Tips For Beginners?

Well, I started out with Blue myself and played all the main games up to date. So here is some advice.

If you are not looking to play competitive, just go and enjoy the game. Natures, EV, IV, or Shiny has no true role in a casual playthrough. If you get your Pokémon to a high enough level nothing can touch you. Every Pokémon is great for a casual playthrough, so just pick your favorite Pokémon from the ones available to you. Nab the first one you see and try the Pokémon out.

For a balanced team, just try to not have an overlap in types or at least not three of the same type. Usually, the standard team has a Water, Grass, Fire, Electric, Flying, and a etc. type, like Dragon, Dark, Psychic. But it is best to just mix and match and see what works for you.

 

If this generation is anything like the previous gen, you shouldn't have any problems with difficulty really. Exp share being buffed really made the game trivial and you have to turn it off to get much of a challenge in my opinion. Since gen 6, exp share doesn't need to be equipped and the exp gained is added to each Pokémon in the party (not divided between them, just added to them, meaning 4 Pokémon get exp that they otherwise would not have at no cost).

Really if you learn the type chart you're pretty much golden. Failing that, at least know which types the Pokémon you have chosen are weak to and try to add a resistance to that type. As far as having a balanced team, for ingame it honestly really doesn't matter too much. You can beat the game with just one Pokémon if you train it enough, which will happen naturally if you use it a lot. I don't think there's much point in explaining physical/special split, natures and EVs since the nature will most likely be a bad one and the EVs will get messed up just from playing the game, and these aren't necessary to know unless you get into competitive.

So yeah, for the most part just use whatever appeals to you. Then just patch up their weaknesses with other team members. I would personally avoid ice types, since they have an awful defensive typing (many weaknesses, 1 resistance...to ice itself) and generally their good offensive typing (not too many things resist ice) doesn't make up for this. But really don't let this stop you from using an ice type if it really appeals to you, I just wouldn't add one just to finish your team, there are probably better options.

I would try not to grind your Pokémon to a very high level unless you are really struggling with the game. If you're struggling, be it from moves being too weak or your Pokémon taking too much damage, it may be because the Pokémon you're using isn't particularly offensive/defensive, or the moves that you are using have a low base power. You can check your Pokémon's stats and the base power of the moves you're using in game.

Oh and something you may or may not know, there is something called 'same type attack bonus' or STAB for short. This essentially means if you use an offensive move that is the same type as the user, you get a 1.5x multiplier on that move.

I don't know if you'd be interested in competitive battling, but if you think you'd be interested after your playthrough I'd be happy to introduce you to it.

 

Honestly my tip is to have fun, explore, dont just go point a to b, explore the path between it. As for teams, just use Pokémon you enjoy, personally I find it is most fun to play and enjoy my team then breed for perfection. Every Pokémon is perfect no matter the stats. Also carrying revives, potions/full restores/moomoo milk, and repels will be very helpful on long stretches of routes. At least this is how I play the game, so I may play differently then others in the long run.

 

I wouldn't really know, I didn't play the demo and if I did I wouldn't be paying attention to any tutorials in it haha. And what you're describing is a thing, they are called priority moves. Most moves in the game have neutral priority, meaning the Pokémon with the highest speed stat goes first, but some have certain tiers of priority. Most priority moves only have +1 priority, meaning they go before standard moves but when going against other moves of the same priority it is determined by speed once again. There are abilities that give certain moves priority for that particular Pokémon, like prankster makes non offensive moves have priority, while Gale Wings makes all of Talonflame's flying moves have priority (though this has been nerfed in Sun and Moon).

There's plenty of things that players learn when they get in to competitive that they never would need to know from just a regular playthrough, and things get even more complicated transitioning from singles to doubles battles, but most of it becomes second nature after you've played it for a bit.

 

Honestly there isn't too much to worry about Pokémon isn't known for being hard in the main game, however since you have played since gen one I would recommend that you familiarize your self with the new type match ups, its the best way to make sure you get through the game. That being said Sun and Moon is here to help with this, you see once you have fought a Pokémon once the game will then tell you if your moves are super effective, neutral, or weak to the Pokémon your fighting. For example once you beat a caterpie on your own the game will then tell you that your ember will be super effective on the next one.
Also be sure to check what statuses can affect certain types of Pokémon, fire types cant be burned, electric cant be paralyzed, poison and steel cant be poisoned, and grass types are unaffected by any kind of spore or powder. These are the general rules but they can be broken should other things occur.
Also be sure to check your Pokémon's abilities to see how they will help in battle, please note that abilities are different than attacks just in case you aren't aware. Some are really helpful like levitate which prevents ground type attacks from hitting.
You should also probably be warned of double, triple, and rotation battles. Double battles are a 2v2 fight, triple 3v3, and rotation battles are easier to demonstrate than explain. Only double battles will be relevant in the main game probably. On top of this there are horde battles which have not been shown in sun and moon yet but should they, they are a 1v5 wild encounter battle the 5 wild Pokémon are significantly weaker than others you find on the route though.
Honestly there is a lot that has changed since gen 1, but its all very easy to grasp once you see it as the core game play hasn't changed. If you are that concerned about being behind there are great online sources like bulbapedia that have articles dedicated to this and youtube has several videos that will explain what is new. Should be said too that sun and moon are changing quite a bit for us more recent players too, but I think we will all have an easy time adjusting.

 

Wait seriously? The main game is doubles based not singles? I really like that change

Okay if that's the case just some things you may want to know. Protect is incredible. For ingame, it allows you to scout for whether your opponent has a super effective move to hit your Pokémon, or allows you to KO a Pokémon that is threatening one of your Pokémon with its partner before it is able to KO you. In competitive doubles, Protect is a staple and is only removed in specific cases (they are choice locked, they really need the final moveslot, they are intended to be a suicide lead or they are bulky enough not to need it).

There are also moves known as spread moves. These come in two forms, ones that target all Pokémon on the field including your partner or ones that only target you opponents Pokémon. Examples of the former would be Earthquake and Surf, while the latter being things like Rock Slide and Hyper Voice. If a move targets multiple Pokémon its damage is reduced by 25%. If however you use a spread move on the turn where there is only one target (you have already KO'd its partner) then you will do full damage to that target. Move effects are also applied to all targets, so Rock Slide's 30% Flinch chance is applied to both targets, which adds up a lot in doubles. You can also miss one target and hit the other if a move has less than perfect accuracy. Also abilities like Intimidate are amazing in doubles as it affects both of your opposing Pokémon, also being a staple on competitive doubles teams. Some moves which have no use in Singles are great in Doubles, like Follow Me/Rage Powder, which redirect moves targeted at your partner Pokémon into the Pokémon using the move, Feint which breaks the Protect of the target if they use it on that turn, Fake Out (occasionally use in singles but not nearly is commonly) which essentially makes the target flinch for the turn, Quick Guard which protects your Pokémon from priority moves for the turn and Wide guard which protects your Pokémon from spread moves for the turn.

Quite a lot of that will be irrelevant for a play through most likely, but if it is in fact doubles based that changes up the dynamic of battles quite a bit. Physical ground types (which most ground types are) rely on Earthquake in singles as their main STAB move (move of the same type as they are), but to be able to use it in a doubles battle their partner would need levitate/be a flying type or to protect on that turn meaning you'd most likely need to gear your team around them. I hope this change is true since there is a lot more thought that needs to go into a double battle than a single battle.

 

Growing up with my first handheld along with pokemom blue. I played all main games.
Frlm.blue. yellow. Silver. Crystal. Ruby. Leafgreen. Diamond. Black. Black2. X.Y a d I choose Moon.
First of because darkness is me. Second as choosing ya team is easy for me. I choose the Pokémon I encouter and if I like it I use it im battle.
If I replay a game I know beforehand what kind I want.

As for breedig. Yeah I breed but im no special breeder . As for shinies I never encountered one hahah.

So I say go with ya instict. And play like the old games. Ive never changed that

 

What? No, sorry. I didn't mean the entire game was doubles based. Just that only double battles are used main game other than single, single being the main thing. and that triple and rotation are end game. Sorry for the confusion.

 

For Sun and Moon, keeping the exp share on isn't as game-breaking as it was in XY and ORAS.
(The EXP share basically gives exp to everyone in your team after defeating a Pokémon)

I've played S&M and the trial system isn't all too different to the original gym system, apart from the fact that you don't fight the trial captains themselves.

Putting together a balanced team means wide type coverage and Pokémon specialized in different stats. The latter isn't too beneficial in the main story, usually in competitive or something. If you do want to plan your team before the game's official release, you can visit this team planner
Bear in mind that the team planner does have every single Pokémon in the Alola dex, so stay far if you don't want to see them.