Five picks, one shot
The draft is where Pokéjam is actually won. A great lineup makes the shot meter a formality; a bad one turns every possession into a scramble. These are the rules that hold up across every mode.
This is the whole argument in one table: how many players exist at each position, and how many of them are actually good.
| Position | Players | Average | 85 or better | Share at 85+ |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PG | 62 | 68.6 | 11 | 17.7% |
| SG | 67 | 65.6 | 4 | 6% |
| SF | 73 | 68.5 | 9 | 12.3% |
| PF | 53 | 75.1 | 6 | 11.3% |
| C | 36 | 80.3 | 15 | 41.7% |
Centres are both the scarcest and the strongest, which is the worst combination to leave until the fifth pick. Shooting guards are the opposite: the deepest pool in the game and the lowest share of elite players, so the position is easy to fill badly and hard to fill well.
A starting five that covers all five positions gets a flat lift for the whole game. It is deliberately modest — you should not bench a clearly better player to chase it — but it applies to every possession, and it is free.
Think of it as the tiebreaker. When two players are within a couple of rating points and one of them fixes a positional hole, the one who fixes the hole is worth more than his card says.
Different draft positions, different goals. All five slots are covered in each, and the second and third are deliberately built from players who go later than the first.
Quick Play, any opponent
| Pos | Player | OVR | Why |
|---|---|---|---|
| C | Kyogre | 92 | Elite rebounding and blocking without giving up the shove game. |
| PF | Groudon | 92 | Ninety-six finishing inside, and a type that wins most contact. |
| SF | Charizard | 91 | The most balanced wing in the game: 90 speed, 90 shooting, 96 finishing. |
| SG | Lucario | 87 | The best shooting guard who also defends: 82 perimeter defence. |
| PG | Alakazam | 88 | Ninety-six shooting and ninety-five passing from the point. |
Franchise, picking fifth or later
| Pos | Player | OVR | Why |
|---|---|---|---|
| C | Mamoswine | 82 | Ninety-two rebounding and eighty-six blocking for a fraction of the cost. |
| PF | Conkeldurr | 81 | Ninety-four finishing — the best cheap paint scorer in the game. |
| SF | Gallade | 82 | Ninety finishing and eighty-eight defence; covers two jobs at once. |
| SG | Aerodactyl | 81 | The fastest shooting guard in this range, which is what breaks a press. |
| PG | Celebi | 82 | No holes: at least 73 in every rating that matters at the point. |
Franchise with an eye on next season
| Pos | Player | OVR | Why |
|---|---|---|---|
| C | Metagross | 90 | Ninety-four blocking; the anchor you build the defence around. |
| PF | Blastoise | 88 | Covers the glass and wins the Water contact matchup. |
| SF | Charizard | 91 | Still the safest wing on the board. |
| SG | Tinkaton | 85 | Ninety perimeter defence from a position that usually does not defend. |
| PG | Magikarp | 25 | The project. Becomes an 87 centre at franchise level 3. |
There are 36 centres and 67 shooting guards. The drop from a top centre to a replacement-level one is the largest at any position, in the smallest pool — the one slot you cannot patch later.
The lineup bonus is small, but the cost of a positional hole is not: a player defending out of position loses rebounds, contests and shove exchanges for the whole game.
A point guard rated on finishing is wasting part of his formula. Read the two or three ratings that carry the most weight at his position before you read the overall.
A project who evolves at level 3 is a weak starter for a third of the season and a good one after that. Two projects is a losing season.
Ten picks: five starters, four backups and one project is the shape that survives injuries and fatigue. The roster screen tells you which positions have no cover.
These are the players whose card undersells them. Every one gains at least twenty overall by evolving, and every one costs a late pick.
| Pick now | Becomes | Gain | At level |
|---|---|---|---|
| Magikarp 25 · PG | Gyarados 87 · C | +62 | 3 |
| Tyrogue 47 · SG | Hitmonlee 78 · SF | +31 | 3 |
| Tyrogue 47 · SG | Hitmonchan 78 · SG | +31 | 3 |
| Shellder 54 · SG | Cloyster 83 · C | +29 | 4 |
| Pichu 51 · PG | Pikachu 80 · PG | +29 | 4 |
| Vulpix 58 · PG | Ninetales 85 · PG | +27 | 4 |
| Wooper 44 · SF | Quagsire 71 · C | +27 | 3 |
| Sentret 44 · SF | Furret 69 · SF | +25 | 2 |
