Pokemon Crystal Draft Series #3: Making your team work

Well, it's been fun writing these posts for the Crystal draft, but now we've reached the last one in the series.  In this one, I will go over how to use the team you draft to its full potential.  Note that these are just suggestions, and that many Pokemon in Crystal have diverse movepools that allow them to adapt to their teams needs.  That said, let's dive right in.

Let's start out with Magneton.  Magneton is generally a very weak pick before the 5th round due to the fact that it requires the player to use their single Game Corner TM on Thunder for it.  Otherwise, it is stuck with Thundershock for the whole game.  This is further compounded by the fact that it takes a good chunk of the game to save up enough for the TM.  Add in the fact that he's only really good against Pryce and Clair, and Magneton looks pretty crappy.

In gen 3, on the other hand...

Magneton does serve a purpose in the form of team utility, however.  The most obvious way that this manifests itself is Magneton's access to paralysis moves and Supersonic, allowing it to severely cripple threats and enable teammates to sweep.  However, Magneton truly shines for its Red Gyarados killing power.  When the player defeats Morty, they can either head west to handle Chuck and Jasmine, or east to take on Team Rocket and Pryce.  Both are reasonable options that are better for certain teams; west is better for teams that can efficiently grind on Tentacools or do better against those gyms, east is better for teams that can't grind on Tentacools or need/want a fast Exp Share.  Magneton's typing and access to a STAB move that nails Gyarados for massive damage allow it to be used briefly to kill the Red Gyarados and pick up the Exp Share.  It can then be dropped with no harm done to the team.  Geodude, Onix, Oddish, and Bellsprout all serve similar purposes, with Onix/Geodude being great ringers for Whitney and Oddish/Bellsprout being useful against Chuck.

Loads of other Pokemon can provide their team with utility through status moves, such as sleep (ex. Exeggcute, Jigglypuff, Drowzee), poison (Koffing, Oddish, Bellsprout), and paralysis (Miltank, Dunsparce, Hoppip).  Other Pokemon simply provide excellent type coverage (Nidoking, Kadabra) or serve to completely shut down specific weaknesses that a team may have (Machoke, Lapras).  Crystal is full of mediocre Pokemon with mediocre movesets, but when they are brought together correctly, nearly any team is capable of tearing through the game.  Drafting for raw power is not enough; sometimes a team NEEDS a utility pick.

Worthless on offense, but amazing with status ailments.

Of course, different Pokemon are better for different people.  If you dislike non-damaging moves, Nidoking and Kadabra are better choices for you than something like Haunter or Jumpluff.  Still, don't underestimate those moves, as sometimes investing a turn in altering your stats (or your opponent's stats) can be the difference in a fight.  Sand-Attack and Mud Slap are incredibly good for this reason.  Regardless of the moves, be sure to pick what fits your play style.  I have done runs with incredibly bad teams and still pulled through, so don't give up and use your guile to get through the tough fights.