Best Practices

Follow these best practices to get the most out of the Pokemon API.

Efficient Querying

Request Only What You Need

The

O Pokemon

type has many fields, but you should only request the data you actually need:

# ❌ Avoid - Fetches unnecessary data
query GetPokemonBad {
  pokemon(id: "025") {
    id
    name
    types
    stats {
      hp
      attack
      defense
      specialAttack
      specialDefense
      speed
    }
    level
    experience
    evolution { evolvesTo { name } level condition }
    abilities { id name description isHidden }
    moves { id name description type power accuracy pp category }
    trainer { id name hometown badges }
    isShiny
    region
    generation
  }
}

# ✅ Better - Only fetches required fields
query GetPokemonGood {
  pokemon(id: "025") {
    name
    types
    stats {
      hp
      speed
    }
  }
}

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Pagination Strategies

Use Cursor-Based Pagination

The

O PokemonConnection

type implements the Relay Connection specification. Always use

S PokemonEdge.cursor

values rather than offset:

query FirstPage {
  pokemons(limit: 20) {
    edges {
      cursor
      node {
        name
        types
      }
    }
    pageInfo {
      hasNextPage
      endCursor
    }
  }
}

# Use the endCursor for the next page
# query NextPage {
#   pokemons(limit: 20, after: "cursor_value_here") {
#     ...
#   }
# }

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Filtering Best Practices

Combine Filters Effectively

The

I PokemonFilterInput

input type supports multiple criteria. Use the

E PokemonFilterInput.type

S PokemonFilterInput.minLevel

, and

E PokemonFilterInput.region

fields together:

query AdvancedFiltering {
  pokemons(
    filter: {
      type: FIRE
      minLevel: 30
      maxLevel: 50
      region: KANTO
    }
    limit: 10
  ) {
    edges {
      node {
        name
        level
        types
        region
      }
    }
  }
}

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Caching Strategies

Cache by ID

The

O Query.pokemon

field with an ID argument returns stable data that can be cached aggressively:

# These queries can be cached for a long time
query GetStaticPokemon {
  pikachu: pokemon(id: "025") {
    name
    types
    stats { ... }
  }
}

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Short Cache for Lists

The

O Trainer.pokemon

relationship changes as Pokemon level up, so use shorter cache times:

# Cache for shorter periods (5-15 minutes)
query GetTrainerPokemon {
  trainer(id: "ash") {
    pokemon {
      name
      level  # Levels change as Pokemon gain experience
    }
  }
}

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Error Handling

Handle Null Values

Both

O Query.pokemon

and

O Query.trainer

can return null if the entity doesn't exist:

query SafeQuery {
  pokemon(id: "999") {  # Might not exist
    name
    evolution {
      evolvesTo {
        name
      }
    }
  }
}

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The

O Evolution.evolvesTo

field can also be null for Pokemon that don't evolve.

Performance Tips

1. Use Field Aliases for Batch Queries

GraphQL aliases let you query multiple Pokemon in a single request to

O Query.pokemon

query BatchPokemon {
  pikachu: pokemon(id: "025") {
    name
    types
  }
  charizard: pokemon(id: "006") {
    name
    types
  }
  blastoise: pokemon(id: "009") {
    name
    types
  }
}

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2. Avoid Deep Nesting

The

O Evolution

type can create deep nesting. Limit your query depth:

# ❌ Too deep
query TooDeep {
  trainer(id: "ash") {
    pokemon {
      evolution {
        evolvesTo {
          evolution {
            evolvesTo {
              name
            }
          }
        }
      }
    }
  }
}

# ✅ Better - Flatten with separate queries if needed
query Flattened {
  trainer(id: "ash") {
    pokemon {
      id
      name
      evolution {
        evolvesTo {
          id
          name
        }
      }
    }
  }
}

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