Espinosa

How about resetting the game x00 number of times to determine approximate growths? Then again, the class modifiers make everything complicated, unless you can get generic replacements a la Shadow Dragon.

So when is it possible that we actually see individual and class growth rates? I know an international release date hasn't even been announced yet, but I'm already itching to start team planning ahead of time.

Why would you pick luck as the worst stat, to get him hit by crits? Boost magic/defence, lower skill/resistance, I say.

Still, some things take awfully long to get inside a Pokeball, and if you happen to have a sleeping move on something, you make the catching process a lot more efficient. Which is the key word for tier lists, I think.

If we rate some things based on utility, why not raise some sleepers? They help us out with catching wild Pokemon, which can take surprisingly long without save states, especially if you're picky concerning their stats.

Don't forget 7. Jill and Marcia lose their wings.

Meditite is pretty desperate without Brick Break though. Unless you teach it Return, I don't know how you plan using it, since its first physical attack is learnt at lv. 29. Surely, you can postpone catching it until Brick Break is available (as well as catch the highest-levelled one you can find), but triple punches through Relearner and even Drain Punch that you could find some situational use for do make Medicham worthwhile. In any case, Gallade's problem isn't that Meditite wants a TM. A thing we should remember with competition for TMs in Pokemon is that having certain duos in your party is very redundant. For example, more than water-type is a bit too much until the roles they play differ considerably (e.g. Gyarados and Gastrodon). We could even go as far and say that training Starly is rather superfluous for Chimchar players, because the two happen to cover the same Pokemon (both fire and flying destroy bugs and grass-types, and both of them, at one point or another, get very good fighting-type coverage). Touché about EQ and Gible being in the same place. We're still not exactly obliged to catch and train one since there's only so many Pokemon you can trade in an efficient run (not that Gible isn't a good pick by all means, but it shouldn't be assumed that he has to be on one's team). Breeding in Pokemon efficiency runs, I find, is the Pokemon equivalent of training Amelia, or something. Good outcome if you go for it, but the time and effort aren't justified with so many immediate options available at hand.

Sorry, I meant Move Relearner. Obviously, breeding is very detrimental to efficiency. I wouldn't completely agree that STABs alone determine a unit's coverage. Empoleon has great special and physical moves that it could make great use of.

It's not exactly a given that we're catching a Gible. Plenty of other great Pokemon that aren't out of the way (even Platinum!Gible). There's heavy competition for this move (Infernape, Empoleon, Machamp, Gallade, Gyarados), as per usual. Empoleon does get Swords Dance via move relearner, but that doesn't solve its speed problem (Agility is acquired by breeding), unless it attacks exclusively with Aqua Jet, in which case it'll hardly be OHKOing. There's always X Speed, though. Wasn't that the speed run strat for this game? Anyway, with Brick Break, EQ, Waterfall and Drill Peck, a physical Empoleon shouldn't entirely disregarded.

Budew only has 50 base attack, and draining moves have low power, so saying it's comparable to Prinplup is quite a stretch. Even with Grass Knot it's not doing very well until its evolution. Roselia being capturable in the wild is an option that definitely should be considered, however.

I tried training Budew once, it took forever to evolve. That's essentially the biggest problem with it. Also, Prinplup isn't quite the slowest of the starters.

How hard is it to achieve doubling speed in this game? On the difficulties you're familiar with, at least.

They sure have already made a lot of porn of Sariya... But I guess she's a great character with her skills, durability and Nosferatank?

Normal/Flying still isn't the best coverage, and Staravia is stuck with that until evolving, which is kinda late. Rotom needs no training to start kicking ass, has great bases (Staravia waits for its evolution so that it can say the same about itself) and a much better typing. And you're right about the rainy part of Route 212 being unavailable until you're done with Veilstone. I guess the immediate evolution for Kirlia I theorised earlier is kinda irrelevant. I mean, you can still evolve it immediately, but it will be kinda low-levelled (or you could train it, losing out on Swords Dance, take your pick).

You're right about the first gym actually, any starter does fine for a change. Don't think I had to get out of my way to solo it with my starter when I picked Chimchar. Still, the point stands, and it's too bad we don't get Calm Mind in Sinnoh. If getting Gyarados fresh (like the red one in Johto) was a possibility, I'd go ahead and suggest it at the top of the SS tier. However, with all the exp investment, it's just an issue whether it should be in the second tier or the third, but definitely no lower I would argue. I think we should remember that Gyarados in this game is at least better than Gyarados in RBY and RSE (and maybe better than GSC Red Gyarados due to phys coverage). One, Exp Share is still acquired very early (after the second gym? that's really early). Two, you have Pokemon who dominate earlygame and can OHKO, feeding Magikarp experience without having to lead with it and switch it out every time, like Starly. Three, Waterfall is physical now, giving Gyarados a powerful STAB it has so desired for the last three generations of the game. And water-type moves actually have use in the E4 in Sinnoh. Four, it gets Dragon Dance, essentially allowing it to solo most tricky trainers with minimal support, and an impressive physical coverage featuring early Earthquake, Ice Fang, Avalanche and Payback. I'd also argue that something that really justifies the exp investment through Exp Share shouldn't be judged too harshly. This isn't Fire Emblem where you field a bunch of units and they all do their specific things in different parts of the field. One Pokemon might as well solo the game (two can participate in double battles), while feeding somebody shared Exp. It's not nearly the sacrifice you claim it to be, and out of all possible choices to feed somebody shared exp, Gyarados seems like the best one. I'd also like to suggest Ralts (Gallade) - up from C to A/S. It's interesting that you can get your first Dawn Stone as soon as you get a bicycle, and you catch a Kirlia in the adjacent area, so it's ready to evolve right off the bat, enjoying monstrous physical attack and special durability and decent speed (if Heracross and Pinsir have decent speed that can sorta be relied on, the same can be said about Gallade). Swords Dance at lv. 25 gives it early setup capacity, and Psycho Cut learnt at lv. 31 makes it crazy good at that point. Night Slash and Leaf Blade are accessible via Move Relearner. In fact, Night Slash combined with Brick Break/Close Combat is nearly perfect coverage (Shadow Claw instead of Night Slash would be even better but alas, it doesn't learn it). It misses out on Slash if you decide against training a Ralts (Gallade learns Slash at lv. 22 and wild Kirlias are exactly that), but your other immediate options are Brick Break and Earthquake, which is no joke. Not nearly as good as Gallade, but I feel Gardevoir could rise to B/A, too. Natural Calm Mind access in a game where Calm Mind is essentially nonexistent as a TM, that's something to be cherished.

Some suggestions: Starly - down from SS to S. Wing Attack at lv. 9 is great indeed, but until it evolves into Staraptor its offence is just good, and from lv. 9, it has to wait for Brave Bird and Close Combat for a while. It's very good no doubt, just not good enough for the highest tier. Also, poor coverage until Staraptor. Machop - down from A to B/C. It's slow and Machoke is a poor choice for a fighter to those players who lack the means to trade evolve. Rotom - up from A to S. It's available at lv. 20 in Platinum (5 levels above its DP self) and is only two levels away from Shock Wave, at which point it dominates. Amazing defensive typing too. Abra - up from B to A/S. Evolves very soon, and it can actually fight on its own before becoming Kadabra if you give it Grass Knot. OHKO those Hikers. Alakazam isn't as big of an improvement from Kadabra compared to Machoke -> Machamp, since it's still quick and strong. Never gets Calm Mind in this game, which is a shame. Gastly - down from B to C. It's very bad without special attacking moves, which it lacks for a long time. Psyduck - up from C to B/A. Lifesaver in the first gym and good offensive stats upon evolution, great coverage. Magikarp - up from B to A/S. You get Exp Share once you've seen 30 Pokemon, which doesn't take long, and once it evolves, it can take mooks up thanks to its base stats alone. STAB physical Waterfall, Dragon Dance on time for the E4 and devastating offence make it worth the exp investment.

Oh, I thought you said that one of your character continued to gain experience at the same speed after being promoted.

It's one thing to rate Fir highly, but when every single FAQ grants the likes of Wendy and Sophia over the top accolades while claiming Zealot and Marcus are rubbish... At least everybody agrees Miledy is a great unit.

Would he grow (that is, grow as slowly in terms of levelling speed) as if he were a promoted unit when demoted though? Sorry if I was expressing the idea too unclearly.

Houndour vs. Ponyta sounds like a tough one. Ponyta has WAY more availability than Houndour, and doesn't mind waiting for lv. 40 with lv. 15 Flame Wheel and surprisingly high attack and speed bases (especially for an unevolved Pokemon). If you don't pick Chimchar and pick one up early, it'll get plenty of EVs. Through Move Relearner, it gets Megahorn, which is handy in the E4. Houndour comes later, but can be evolved the instant you catch it (with a Rare Candy if you please). It will have just Ember and Bite for a while however, making its offence no better than Ponyta at the same level with Flame Wheel. Move Relearner grants it Thunder Fang, which is of little use outside of demolishing Crasher Wake's Gyarados. It may not learn Crunch and Nasty Plot until the end of the game, depriving it of a strong physical STAB that it would appreciate for Lucian, and a useful setup move which could help it anywhere. I'd say Ponyta > Houndour, though they both should probably be in the same tier because there's not much of a difference between the two.

If Frederick has such a slow experience gain, and his stats are just barely better than Great Knights' class bases, does that mean de-promoting him with a Change Seal results in a bad unpromoted unit with poor growths? I guess he's still useful on harder difficulties in the beginning, though.

Can anybody try translating the character assessment page in the FE13 artwiki? I tried reading the descriptions in google translate but Jesus Christ... O_0

If one plays for turns, are the children likely to catch up with the first generation?

Are we assuming Scyther gets promoted with a Metal Coat trade?

Here are the possible support squares in Path of Radiance: Ike - Oscar - Tanith - Reyson - Ike Ulki - Rhys - Titania - Boyd - Ulki Rolf - Mist - Titania - Rhys - Rolf Tanith - Oscar - Kieran - Marcia - Tanith Rolf - Marcia - Gatrie - Shinon - Rolf Ulki - Boyd - Mist - Mordecai - Ulki Devdan - Tormod - Calill - Nephenee - Devdan 7 total Maybe there could be more than I managed to find. Going to work on support squares in the other games too, but those will take a while.