"I wanna be the very best, like no one ever was": A Beginner's Guide for PO

Desolate

Banned deucer.
I was looking over the stickies in this forum and realized that we have a technical support thread, a question thread, an FAQ thread, but no actual guide on how to use PO once you've first installed it, so that's what I'll be making here in this thread.

I'm not going to go over the installation of PO because it differs from OS, but the installation process is fairly simple and is almost self-explanatory; if you need help with installing PO, post in the tech support thread.

How do I connect to Smogon University?

First, open up Pokemon Online, and click "Go Online".



Select "Smogon University" from the list of servers in the registry and double-click it. You will see "Connected to Server!" and a "Welcome Message" if you did it successfully.

If you can't connect on port 5080 because of firewall restrictions at your school or workplace, you can also connect via port 8080. To do this, click ONCE on Smogon University, change the address from 173.233.95.2:5080 to 173.233.95.2:8080 and hit "Advanced Connect."



How do I register my username?

If you are connected to the server and did not need to supply a password on connect, you may register your username so only you may use it. There is a "Register" button. A box will pop up prompting you to enter a password, enter a memorable, but secure password; you will need to supply this password every time you connect to PO on the name you are registering! If "Register" is not able to be clicked, your name is probably already registered.



Be gone, Missingnos!

Unless you like to only play Challenge Cup
—a tier in which you and your opponent are given a random team of Pokemon—you're going to want to compose a team to compete with. To begin, go to "File" then "Open TeamBuilder" or perform the key stroke CTRL + T.



Go to "Team Building" and select "Gen." and select the generation you will be playing with. For example, if you are playing Standard OU, you will select "B/W 5th gen".



Now we're going to start picking Pokemon and constructing the teams themselves. First, select your Pokemon species (1), optionally give it a nickname (2), select its item (3), select its nature (4), adjust its EVs (5), give it moves (6), select its gender (7), select its ability (8), and optionally do things such as changing its IVs, happiness (note that the maximum happiness level is 255 if you are running Return), Hidden Power type, level, or whether or not it's shiny.



Once you've done that for all six slots, click "Save Team" and save it as the name you desire (note that all team files have to have a *.tp file extension). Exit the TeamBuilder.

After you have saved the team and closed the TeamBuilder window, we have to load the team; go to "File" and then to "Load team".



Select the team file you want to play with, and hit "Open".

Where can I find a battle?

The easiest way to find a battle is to use the "Find battle" button, which will randomly choose an opponent in your tier that is looking for a battle as well. Simply click the "Find battle" button and select the options you want for the upcoming battle.



Alternatively, you can challenge a specific person to a battle by right-clicking on their name in the list of users connected, selecting the options in the box that pops up for the upcoming battle, and hitting "Challenge". By the way, if you hover over a clause in the pop up window, a tip will appear showing the details for what that clause entails.




I want to participate in a tournament, but I don't know how to change my tier!

This is probably the simplest thing to do in this guide, simply go to the "Tiers" menu and select the desired tier. If you are not qualified to be in that tier because of your loaded team, you will receive an error message in the active chat window explaining why.




I'm going to keep this thread open so others can contribute with their own guides on frequently asked stuff, or to provide general feedback.

 

Lockeness

(e^(i╥))+1=0
Include some basic information on the various clauses. You could say something about how Wi-Fi clause means that Team Preview will be on, Challenge Cup means random Pokemon, Item Clause establishes item restrictions, and so forth. I know that this information can be found elsewhere, but its still a good idea to mention those clauses here and then link to a guide with more information. Add this info under the "Where Can I Find a Battle?" heading.
 

Desolate

Banned deucer.
Include some basic information on the various clauses. You could say something about how Wi-Fi clause means that Team Preview will be on, Challenge Cup means random Pokemon, Item Clause establishes item restrictions, and so forth. I know that this information can be found elsewhere, but its still a good idea to mention those clauses here and then link to a guide with more information. Add this info under the "Where Can I Find a Battle?" heading.
By the way, if you hover over a clause in the pop up window, a tip will appear showing the details for what that clause entails.
 

Lockeness

(e^(i╥))+1=0
Ok, I see your point on the clause idea. Another thought- you could mention the commands and how to access them (/command). It may be basic, but it could still be helpful.
 
In the teambuilding phase, you should note hat to modify gender, ability, IVs, etc, you have to display Advanced Options and also you could show where the option to see such options as located in the picture, as iirc the Advanced Options are not displayed the first time you open the teambuilder. I've seen a few questions about how to modify such details and this could answer them.

But overall great guide. I wish I'd had this when I first used PO.
 

Lockeness

(e^(i╥))+1=0
Is there any chance of linking this thread into the banner on our PO server? It would be great to have it easily accessible to other users. Also, are there any plans to HTMLize this article/guide and put it on the site? I don't remember seeing it the last time I checked the onsite resources for PO.
 

Desolate

Banned deucer.
No one usually looks at the announcement, but I'll have it put in place. If enough people think it should be put onsite, I will GP it and HTML it myself since I'm on the team and do HTML often.
 

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