Seventeen labels
Pokéjam Archetypes
Every player carries a role name under the ratings. It is not decoration: the game derives it from the same numbers, in a fixed order, so the label tells you what a player is good at before you read a single column.
How the label is chosen
The game runs a checklist. The first rule that matches wins, which is why the order matters as much as the thresholds: a big man with 91 blocking is a Rim Protector even if he also shoots well enough to be a Stretch Big, because the rim-protection check comes first. Anyone under 50 overall is a Developmental Project regardless of shape.
That gives 17 possible labels, but the distribution is extremely uneven: Role Player covers 148 of 291 players, about 51% of the roster, while the rarest role, 3-and-D Wing, belongs to just 1. A label is only informative when it is rare, which is a useful way to think about the whole list.
Every archetype, with its trigger
| Archetype | Triggered by | Players | Examples |
|---|---|---|---|
| Role Player | everyone else | 148 | Lucario (SG), Zoroark (PG), Ninetales (PG) |
| Hustle Big | PF or C, caught by none of the above | 38 | Nidoqueen (PF), Meganium (C), Kangaskhan (PF) |
| Rim Protector | PF or C with Block ≥ 90 | 18 | Lugia (C), Ho-Oh (C), Kyogre (C) |
| Developmental Project | overall below 50 | 14 | Jigglypuff (SF), Spinarak (SF), Slugma (SF) |
| Post Scorer | PF or C with Finishing ≥ 90 | 13 | Garchomp (PF), Salamence (PF), Swampert (PF) |
| Speedster | Speed ≥ 92 | 12 | Raikou (SG), Sceptile (PG), Raichu (PG) |
| Glass Cleaner | PF or C with Rebounding ≥ 90 | 10 | Dragonite (C), Entei (C), Tyrantrum (C) |
| Slasher | Finishing ≥ 88 and Speed ≥ 84 | 9 | Zapdos (SF), Infernape (SG), Hydreigon (SF) |
| Lockdown Defender | Perimeter D ≥ 90 | 7 | Latias (SF), Scizor (SF), Weavile (PG) |
| Rim Runner | Finishing ≥ 88 | 5 | Gallade (SF), Poliwrath (PF), Feraligatr (SF) |
| Three-Level Scorer | Shooting ≥ 90 and Finishing ≥ 88 | 4 | Mewtwo (SF), Latios (SF), Charizard (SF) |
| Sharpshooter | Shooting ≥ 90 | 4 | Espeon (SG), Kingdra (SG), Gardevoir (PG) |
| Stretch Big | PF or C with Shooting ≥ 85 | 2 | Rayquaza (PF), Blastoise (PF) |
| Point Forward | PF with Passing ≥ 82 | 2 | Milotic (PF), Hypno (PF) |
| Point Center | C with Passing ≥ 82 | 2 | Lapras (C), Blissey (C) |
| Floor General | Passing ≥ 88 and Handles ≥ 84 | 2 | Mew (PG), Alakazam (PG) |
| 3-and-D Wing | Shooting ≥ 88 and Perimeter D ≥ 80 | 1 | Articuno (SF) |
The ones worth knowing
Rim Protector
A power forward or centre with blocking 90 or better. This is the single most valuable label in the game, because it changes what the other team is allowed to attempt. A lineup without one has to win on the perimeter, and the perimeter is where the shot meter decides outcomes.
Floor General
Passing 88 and handles 84 or better. Only a couple of players qualify, and they are the ones who make a fast lineup work: the ball moves before the defence rotates. If you draft one, build the offence around early passing rather than isolation.
3-and-D Wing
Shooting 88 and perimeter defence 80. Rare, and the most portable role in the game: a wing who can punish a closeout and then guard the other team's best shooter fits any lineup without asking for touches.
Glass Cleaner
Rebounding 90 or better at a big position, without the blocking to be a Rim Protector first. The distinction matters: a Glass Cleaner ends possessions, a Rim Protector prevents them. Both are worth a pick; only one protects the rim.
Developmental Project
Under 50 overall. These are not automatic throwaways — several evolve into players above 80, and one turns into the best value pick in the game. Read the evolution guide before dismissing the bottom of the roster.
Using archetypes in a draft
- Draft roles, not ratings. Two Rim Protectors do not add up to a better defence; a Rim Protector and a Floor General do.
- Rare labels are signals. Only a handful of players are Floor Generals or 3-and-D Wings, and those skills are hard to replace later.
- Role Player is not an insult. 148 players share that label, and the best of them are perfectly good starters. The label only means no threshold was crossed.