Contest Strategy

Introduction Round: This round contributes up to 50% of your overall appeal. Feeding your Pokémon matching Pokéblocks to max out its Contest stat is the primary way to win.

Contest Scarves: Obtain Contest Scarves from the head of the Fan Club in Slateport City when a Pokémon has a maxed Contest stat. The Scarf given will match the maxed stat. Holding the corresponding Scarf during a Contest raises your appeal in the Introduction Round.

Talent Round - Moves: Most moves have an appeal stat, represented by pink hearts, contributing to your audience appeal. Some moves have a Jamming effect, denoted by black hearts, which damages an opponent's appeal.

Bonuses: You can gain extra hearts by exciting the audience. If your Pokémon is "pumped up" by using moves of the same type as the Contest, you gain additional hearts.

Excite Meter: Using moves of the same type as the Contest adds a star to the Excite meter. When it reaches five stars, the Pokémon earns eight pink hearts, with more for Pokémon that can Mega Evolve. A special move is showcased.

Move Repetition: Using the same move consecutively usually bores the audience, causing a loss of one heart for the first repetition, two for the second, and so on.

Talent Round - Strategy: The order of moves is crucial. Aim for Pokémon to have three or four moves of the same Contest type and a variety of effects.

Recommended Moves: Consider having one standard 4-heart appealing move, one move that Jams opponents to move before you, and a move that works best when used first. Moves like Hyper Beam or Explosion have great appeal or jamming effects and are useful on the fifth turn.

Turn Order Manipulation: The order of Pokémon moves is often determined by their Contest appeal in the previous round. You can use low-appealing moves to move last, then use a Jamming move or a move best used last. You can also use high-appealing moves that make the Pokémon susceptible to Jamming to avoid possible Jamming.

Moving First: Use a high-appealing move to move first, then spam other best-when-first moves. A best-when-first move can potentially allow you to move first again. When considering this, factor in the move's appeal (with bonus) and subtract one point from the best-when-first move's appeal. If this score is still higher than others, repeat the move.

Middle of Turn Order: Use a basic appealing move with no side-effects to maximize your score. Alternatively, use a move that Jams those before you, especially if they have the five-star-excitement bonus. Setting up combos is also an option.

Nearing Five-Star-Excitement: Against the AI, consider this at three stars; against human players, at two stars. Be mindful of the turn order. If you are second or third (often third) and at three stars, Pokémon before you may excite the audience, allowing you to maximize your appeal and gain a bonus.

First in Order (Five-Star-Excitement): Using a move that _unexcites_ the audience is effective, as only the 4th Pokémon can maximize appeal if everyone else uses an appealing move. You can leverage this on the next turn with a high-appealing move.

Last in Order (Five-Star-Excitement): Use your Jamming move to reduce the effect of the bonus.

Fifth Turn: This is the time to use your most powerful moves.