assume unrealistic situations. This might seem obvious, but it's something people seem to forget quite often; An example of this would be assigning a speedy sweeper (IE, Alakazam) defensive EV's in a hypothetical situation, in order to beat x pokemon. While it might be true, it is unrealistic to propose such a situation, for two reasons; One, nobody runs defensive IV's on Alakazam, two, it would only be useful in that particular situation.

Context Sensitivity; Metagames Exist:

"Context Sensitivity" applies to smaller details that might not be entirely obvious. For example, a Salac Berry Absol would like to run +Attack nature in UU, as it still outspeeds all UU pokemon at 1+ even with +Attack, but in OU, it would rather run a +Speed nature. Things like this are things one must keep in mind; Different metagames warrant different natures, movesets and EV spreads.

Aside from this, another thing to keep in mind is how common counters to x pokemon are when proposing some sort of discussion of something being moved up or down. You must always keep in mind if the effective counters/checks to a pokemon are common/useful within the metagame aside from the pokemon being discussed. If the pokemon would only ever be used to counter the other pokemon, and serves little to no other purpose, this should be considered. Viability of potential counters outside of being merely a counter is incredibly important to consider, especially if the pokemon are running an EV spread specifically to counter the aforementioned pokemon.

Why Use A Pokemon?:

Something a lot of people seem to forget when making "Creative" sets/strategies is something very important; What does the pokemon you're making have over another pokemon of a similar person? Sure, you could make, for example, a specially defensive Cloyster. You could. But, what does this Cloyster have that physically defensive Cloysters don't? What extra utility does it have, and what does the spread make it lose? What does it have against other spikes setters that could run specially defensive sets?

Making up unique sets is great; It adds an element of surprise and it's how top threats in metagames are created, after all, someone had to make it to begin with. But you do have to ask questions like the ones in the example, such as what it does better. If the pokemon is just an inferior version of something else, then your creative set serves no purpose but for a limited "Surprise" effect that lasts for 1 round in a tournament. It'd be like running a Butterfree instead of a Breloom for a sleep inducer in OU. Sure, it'd be unique, but they both have the same speed, around the same bulk, and Butterfree only has 97.5% accurate sleep AND a worse defensive typing. Not only this, but Breloom can actually attack due to it's base 130 attack.

In short, when making a set, make sure it has advantages over other sets, and isn't just a worse version of something else.

How Do I Become "Good" At Theorymon?:

Practicing typically helps, but playing the metagame you're theorymonning is typically the best way to get "Better". If you're not able to see the top threats and the way they're used, then theorymonning a counter or check to them is no where near as reliable, as you're simply guessing the sets people are running.

Is There Anything Else?:

Plenty, in fact. But this is simply a basic, barebones guide to theorymon. This essentially exists as a way to understand the basics of theorymon, as you aren't going to get good at anything by just reading a guide. However, if you have any questions or things you don't understand, please ask them,  I'll try to clarify them.

Edited May 25, 2015 by Senile

[Ssin]

i like it.

[Noad]

Really informative, thanks.

[fredrichnietze]

Hopefully someone will learn something.


Damage Calculations; Fucking Use Them:
 

i'm the inspiration for this aren't i?