An Introduction to Weather Teams

Anti · #1 March 25th, 2011, 10:46 PM

Copy & Paste Instructions
1. Copy and Paste everything below the hyphens below by quoting this post in a reply. Don't forget to remove the quote tags!
2. Change the color from RoyalBlue to DarkOrange or Red inside the brackets if necessary.
3. Add descriptions on how you deal with each threat.
4. You now have a threat list for your RMT!

Feel free to suggest any changes.

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Spoiler:

Anti · #2 March 26th, 2011, 08:24 PM

The format is done though I'll still take suggestions since there are parts that could probably use touching up. Also, for the sake of not clogging up the main page, here is a draft of the Resource Thread. More resources will be added by request...so please do request.

Oh, we'll link to the guides from compiled guides as well. First we'll probably replace the older ones, but yeah...

EDIT: Big thanks to Wolf and Oppo for their contributions. In terms of resources, I think we've got most things covered, but please do make suggestions if you have any. I'll post this and stick it soon.

__________________________________

Strategies and Movesets Resource Thread

This thread is replacing Compiled Guides. Below is an assortment just about everything you could ever need for competitive battling. Enjoy!

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Archives

The Strategies and Movesets Archive

The S&M Archive is useful if you want to learn about what was effective in previous generations and check out what the past of this section was like. Remember to set "show threads" to "The beginning" if you actually want to see any threads!

4th Generation Battle Log Archive

If you're ever bored or just want a good read, there are plenty of excellent battle logs in this thread for you to sift through and enjoy.

5th Generation Battle Log Archive

The same applies to this Battle Log Archive! These logs are from the current generation of Pokémon games though, so they are more relevant to the metagame.

Resources for New Players

Introduction to Competitive Battling

If you're new to competitive battling, be sure to check this out to help you jump into the world of competitive battling!

Download Pokémon Online

Follow this link to download Pokémon Online. Make sure to check out the PokéCommunity Battle Server if you download Pokémon Online so that you can chat and battle with the competitive battling community here at PC.

OU Ban List

This is the OU ban list from Smogon, which we at PokéCommunity abide by.

Resources for RMTs

Threat List for RMTs

This is a detailed threat list that you can copy and paste into your RMTs to help out team raters. It also makes your RMT look nice.

Marriland's Team Builder

This lets you see your team's type weaknesses, resistances, and immunities. Remember, to add a Pokémon from Kanto, Johto, Hoenn, or Sinnoh (any region before Unova), you have to search it.

Animated BW Pokémon Sprites

Here you can get animated sprites for RMTs. Not every Pokémon has their sprites listed yet, however (the site will be updated with the remaining sprites later on).

Animated BW Pokémon Sprites (2)

Arkeis provides a nice extra resource if you find that any sprites provided by dialgafans should be lacking.

Pokémon Sprites and Art

This is another sprite resource. Simply click on a Pokémon, and the official art can be found on the top right. You can scroll down until you see the sprites (pretty much the bottom of the page). Additionally, under the sprite list there's a link for more art and sprites.

Calculators

Smogon's Damage Calculator

This damage calculator has Smogon's on-site movesets integrated in for more convenience. Damage calculators are very useful for formulating EV spreads and even for use during battles during key turns.

Cherubi's Damage Calculator

This damage calculator accomplishes the same thing as Smogon's but with a different format. It's a good alternative if Smogon's format does not appeal to you.

Metalkid's IV Calculator

For those of you who are battle on WiFi and use legit Pokémon, this is an absolute must for IV breeding. It is also useful for anyone who wants to make a deep Battle Tower run.

EV Training

List of Pokémon by Effort Value Yield

If you want to EV train your Pokémon for use on WiFi, this list is pretty much invaluable if you want to know which Pokémon to slaughter and which ones to ignore.

EV Training Spots in Black and White

This resource makes EV training even easier in Black and White.

Other Useful Resources

List of Released Dream World Pokémon and attacks

This lists pretty much everything that has been released in the Dream World, and thus what is allowed to be used in the WiFi tier.

Battle Subway Pokémon Info

This lists all the Pokémon in Battle Subway and their movesets. So when playing Battle Subway, you can just search the Pokémon's name when you encounter it with Ctrl + F to see what moveset they most likely will have. Credit goes to Team Rocket Elite from Smogon.

Assorted Utilities

There is a bunch of stuff here for Microsoft Excel that can very useful.

Wolflare · #3 March 26th, 2011, 09:11 PM

Here's some links I posted last time with better descriptions (?). :P

Battle Subway Pokémon Info (credit to Team Rocket Elite from Smogon)

Lists all the Pokémon in Battle Subway and their movesets. So when playing Battle Subway, you can just search the Pokémon's name when you encounter it with Ctrl + F to see what moveset they most likely will have.

Marriland's Team Builder

Lets you see your team's type weaknesses, resistances, and immunities. Remember, to add a Pokémon from Kanto, Johto, Hoenn, or Sinnoh (any region before Unova), you have to search it.

Pokémon Sprites and Art

Simply click on a Pokémon, and the official art can be found on the top right. You can scroll down until you see the sprites (pretty much the bottom of the page). Additionally, under the sprite list there's a link for more art and sprites.

Animated BW Pokémon Sprites

Not every Pokémon has their sprites listed yet however (the site will be updated with the remaining sprites later on).

Assorted Utilities

Just a bunch of stuff for Microsoft Excel that can very useful.

Opposite Day · #4 March 27th, 2011, 04:12 PM

List of Released Dream World Pokémon and attacks

Lists pretty much everything that has been released in the DW, and thus what is allowed to use in the Wifi tier.

List of Pokémon by Effort Value yield

If you want to EV train your pokemon for use on Wifi, this list is pretty much invaluable if you want to know which pokemon to slaughter and which ones to ignore.

EV training spots in Black/White (credit to Mekkah from Smogon and multiple others, but mainly Mekkah)

Makes EV training even easier in B/W.

Animated BW Pokémon sprites (2) (mad props to aragornbird!)

Arkeis provides a nice extra resource if you find that any sprites provided by dialgafans should be lacking.

The Strategies and Movesets Archive

The S&M Archive is rather useful if you want to learn about what was effective in previous generations and check out what the past of this section was like. Remember to set "show threads" to "The beginning" if you actually want to see any threads!

Anti · #5 March 29th, 2011, 09:26 PM

These are very helpful. I'll add them shortly.

This thread will probably just become a sticky revamp thing since we're going to update most everything. Now here's the new Battle Log Archive designed by Vrai and Oppo!

Battle Log Archive, V2!

Hi there, and welcome to the new and improved Battle Log Archive! With the previous thread being such a cluster, the S&M community decided that cleaning it up a little bit would do it nothing but good, so here we go! Essentially this thread is where we’ll link to some of the good battle logs from the past for your viewing pleasure, but now with a much more organized first post, that also includes a short introduction to each log, as well as explaining why it is indeed here in the archive.

If you’ve gotten inspired by this thread and want to post your own (battle) log, please post it in the main forum, and it will be added to the archive!

Happy reading!

Rocks fall, everyone dies by Opposite Day (March 22, 2011)

Opposite Day loves alternate movesets, and this log is no exeption to that. Read on to see how Swampert performs when it is no longer set-up bait, how everything is extremely deadly in this new metagame, and how Stealth Rock still proves its worth as the best move in the game in this quick battle.

Mirages in the Sand by Vrai (March 24, 2011)

Unlike the last couple of generations, no Pokémon can just be thrown away...every single one can be useful later on, even if the end seems near. In Vrai's first battle log ever, read on to see how exactly mispredictions can ruin an entire gameplan - and how great ones can turn it all back around.

Speed is fun - 'till it kills! by Opposite Day (March 30, 2011)

Keeping up the pace with a pokémon that received the ability Speed Boost is hard - but not impossible! The trickster Opposite Day returns once again with a fast-paced log where both players wrestle for momentum, as well as showcasing just how brutal Scizor can be if left unchecked...unless you've got an extra trick up your sleeve!

Vrai · #6 March 29th, 2011, 10:32 PM

I'll be updating/creating a weather team guide, similar to D_A's stall team guide that's currently in the compiled guides thread. Weather is just so profound and abused in this meta that there should be something about it.

topics will include:
- what exactly defines a weather team
- how pokemon can benefit from each weather & intro to weather starters
- good weather abusers
- structure of a weather team
- starter vs starter matchups (aka ttar/hippo vs toed vs abomasnow vs tales)
---^ how to keep your starter alive at all costs!
- how to deal with weather teams if you're not running one
- other threats to weather teams
- ...some other stuff that i wanted to have in here but icr right now so i'll edit in later

this post will be frequently updated with whatever i'm writing so yeah! :]

An Introduction to Weather Teams

Generation V completely changed the definition of "weather" teams from Generation IV. Previously, Sandstorm was the reigning king due to the prevalence of Tyranitar and Hippowdon, two very effective Pokémon who had the ability Sand Stream (an automatic Sandstorm-starting ability). Abomasnow had one in Snow Warning, but it simply wasn't as good at the time. Rain Dance and Sunny Day teams, while effective, were significantly hurt in OU because of the popular weather-starters that could break their game.

But Generation V gave older Pokémon new abilities through Dream World, as well as introducing two entirely new weather-related abilities. Offense has gradually shifted to "weather" teams and "not-weather" teams. Weather has become such a dominating force in Generation V that the generation itself is often referred to as "weather wars". Well-built and effective weather teams are nearly impossible to stop. Weather has introduced many new Pokémon to the metagame whose purpose are simply to check out-of-hand weather sweepers. And weather isn't all offense, either - Sandstorm and Hail have always been effective stall machines, and new Rain Dance and Sunny Day teams have begun to adapt themselves to stall as well. There's so much you can do with a weather team that you simply cannot do everything that a weather can accomplish in one team.

This article is a guide to show you how to maximize your potential when using a weather team, as well as how to handle specific threats to weather including other weather teams. It's also here to give you various tips and guidance to help you build your own successful weather team. Lastly, this article is here to show non-weather teams how to handle the high intensity and pressure that weather teams create.

Wait, what is weather? Why do I need to know about it?

Firstly, weather is what's known as a field condition. When it comes into play, it brings special effects with it for both players in a match. When a move like Sandstorm, Hail, Sunny Day, or Rain Dance is used, the field condition lasts 5 turns (8 turns if you use their respective items like Damp Rock). However, with the start-up abilities like Drought, Drizzle, Snow Warning, and Sand Stream, that particular weather stays in play for the rest of the match. This is why these weather-starters are so important - whenever yours or your opponent's comes in, it can completely flip around whatever advantages you or your opponent had. Remember, no two weather effects can be up at the same time - if it's Sunny and your opponent's Tyranitar comes in, whatever benefits you had from your weather is lost because Sandstorm gets started up. But what effects do each of the weathers have? What benefits from these effects? And how can you utilize them properly? This is where we begin individual sections - explaining each weather, Pokémon that benefit from it, and playstyles that result from that. First up is Sand Stream!

Sand Stream

Sand Stream (which introduces the weather Sandstorm) was the most prevalent weather condition in the last generation. It's two starters, Tyranitar and Hippowdon (first and last Pokémon up there, respectively) were great Pokémon to be using, and Sandstorm's residual damage benefited many a team. It strongly discouraged the use of any other weathers because of how common those two Pokémon were - if you went through all of the effort to get an 8-turn Rain Dance set up, one of these guys switching in ended it all 7 turns early.

The biggest and most important effect that Sandstorm has is its residual damage. Any Pokémon that isn't Rock-, Ground-, or Steel-type and/or has the Sand Veil ability takes 6.25% damage at the end of every turn. This may not seem like much when you consider that an opponent has 93.75% health after being hit by Sandstorm once, but there are some huge implications that go along with this. For offensive teams, Sandstorm cancels out opposing Pokémon's Leftovers, meaning that defensive Pokémon without recovery cannot take damage as well and makes them easier to break through. Defensively, Sandstorm damage plus Life Orb recoil plus entry hazard damage really compounds on a Pokémon and wears them down that much faster. A second important mechanic that Sandstorm causes is that all Rock-type Pokémon (no, not Ground- or Steel-types) gain a 50% boost to their Special Defense. This is most commonly abused with Tyranitar, but most Rock-type Pokémon have poor Special Defense, meaning this boost is gladly accepted.

Sandstorm also has an effect on several moves that change due to weather:

Thunder: Accuracy decreases to 50%
Solarbeam: Accuracy decreases to 60% and requires a turn to charge up
Weather Ball: Power changes to 100 and becomes a Rock-type move
Synthesis/Morning Sun/Moonlight: Amount recovered becomes 25%

Drizzle / Rain Dance

Drought

Snow Warning

dark horse ^

Wolflare · #7 April 2nd, 2011, 05:28 PM

Quote:

Metalkid's IV Calculator

For those of you who are battle on WiFi and use legit Pokémon

Remove the "are".

Quote:

List of Released Dream World Pokémon and attacks

This lists pretty much everything that has been released in the Dream World, and thus what is allowed to be used in the WiFi tier.

That doesn't look like it has released DW abilities and such, since it lacks a lot of them like Mamoswine. Instead, link to this, since Aero has been updating it whenever new DW Pokémon are released (and we'll have the thread done soon).

Otherwise, looks good!

Anti · #8 April 2nd, 2011, 08:27 PM

Thanks Wolf, added those changes.

Much like with Vrai's guide, I'll use this post to get this team rating thing worked on. Primarily I'll just be experimenting with formats and such...don't expect much content until it's finished.

.Aero · #9 April 3rd, 2011, 07:31 PM

Notice: Before starting anything, ensure that you have access to Wi-Fi through your DS system. To begin accessing Dream World and its many contents, you must first create an account with the Pokémon Trainer Club. You are able to register here. Joining this site is entirely free, so don't be afraid to join and be a part of Global Link. After creating the account with the site, you will be able to link your game cartridge to your account and begin accessing Dream World through the Pokémon Global Link. Also note that you will have to reach Striaton City and complete the event involving Dream Smoke and Fennel that takes place in the Dream Yard.

Accessing and Using Dream World

As stated in the notice above, you must have access to Wi-Fi as this is a Wi-Fi offered service. After checking to make sure your Wi-Fi works, you must reach the point in the game when you talk to Fennel in Striaton City after she grabs the Dream Smoke. When you speak with her, she will give you the Game Sync, which allows you to use Dream World and the entirety of Global Link. Turn on your C-Gear if you don't have it on already, and click the "Online" button (blue), and then click the massive button in the center which says "Game Sync". This will ask if you wish to connect to Nintendo Wi-Fi, and therefore you should press "Yes". Now that you're connected to Wi-Fi, it will, sadly, present you with an error message. This is because of the recent 8.9 earthquake that happened in Japan. The planned release date was the 30th of March, but the project was delayed to conserve energy. Once the Global Link, and therefore Dream World, is officially opened up to the public, this section will be fleshed out. There isn't much information on actually accessing and linking your cartridge to your site account. Stay tuned, they should have it up shortly.

Eevee Evolutions Event

March 28th, 2011 marks the release of the Dream World Eevee evolutions, each containing a special Dream World ability. To access these special Pokémon, log onto the Pokémon Trainer Club using the account you linked with your cartridge. After logging in, play the difficult game "Play to Befriend a Pokémon" which is a 4 level game of a Breakout variant. After completing the four levels, you will be awarded one of the seven Eevee evolutions depending on the amount of orbs you collected while playing.

If you’re experiencing any trouble while trying to beat this game, try these tips:

Use a USB mouse if you are on a laptop - playing this game with the touch pad mouse is extremely difficult and can lead to a lot of lost lives because of accidentally touching somewhere else on the mouse pad.
When trying for a specific evolution, try and avoid orbs that don’t match the one you want, and try your best to snatch the ones that do correspond to the desired evolution.
Never risk lives to get an upgrade or avoid a downgrade or undesired orb. Lives are much more important than any of these as you can only get a maximum of four upon reaching level 4. Catching a ball speed up or platform shrink may seem bad, but if you’re going to lose the ball anyway, why not at least try to keep it alive with the downgrade?
If you’ve tried and beaten the game multiple times, but just can’t get the correct evolution, accept the one you get. You’ll be able to breed this Pokémon (assuming it’s female) and it will possibly pass down the Dream World ability to Eevee, which can then be evolved to the desired evolution and still maintain the Dream World ability.
Don't give up if you can't beat level 4. This game is insanely difficult and requires a lot of patience and painkillers luck.

The evolutions have the following abilities:

Hydration |

Quick Feet |

Guts |

Magic Bounce |

Inner Focus |

Chlorophyll |

Ice Body

Heads Up This post is under major construction. It will be finished within the week that http://en.pokemon-gl.com/ comes back online so I can actually figure out how exactly Dream World works. A second section to this post will be what is released and what isn't for use in Wifi battles on PO.

Anti · #10 May 30th, 2011, 12:52 AM

Bump time!

Okay, the threat list in the OP has too many Pokemon. I don't know how the OU cutoff this gen is going to work (if someone could enlighten me I'd be happy to know) but yeah, it's needs to be trimmed some. For reference, here are usage stats and some things can definitely go. I don't want to prematurely cut things on the borderline but there are some Pokemon that I didn't even know existed that are on this list...

Also, I'm thinking of adding a section for team styles if only because weather teams make this meta a whole new ballgame. But I don't know if it's necessary so input there would be nice. Eh, it's a minor thing, but whatever, might as well ask.

Cycle · #11 May 30th, 2011, 01:20 AM

OU cutoff this generation is at 53 like last time.

Vrai · #12 May 30th, 2011, 06:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Anti

Bump time!

Okay, the threat list in the OP has too many Pokemon. I don't know how the OU cutoff this gen is going to work (if someone could enlighten me I'd be happy to know) but yeah, it's needs to be trimmed some. For reference, here are usage stats and some things can definitely go. I don't want to prematurely cut things on the borderline but there are some Pokemon that I didn't even know existed that are on this list...

Also, I'm thinking of adding a section for team styles if only because weather teams make this meta a whole new ballgame. But I don't know if it's necessary so input there would be nice. Eh, it's a minor thing, but whatever, might as well ask.

D_A has stated time and time again that the only things that'll be on the detailed threat list for OU will be those 53 OU Pokemon; therefore this threat list should only be comprised of those. To basically quote, "if the other Pokemon were threats they'd be used more" or something along those lines.

I would agree, though weather teams in and of themselves are incredibly varying and I believe deserve a section of their own. I'll get back to working slowly and steadily on that guide, btw.

Anti · #13 May 30th, 2011, 07:14 PM

I really would rather not have to go back and add/delete things every time time a few borderline Pokemon switch in or out of the top 53 though. Yeah, usage will vary no matter where the cutoff is, but I don't really see the harm in putting in maybe the next 7 just for a nice round number of 60 Pokemon. The difference in usage isn't that much to begin with. But in principle yeah, I agree that things like Lilligant (in the 120s in usage or something like that) should be taken out.

Oh, and I'll get started on that too.

Vrai · #14 May 30th, 2011, 07:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Anti

I really would rather not have to go back and add/delete things every time time a few borderline Pokemon switch in or out of the top 53 though. Yeah, usage will vary no matter where the cutoff is, but I don't really see the harm in putting in maybe the next 7 just for a nice round number of 60 Pokemon. The difference in usage isn't that much to begin with. But in principle yeah, I agree that things like Lilligant (in the 120s in usage or something like that) should be taken out.

Oh, and I'll get started on that too.

Yeah, you're right. To be honest, I think I'd rather bring that up to 70 instead of 60, though - nearly everything in the 60-70 range can still be considered a significant threat to OU teams. Sigilyph, Slowbro, Azelf, Kingdra, Mamoswine, and Quagsire are all definitely huge threats to any unprepared team, and the rest (Donphan, Hitmontop, and Celebi) can be in various situations. The only outstanding one there is Electivire who seems to always have an abnormally high usage in comparison to his actual quality. People must just think he looks cool or something.

Dark Azelf · #15 June 1st, 2011, 03:45 PM

The op doesnt have too many Pokemon. ALL the sets are gonna be merged so there is less than you think.

I also need to remove alot from the old threat list too. When i can be motivated to do so/life isnt killing me lol. Also people are more than welcome to assist.

Im also fine with updating it every 3 months when tier lists are updated.

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