Simple Q&A Thread

[Master Gengar]

Hey guys so this is my first time making a competitive battling team so if you guys could give me your suggestions thatd be greatly appreciated! I havent written down my EV's yet or my natures because im not sure this is the team im gonna use... Please comment!!!
Blissey:
Serene grace
-aromatherapy/heal bell
-softboiled
-flamethrower
-thunderbolt

Gengar:
Levitate
-haze
-pain split/explosion
-flamethrower
-dark pulse

Scyther:
Swarm
-baton pass
-double team
-sword's dance
-bug buzz

Dragonite:
Inner focus
-draco meteor
-ice beam
-flamethrower
-thunderbolt

Heracross:
Guts choice scarf
-close combat
-megahorn
-stone edge
-toxic/night slash/sleep talk

Togetic:
Serene grace
-double team
-extrasensory
-flamethrower
-water pulse

[Yoshikkko]

Well, iirc you have to include the EV's, items, natures, and so on, or people won't be able to help you (also they're not gonna figure out all that by themselves) But yeah idk I think so ;((

[Master Gengar]

haha well looks like thats what im working on right now i guess haha thanks for the quick reply though :D

okay here guys i think ive decided on my EV's and stuff but if you have any suggestions that would be greatly appreciated

Blissey:
Serene grace
-aromatherapy/heal bell
-softboiled
-flamethrower
-thunderbolt
EV’s 252 Defense/252 Attack/4 HP
Scope Lens
Lax

Gengar:
Levitate
-haze
-pain split/explosion
-flamethrower
-dark pulse
EV’s 152 Speed/200 Attack/58 Defense/100 Special Attack
Razor Fang
Naughty

Scyther:
Swarm
-baton pass
-double team
-sword's dance
-bug buzz
Ev’s 252 Special Defense/158 Speed/100 Defense
Item?
Calm

Dragonite:
Inner focus
-draco meteor
-ice beam
-flamethrower
-thunderbolt
EV’s 252 Speed/252 Special Attack/4 Defense
Quick Claw
Rash

Heracross:
Guts choice scarf
-close combat
-megahorn
-stone edge
-toxic/night slash
EV’s 252 Attack/252 Speed/4 HP
Razor Claw
Adamant

Togetic:
Serene grace
-double team
-extrasensory
-flamethrower
-water pulse
EV’s 252 Speed/252 Special Attack/4 Attack
King’s Rock
Jolly

[SoulRed12]

Originally Posted by Master Gengar

haha well looks like thats what im working on right now i guess haha thanks for the quick reply though :D

okay here guys i think ive decided on my EV's and stuff but if you have any suggestions that would be greatly appreciated

Blissey:
Serene grace
-aromatherapy/heal bell
-softboiled
-flamethrower
-thunderbolt
EV’s 252 Defense/252 Attack/4 HP
Scope Lens
Lax

Blissey wants bold nature with leftovers (because of her huge HP, the recovery will be huge comparatively). Also, you're wasting EVs in attack since she doesn't have any physical moves. I'd reallocate those attack EVs to HP, and give blissey seismic toss instead of t-bolt and flamethrower so her offensive stats don't matter. I'd also recommend a status move, I.e. either toxic or t-wave.

Gengar:
Levitate
-haze
-pain split/explosion
-flamethrower
-dark pulse
EV’s 152 Speed/200 Attack/58 Defense/100 Special Attack
Razor Fang
Naughty

Explosion's been nerfed in gen V (no longer halves opponents defense) so it's not really useful. Haze is different and could be useful, but Gengar is probably too frail to be able to use it. Next, Gengar can't actually learn flamethrower; he has to settle for Hidden Power fire. Dark Pulse should be shadow ball, since it's stab'd and hits basically the same types except trades NVE to fighting for being ineffective against normals, which you can hit with the second attack you choose (HP Fire or something like Thunderbolt or focus blast).

Scyther:
Swarm
-baton pass
-double team
-sword's dance
-bug buzz
Ev’s 252 Special Defense/158 Speed/100 Defense
Item?
Calm

Sadly Scyther isn't the greatest in OU play thanks to taking major damage from stealth rock and being generally frail. If you want him, though, you'll need some major improvements. First, double team (and other evasion-boosting moves) are generally banned from standard play. Next, you'll want to switch to a physical attacking move (e.g. bug bite), because Scyther's attack is much higher than his Special Attack (bug buzz is a special move). Last, Scyther is too frail for a defensive set. He wants to hit hard and hit fast, so I'd max out his attack and speed and give him either adamant or jolly nature.

Dragonite:
Inner focus
-draco meteor
-ice beam
-flamethrower
-thunderbolt
EV’s 252 Speed/252 Special Attack/4 Defense
Quick Claw
Rash

Dragonite doesn't need Quick Claw. Better to give it Life Orb for that extra sting from its attacks. As for its nature...generally you want to stay away from natures that drop defense or special defense, unless you're running a mixed (physical and special) set, which this set isn't. Since you don't have any physical attacks, if you want to increase special attack, go for a modest nature, which increases Special Attack at the expense of physical attack. Anyway, I really don't know what to say about this set. It's fully special, something that doesn't often happen because Dragonite is a great stall breaker when it's mixed. But, if this works for you, go for it.

Heracross:
Guts choice scarf
-close combat
-megahorn
-stone edge
-toxic/night slash
EV’s 252 Attack/252 Speed/4 HP
Razor Claw
Adamant

This looks fine. I'd go night slash over toxic since you'll be locked into the move, giving hte opponent a chance to set up, sweep a bit, then switch out before the toxic kills him (resetting the toxic counter). One thing--why do you say "guts choice scarf" above and then Razor Claw below? I'd definitely go choice scarf (razor claw is really only useful on pokemon with super luck, e.g. absol).

Togetic:
Serene grace
-double team
-extrasensory
-flamethrower
-water pulse
EV’s 252 Speed/252 Special Attack/4 Attack
King’s Rock
Jolly

If you're going to go togetic, you need to give her eviolite, not king's rock. Also, she's really not much of an attacking pokemon; to sweep, go togekiss, who gets the powerful air slash granting her a 60% flinch chance. (also, once again, you can't use double team in most standard metagames). If you go togekiss, I'd suggest leftovers to abuse the free turns after flinches for recovery.

My comments are in bold. The team's not bad, but could use a bit of work.

[Master Gengar]

Wow, thankyou soo much haha looks like im gonna need a lot of work haha this was just a first shot kinda thing to get the hang of it haha but im gonna improve it! i did actually mean togekiss haha i just mixed up the names haha but once again thanks for the help!!!!!!!

[Cyanide]

this is about the 3rd time ive actually tried EV training, i messed up on some of my team along the line and there EV's got to spread out, im using HG/SS. so do i now basically just use E.V berries to take away the EV's in the stats i dont want and start over on the stats i want trained?

(i did it correctly with my alakazam and he came out amazingly, he stomps over anyone who hasnt the slightest clue what their getting into when i tell them im a "competitive" player)

And as for a final member to my team im not to sure what i want. so suggestions? i was thinking snorlax

[Xerav43]

Basically I got a light ball and a female pikachu and bred it with a male in the same egg group many times till i got a timid nature pikachu with a volt tackle , i then went and started killing starlys then i moved on to the pokemon mansion and killed pichus/pikachus so i get speed stat . These are the current stats.

Pikachu (female) Item= lightball lvl:40
HP:82
Attack:47
Defense:39
Sp.Atk: 53
Sp.Def:48
Speed:115

These are the stats but im not sure if i should continue ev training speed or i should ev train special attack im pretty confused can anybody guide me please? ty in advance

[Musica]

Should be moved in in-game team help.

Do you have an idea how much EV points you have in your Sp.Attack and Speed stat?
You should have around 252 EV points for both (SpA and Spe) and just leave of the 4 to Def.

[bizebest]

Hi,
I'm currently breeding for a Mix Flygon and I have now hatched these two and am torn between them to choose which one to use.

I have:
Trapinch : Rash / 09/30/30/31/31/24
and
Trapinch : Rash / 24/28/30/31/23/29

I'd like to know which one you would choose and why.
Is more HP valuable on a Mix attacker?
Is it worth the loss of SpD?
Am I overlooking something?

Thanks for your help

[superduperpokemontrainer]

Random battle question:
Hello everyone,
What has three heads and is also a Pokemon? If you guessed Hydreigon, then you are correct!
I have a Hydreigon that I want to use mainly for random battles online, which is 3v3, lvl 50, flat rules. He's maxing EVs in SpA and Spd. Right now, his current move set is,

Draco meteor, surf, dragon pulse, flamethrower.

I'm wondering about what the best move set would be for random battles. I feel like I don't need draco meteor and dragon pulse both, but I don't like the major spa drop from draco meteor. However, I'm not sure how long Hydreigon can last before fainting, and I know 2 draco meteors is better than 2 dragon pulses. Should I only keep one of them?

I'm considering switching a move out with Focus Blast, probably either Surf, Draco Meteor, and Dragon Pulse. Is this a good idea, and if so, which one would be best to switch out?

And finally, should I keep flamethrower, or switch to fire blast? Accuracy vs power in random battle online.

Thanks in advance.

[Jolteon*]

Is baton passing to a choice item ever a good idea? (For example, passing a shell smash boost from gorebyss to a scarfed/banded terrakion. Or should I just use a different, completely physical moveset on terrakion?)

[Dark Azelf]

Originally Posted by Jolteon*

Is baton passing to a choice item ever a good idea? (For example, passing a shell smash boost from gorebyss to a scarfed/banded terrakion. Or should I just use a different, completely physical moveset on terrakion?)

Not really, its easy to wall if you pass to choice users. Pass to a non choice user and it works alot better. Also your receiver should be fast and preferably not weak to common priority which Terrakion is.

[Jolteon*]

Originally Posted by Dark Azelf

Not really, its easy to wall if you pass to choice users. Pass to a non choice user and it works alot better. Also your receiver should be fast and preferably not weak to common priority which Terrakion is.

Would a chandelure do the job?

[PlatinumDude]

Originally Posted by Jolteon*

Would a chandelure do the job?

To an extent, kind of. While it resists Bulllet Punch and is immune to Mach Punch, ExtremeSpeed, Quick Attack and Vacuum Wave, it's weak to Aqua Jet and Shadow Sneak, which are uncommonly used.

That, and if Heatran switches in while Chandelure uses Fire Blast, the former will absorb the hit and gain a free boost to its Fire moves with Flash Fire. If Blissey switches in while Chandelure uses Shadow Ball, then said move would fizzle due to Blissey being immune to Ghost, courtesy of its Normal type.

[SoulRed12]

What would be a good check/counter to Focus Sash Lead Mamoswine that would fit well on a dedicated sun team?

[Forever]

Originally Posted by SoulRed12

What would be a good check/counter to Focus Sash Lead Mamoswine that would fit well on a dedicated sun team?

Air balloon Heatran would work since it outspeeds when investing in a Timid nature and with the typing, Ice Shard doesn't hurt it, Fire Blast can hurt Mamo and by the time the balloon is broken, Heatran outspeeds anyway with the Timid nature to get the kill with some filler like HP ice or earth power to destroy the 1HP left while Ice Shard can't do anything.

[Musica]

Would Mammoswine (not holding Focus Sash) survive Earth Power from 252 SAtk Timid Heatran?

[Cyanide]

hey there! just some ideas on what i should be running and what their moveset/natures/items should be!

So far

Porygon-Z
Slaking
Togekiss
Blissy
Snorlax!


any other ideas and what they should be EV trained in? and there moveset/natures/ items should be?

Thanks!

~cyanide

[SoulRed12]

Originally Posted by Musica

Would Mammoswine (not holding Focus Sash) survive Earth Power from 252 SAtk Timid Heatran?

Yep:

252SpAtk Flash Fire Heatran (Neutral) Earth Power vs 0HP/0SpDef Thick Fat Mamoswine (Neutral): 40% - 48% (148 - 175 HP). Guaranteed 3HKO.

Without stealth rocks it's not even a 2HKO.

[Snaggle P.]

Quick question that I need answered for a team I'm building.

If I have a pokemon with the ability Water Absorb, if he were to use Substitute and then get hit with a water attack, will he absorb the water like normal and his Substitute also takes no damage, or does the Substitute take the damage and fade since it was protecting the pokemon with Water Absorb?

Thanks in advance.

[PlatinumDude]

Originally Posted by Snaggle P.

Quick question that I need answered for a team I'm building.

If I have a pokemon with the ability Water Absorb, if he were to use Substitute and then get hit with a water attack, will he absorb the water like normal and his Substitute also takes no damage, or does the Substitute take the damage and fade since it was protecting the pokemon with Water Absorb?

Thanks in advance.

The Pokemon would take no damage from Water attacks if it has Water Absorb and recover HP, regardless of whether or not it has a Sub up.

[Teo2492]

So far I have tyranitar and scizor but I don't know which of the following pokemons I should pick to have an amazing team!! This is a list of what I was thinking but I don't know which ones should I pick:
Blissey
Blasiken
Gyarados
Elective
Mamoswine
Machamp
Tentacruel
Dragonite
Aerodactyl
Gengar
Wobbufet

And if you can also provide me with movesets I will appricoate it very much guys thanks for helping a noob like myself!! Also if you have a better suggestion than the ones I listed above let me know my version is soul silver

[Klave]

Out of these Bagons, which are best to invest into (EV training, sets? They all have Dragon Dance and Dragon Rush). Females have been listed so I can chain-breed with those.

1) Mild - 30/31/31/25/31/27
2) Modest - 15/31/21/27/31/5
3) Adamant - 6/31/31/27/31/15 (female)
4) Naive - 31/31/17/9/14/5
5) Lonely - 29/31/31/30/4/31
6) Mild - 31/31/16/0/1/23

The following are all Naughty:
7) 29/31/16/13/11/5 (female)
8) 29/31/23/26/31/14
9) 29/31/30/14/31/27
10) 18/31/16/31/29/10
11) 13/31/2/4/31/5 (female)
12) 26/31/2/31/2/5 (female)
13) 21/31/16/11/21/31
14) 31/31/16/30/23/22 (female)
15) 13/31/19/31/14/19

[Trainer Timothy]

I feel some of my POKeMON's (see Trainer Card below) true battle capacity has been dulled because of the HMs. I only have 1 water POKeMON on my team (POLIWRATH) and he's essentially the water HM *****, which bothers me because I would like to use his FIGHT type in some way with some fight moves... Do you think I should catch another Poliwag and train him to be a battler and less of a story moving element.

POLIWRATH's Moves
Whirlpool
Surf
Waterfall
Hypnosis (the only reason this remains is to make tough catches easier.)

[Drgons90]

A bit of a big question, I'll explain it in a form of story.

So let's say there's a Ghost + Dark type pokemon and shedinja in a battle. We'll make Sableye an example. Sableye uses skill swap on shedinja. Bam! He can't be touched now. Can he be affected with Odor Sleuth to make normal and fighting types hit it? Then used any fighting type moves until he dies?

Please answer, or test it if you can.