While my experience in this internet culture is limited, I was an active participant during the third and fourth generations of the game. While the game is currently in its fifth generation and evolving to the sixth, the experiences that I had were very enlightening.
First, I must address how my interaction with the culture was limited compared to the form in which the culture exists today. While I was able to battle online, I was only able to battle through a program called “Shoddy Battle”, an application that was intended for internet interaction rather than using the actual Nintendo DS. However, I was able to gain a brief glance into how the community operated. Because I wanted to become a better player, I started researching information regarding which Pokémon were optimal for battle and which ones were not.
As a result of this research, I discovered the “Shoddy Battle” web client, which allowed me to build a fictional team and test it out against other teams that real people were considering using. The interesting part of this web client was that I was allowed to optimize the Pokémon’s stats, despite the fact that those results were highly unrealistic when applied to the actual game. Despite the optimization, the feedback that I received from my online battles encouraged me to actually build the teams that I tried out using the web client.
When I finally finished building the team I had been testing out, it turned out to be a successful endeavor, simply because of the experience that I had gained. The instant that the game itself was able to link to the web and “Shoddy Battle” became obsolete, I was overly excited. It meant that I finally had the chance to battle with the Pokémon that I had spent valuable time and energy raising. It meant that the hours of careful breeding and selection had not gone to waste.
In a sense, it was like I was battling using one of my pets. Even though it was completely digital, I had grown attached to the “pets” I had raised since they were hatched. It was rewarding to see all the hard work and hours I had put into the game finally pay off.
Eventually, I realized that the game was taking up too much of my time. While I enjoyed playing, I found that I wanted to broaden the number of pokemon I could battle with. However, this would have taken days per pokemon. I realized that it was too much of a commitment, and since my classes were becoming more involved, I eventually stopped playing.
While some aspects of the culture are very harsh, especially if your battle skill is lacking, it can be very informative if you are into it. Not only does each member have access to the optimal Pokémon for battle, but they also have access to pre-made lists of possible move sets and builds. Because of this, it makes the inclusion of new players fairly easy while still maintaining the complexity of the game and the mechanics behind it.
My most recent team:
