Take your battling to the next level with these advanced strategies!

PREDICTION
The core of high-level play:
- Predict what your opponent will do next
- If they'll switch to a Water type, use an Electric move
- If they'll attack, switch to a resistant Pokemon
- Read patterns in your opponent's behavior

PIVOTING
Use switching strategically:
- Switch to a Pokemon that resists the incoming attack
- Build a "pivot core" — 2-3 Pokemon that cover each other's weaknesses
- Volt Switch and U-Turn let you attack AND switch in one move

SPEED CONTROL
Speed determines who attacks first:
- Know your Pokemon's Speed stat
- Priority moves (Quick Attack, Mach Punch) always go first regardless of Speed
- Thunder Wave halves the opponent's Speed
- Trick Room reverses Speed (slow Pokemon go first!)

TYPE COVERAGE
The concept of "coverage":
- Your team of 6 should be able to hit every type super-effectively
- Key coverage combos:
- Ice + Ground hits almost everything
- Ghost + Fighting (or Dark) hits everything
- Water + Grass + Fire (classic core)

OFFENSIVE VS DEFENSIVE TEAMS

Offense (Hyper Offense):
- 5-6 fast attackers
- Goal: knock out opponents before they can react
- Strength: overwhelming pressure
- Weakness: one mistake and you lose

Balance:
- Mix of attackers and walls
- 2-3 attackers + 2-3 defensive Pokemon
- Strength: flexible and forgiving
- Weakness: can be overwhelmed by hyper offense

Stall:
- Mostly defensive Pokemon
- Goal: outlast the opponent with recovery and status
- Strength: very hard to break through
- Weakness: slow games, vulnerable to setup sweepers

SETUP SWEEPING
The most devastating strategy:
1. Get a setup Pokemon in safely
2. Use a boosting move (Swords Dance, Dragon Dance, Calm Mind)
3. After 1-2 boosts, sweep the entire enemy team
4. Best setup Pokemon: Gyarados (Dragon Dance), Garchomp (Swords Dance)

WIN CONDITION IDENTIFICATION
Before the battle heats up:
- Identify your win condition (the Pokemon that will sweep)
- Keep it healthy throughout the battle
- Remove its counters first, then send it in
- Example: If Garchomp is your win condition, remove Ice and Fairy types first