Crafting a Pokémon Team: A Creative Project Exploring Interior Design and Competitive Play

Combining my passion for interior design with my love for Pokémon has led me to embark on a creative project that has consumed over 8 months of my time. Inspired by my recent home improvements, specifically changing the light fixtures to reflect my style, I have created a unique competitive Pokémon team with a personal thematic twist.

Home Improvements and Creative Inspiration

My latest home improvement project involved updating the light fixtures in our dining room. I recently hung a stunning crystal chandelier with a matching ceiling medallion, and I have now completed another chandelier on a stairway. Here are some photos of the medallions before I painted them:

The Art of Pokémon Teambuilding

Competitive Pokémon play requires a lot of creativity in teambuilding. Unlike games like chess where all players have the same pieces, each Pokémon player must construct their own team. The team-building phase must be completed by the player before the tournament. Here are the components that define a Pokémon team:

4 moves One held item One ability One Terastallization type chosen by the creator of the team Customizable stat distributions for HP, attack, defense, speed, special attack, and special defense

There are two general team-building philosophies: the more common one is called a “good stuff team,” which is a collection of the strongest and most popular Pokémon in the metagame. Success with these kinds of teams comes down to match-playing skills rather than creativity. I prefer building “off-meta” teams, which are unusual and effective. Off-meta teams use uncommon Pokémon, so there is an advantage in my opponents being unfamiliar with several of the Pokémon on my team. Constructing such teams also helps me to introspect on my own values and to learn about myself.

A Thematic Pokémon Team

My latest theme explores emotions and traits. Here are the names of the Pokémon on my team and the emotion in parentheses is my nickname for each Pokémon:

Glimmora (Exploration) Hydreigon (Terror) Grimmsnarl (Mischief) Kingambit (Domination) Amoongus (Safety) Annihilape (Anger)

Each Pokémon on my team has been carefully chosen to reflect a particular emotion, and fully utilizing that Pokémon to its maximum requires me to channel that emotion while playing with it. For example, Annihilape, named for anger, can be a powerful late-game monster with the help of healing partners. By focusing on different emotional traits, I am able to create a unique and effective team that stands out in the competitive scene.

Competitive Experience and Future Plans

After participating in two in-person regional tournaments in October 2023 and January 2024, as well as several months of testing on the online ladder and a recent online tournament, I finally feel like the team is ready. I have another in-person tournament coming up next month in April 2024, and I have a month to practice with this team. I don’t foresee having to make any more changes to my team build.

In terms of the creative challenge and difficulty of the task, this team building endeavor was as hard as any research project I’ve worked on in engineering. A well-made team must be able to cover many possibilities since each opponent will have their own unique team of 6 Pokémon from over 100 available. In an average tournament, you’ll play against 9 opponents in one day, with best of three sets, and you’re only allowed to lose 2 sets to qualify for day 2. Your team needs to work against a variety of opposition teams to succeed in a tournament.

Internal Synergies and Polarizing Effects

A well-made team is constructed to take advantage of unique internal synergies between pairs of Pokémon, which is essential in a doubles format—2 of your Pokémon fight against 2 of your opponent’s Pokémon at a time in a 4v4 match. For example, Annihilate (Annihilape) has a unique move called “Rage Fist,” which does more damage as it is hit more times by a damaging move. To take advantage of this move, having a means to heal Annihilate can make it even more deadly—Annihilape takes damage, powers up the Rage Fist, and having a teammate who can heal it back up creates a late-game monster that can sweep the game. Or having a teammate like Grimmsnarl, who can put up defensive screens to ensure that Annihilate takes less damage from the opponent while getting the same Rage Fist boost. These are just examples of synergies between 2–3 Pokémon, while a full team has 6 Pokémon.

Conclusion

Combining my home renovation projects with the intricate world of Pokémon teambuilding has been incredibly fulfilling. The creative challenge of crafting a unique team around a thematic concept has pushed me to explore new avenues of play and introspection. As I prepare for my next tournament, I am excited to see how my team will perform against other creative and skilled players in the competitive Pokémon scene.