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Intro to ASB (READ FIRST)

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Zhorken

groove out!
Pronoun
they or she
An Introduction to ASB

What is Anime-Style Battling?

Anime-Style Battling, or ASB, isn't actually related to the Pokémon anime directly, despite the name. It's a forum game in which players carry out Pokémon battles. These battles are somewhat freeform, and allow much more creativity than the video games, hence "anime-style": you can, for example, if you have a strategy in mind that involves telling your Pikachu to ride your Swellow, you can go for it. However, this has its limits; if your strategy involves Pikachu using Thunder to give Swellow supercharged armor — yes, this is a real example from the anime — it will probably backfire.

The ASB system has many intricacies, but most of them you don't need to know about when you're just starting out. Following this guide should give you enough information to let you sign up and start playing; you can review the full rules later for a more thorough treatment of how the game works. Reading through some of the battles currently in progress will also help you understand what's going on.

How do I start playing?

First off, you'll want to register in the TCoD ASB Database. (You'll find further instructions there; it's pretty straightforward.) Note that creating multiple accounts on the Database to play the game is cheating and strictly prohibited; anyone caught doing this will be banned. The Database is a nifty tool that handles a lot of tasks in this game — it'll come up time and again.

Once you've set up your account, all you need to do is prepare your team, and then you can start setting up some battles. But about that...

How do I make my Pokémon team?

When you first sign up for the league, you will be given $45 (in virtual ASB money, sorry!) with which to buy your starting team. You do this through the Database, too. There should be a "Buy Pokémon" link in the header. From there, you can browse through the full list and add Pokémon to your cart with the "+" buttons, or, if you know what you want, just type their names into the Quick Buy field at the top.

You can buy any non-legendary Pokémon in their least evolved form, but naturally, not all are of the same value; a Dratini is worth as much as five Magikarp, for example. They are, as such, organized into eight rarities, which determine their price. Think carefully about what you're getting on your limited starting budget, but don't worry too much — as you play and earn more money, you can always buy more Pokémon and expand your squad.

Also, in a one-time only deal, you can get one of the eighteen traditional starter Pokémon at half-price ($15 rather than $30). Just make sure to add it to your cart from the "Newbie Deal" section, rather than Browse or Quick Buy. Other special promotions may also appear from time to time, under their own headers.

Once you've settled on your team, click "Proceed to checkout" under your cart, fill out their genders, abilities and, if you'd like, nicknames, and they'll be ready to go.

How do I battle?

First off, you'll want to visit the Challenge Board, where you can issue your battle request or take an open one. The process is detailed further in that thread — basically, you'll need an opponent, a referee and a battle setting. Once all of that is arranged for, the battle begins, in a new thread which your referee will open. Both players will send out their Pokémon and begin giving commands in an order specified by the referee.

In each round, you and your opponent command your Pokémon to use three moves, one at a time. Your Pokémon aren't limited to a given set of four moves in ASB — they can use any single move that a Pokémon of their species can learn in the games, through any method. Each species has a page in the Database which lists its moves, among other information; just look for your Pokémon's species in the species list.

Once all players have issued their commands, the referee will write up a description of what happens in the round, calculate the Pokémon's final status, and post it in the thread. The order of command will then switch, so whoever gave orders first in the previous round goes second in this one. The battle continues in this way until all of a player's Pokémon have been knocked out, at which point the match is over and prizes are awarded. Win or lose, you will earn some amount of money, which you can use to buy more Pokémon or items, and your Pokémon will gain some experience and/or happiness, which may enable it to evolve.

If you have any questions about how battling works or don't understand what happened during a round, you can always ask your referee for help.

What is my active squad, and how do I change it?

There is no limit to how many Pokémon you can have, but when you battle you will only be able to choose to use one from among those on your "active squad," which can have at most ten Pokémon in it. All the rest will be stored in your PC.

You might notice the "Buy Pokémon" link has changed to "Your Pokémon." This is where you can move Pokémon between your active squad and your PC (as well as where you'll find the "Buy Pokémon" link from now on). Keep good track of your active squad, and you'll be able to use the Pokémon you want to, when you want to. Note also that, when a battle begins, your active squad at that point will be the one you use for the rest of the match, regardless of any subsequent changes — if you have a fight coming up soon, you may want to choose a squad best suited for the particular foe you'll be facing.

How do I evolve Pokémon?

Pokémon evolve in various ways, but most of them require some amount of experience to do so. When you view one of your Pokémon's individual pages (which you can find through Your Pokémon), its current experience will be listed next to the amount it needs to evolve. For example, 0/2 means that it has zero experience, and needs to reach two to evolve. A Pokémon gains experience by participating in battles or eating Rare Candies.

If a Pokémon can evolve, but its page only shows its current experience, this means that it evolves by some other method. For example, you might see that its happiness shows a target number instead, or it might need to battle holding a particular item. You can always find evolution info on the page for its species.

Whatever the requirement, once your Pokémon has met it, an "Evolve [name]" link will appear at the top of its page. Click on that, and you'll be asked to confirm (or choose, in some cases) its evolution.

What if I have other questions?

Check out the full rules thread; if that doesn't solve your problem, you may want to take it up in the Q&A thread.
 
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