[quote=@Dusksong]
[@Balthazar007] Quick question about the dice roll for Camden's latest battle:

[hider=Roll]
[u][url=https://www.roleplayerguild.com/rolls/10464]Dice Roll[/url][/u]
Roll: 1d39-1d51
Total: -8
Breakdown:

DiceRoll[1d39] → 27
DiceRoll[-1d51] → -35[/hider]
How are the numbers broken down? My gut assumption was that the roll would favor Camden since he has 1) more Pokemon and 2) higher-level Pokemon, yet the roll favored Lutz with one level 9 Voltorb? (edit: also with Cherubi's grass-type resistance against electric-type moves)

And if it goes like this I might actually prefer to use Pokemon Showdown >_> I feel like sheer HP + Tackle power could have allowed him to win, fighting 2 level 11's to one level 9 haha

// edit 2: also forgot to put it in my end-of-post notes, but Dana deposited her Jigglypuff and put in a request for more Pokeballs. My bad there.
[/quote]

I see your concern, but I assure you. There is a method to this madness. LOL

So, the most important thing to remember is that your [b]FIRST MOVE[/b] is critical to your dice roll. Your dice roll is based off two things: Your opening move and your Pokemon's level(s). 

You want to use a move that gets a STAB bonus, and if you're able, you want to use a move that your opponent is weak against. In this case, your first move was [b]Fake Tears[/b]. If you would have opened with Confusion (not used it as your second move), you would have had a higher dice chance.  

The math is simple but would look long winded and confusing to write out. But, just so you know, if you would have started off with Confusion instead of Fake Tears, your dice roll opportunity would have been [b]49[/b].

Basically, the logic here is that your [b]FIRST MOVE[/b] gives a rough estimate of how well you will direct your Pokemon for the rest of battle. It's a gauge of how skilled a trainer is. As our Pokemon get to higher levels and we have more Pokemon on our teams, then levels will out weigh the opening move (AKA: Then brute force can make up for trainer skill.). 

So in the case of this battle, Lutz won because he opened with a move that got a STAB bonus. I.e. he made up for his Pokemon's weak level with better strategy.