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Every game's manual comes with a type chart, and you can usually tell what a Pokemon is supposed to do in battle after a couple of turns battling it, if not at a glance, and you have plenty of reference point Pokemon like Machop or Geodude that demonstrate what the high end of a particular stat looks like. Determining roles that aren't immediately useful in single player, like what Skarmory is best at, is where outside context might be helpful, but aside from some confusing types you can figure the rest out from just playing.
Or overlevel your starter, sure.
