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Zeffy March 22nd, 2015 5:47 AM

Moveset Help & Other Questions (FAQ in first post)
 

Moveset Help & Other Questions

posting guidelines


✓ Post questions about moveset help, battling mechanics, competitive jargon, and general questions about PvE and PvP Pokémon battling here. (Hover over the underlined terms to find an example for each.)
✓ If you are building a team and you want to determine which Pokémon you should use, it's best to make use of the Teambuilding Workshop thread rather than posting here.
✓ If you are unsure whether your questions belongs here, then post a thread in the main forum and the staff will look into it.
✓ Avoid asking questions that have already been answered in the FAQ below.
✓ Avoid starting and/or participating in arguments in this thread—doing so may result in the deletion of the post(s) in question as off-topic. Idle chit-chat goes in the Battling & Team Building DCC thread.
✓ If you feel that something should be added to the FAQ below, please private message wolf instead of posting here.

frequently asked questions


What does OU / UU / RU / etc. mean?
These are Smogon tiers and are aptly named by the amount of usage the Pokémon in the tier have. OU stands for OverUsed, UU stands for UnderUsed, RU stands for RarelyUsed, and NU stands for NeverUsed. There are also other Smogon tiers available, such as Doubles and Little Cup. For more information, visit this link.
What are EVs and IVs?
Effort Values (EVs) are points that give bonus stats to an individual Pokemon. They are gained by defeating Pokémon in-game. A Pokémon can only have 510 EVs in total, with a limit of 252 per stat (255 in previous generations). At level 100, each 4 EV points contribute to 1 stat increase. For example, a Pokemon with 252 attack EVs gains 63 attack stats. Individual Values (IVs), on the other hand, are values that determine the actual stat of an individual Pokémon. These provide the variation in between the stats of each Pokémon of the same species, provided they have no EVs. These are predetermined by the game and cannot be changed. Each stat can have a total of 31 IVs. At level 100, 1 IV point corresponds to 1 stat increase.
Playing on a simulator provides easy access to changing the EVs and IVs of a Pokémon, giving each player the capability to tweak their Pokémon's stats to their liking.
What are natures?
Natures are Pokémon mechanics that increase 10% of a certain stat while decreasing 10% of another stat. These are predetermined and cannot be changed. In competitive battles, it's a good practice to give your Pokémon a nature that increases it's most useful stat (such as attack/special attack and speed) and decreases a relatively useless stat (such as defense/special defense for offensive Pokémon). For more information on which nature increases and decreases which stat, read this Bulbapedia article.
What is monotype / doubles / triples / etc and how can I play it?
Monotype is a special tier where you can only use a team where all of the 6 Pokémon share a similar type. These are similar to the way Gym Leaders are in-game. Meanwhile, doubles / triples / rotation / etc are special battle variants. More information about them can be found in this Bulbapedia article. You can play monotype, doubles, triples, and inverse battles in the Pokémon Showdown! battling simulator.
Do I have to play by Smogon's rules?
By all means, no! However, if you are playing in a tournament that adheres to Smogon rules then you are definitely subjected to play by Smogon's rules. Additionally, PokéCommunity's own Battle Server adheres to Smogon's rules most of the time so please be mindful of them when looking for a battle.

helpful links



Juxapose March 22nd, 2015 5:55 AM

Anyone has a good build and moveset for Seviper. I have an idea, but I don't know how effective it will be.

Zeffy March 22nd, 2015 6:00 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Juxapose (Post 8666769)
Anyone has a good build and moveset for Seviper. I have an idea, but I don't know how effective it will be.

Care to share your idea? Ideally, this set should work most of the time:

Serperior @Life Orb
Ability: Contrary
EVs: 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid nature
- Leaf Storm
- Dragon Pulse
- Hidden Power Fire
- Knock Off / Taunt

The goal is to basically use Leaf Storm to get that +2 special attack boost and then plow through from there.

PlatinumDude March 22nd, 2015 6:51 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Juxapose (Post 8666769)
Anyone has a good build and moveset for Seviper. I have an idea, but I don't know how effective it will be.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zeffy (Post 8666777)
Care to share your idea? Ideally, this set should work most of the time:

Serperior @Life Orb
Ability: Contrary
EVs: 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid nature
- Leaf Storm
- Dragon Pulse
- Hidden Power Fire
- Knock Off / Taunt

The goal is to basically use Leaf Storm to get that +2 special attack boost and then plow through from there.

Pretty sure he was talking about Seviper, not Serperior.

Anyway, Seviper is a very mediocre Pokemon, mainly because its low Speed and bad defenses don't go hand-in-hand, but this you could try this out:
-Sludge Bomb
-Flamethrower
-Giga Drain
-Sucker Punch/Knock Off
Nature: Naive
EVs: 4 Atk/252 SAtk/252 Spe
Item: Life Orb

Howmander March 22nd, 2015 7:50 AM

Does anyone find Telepathy useful on Musharna? I initially bred two (one with synchronize and one with Forewarn) to try out both to see which I wanted, but I've decided to go the Hypnosis+Dream Eater route and because of that, I CAN'T use Synchronize in case someone paralyses or poisons Musharna first, then it passes that condition to the attacker and therefore cannot put them to sleep, so my only options are Forewarn and to rebreed to get Telepathy, and I never bred telepathy in the first place because not only is it only useful in double or triple battles, but it also is only useful on the (relatively) few attacks that attack team mates so now I'm not really sure what to do with Musharna so I'm just curious now that my only options are Forewarn and Telepathy if anyone uses Telepathy on Musharna and what you think of it. And for that matter, if anyone uses Forewarn (not just read the text description on Serebii and decided it was useless) I'd like to hear opinions on that too please. Thank you!

Note: Hypnosis + Dream Eater are NON NEGOTIABLE. I don't care what Smogon says or what people do when their pokemon are put to sleep, I am asking SOLELY about Telepathy and Forewarn on Musharna. Sorry for the note, but I posted this before and people honestly just seem to run Ctrl + F on posts and run copy + Paste answers on key words without reading what is being asked, and I really want people's opinons on Telepathy and/or Forewarn on Musharna, not what the preferred strategy is, not what this or that site suggests, etc, nor do I want "Oh well, you're not going to be competing in the world pokemon championships against the worlds top pokemon players? Then anything will work so it doesn't matter what movesets you use" it's just really frustrating when people answer every question EXCEPT the one you asked. Sorry for the rant! :D

PlatinumDude March 22nd, 2015 8:03 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Howmander (Post 8666967)
Does anyone find Telepathy useful on Musharna? I initially bred two (one with synchronize and one with Forewarn) to try out both to see which I wanted, but I've decided to go the Hypnosis+Dream Eater route and because of that, I CAN'T use Synchronize in case someone paralyses or poisons Musharna first, then it passes that condition to the attacker and therefore cannot put them to sleep, so my only options are Forewarn and to rebreed to get Telepathy, and I never bred telepathy in the first place because not only is it only useful in double or triple battles, but it also is only useful on the (relatively) few attacks that attack team mates so now I'm not really sure what to do with Musharna so I'm just curious now that my only options are Forewarn and Telepathy if anyone uses Telepathy on Musharna and what you think of it. And for that matter, if anyone uses Forewarn (not just read the text description on Serebii and decided it was useless) I'd like to hear opinions on that too please. Thank you!

Note: Hypnosis + Dream Eater are NON NEGOTIABLE. I don't care what Smogon says or what people do when their pokemon are put to sleep, I am asking SOLELY about Telepathy and Forewarn on Musharna. Sorry for the note, but I posted this before and people honestly just seem to run Ctrl + F on posts and run copy + Paste answers on key words without reading what is being asked, and I really want people's opinons on Telepathy and/or Forewarn on Musharna, not what the preferred strategy is, not what this or that site suggests, etc, nor do I want "Oh well, you're not going to be competing in the world pokemon championships against the worlds top pokemon players? Then anything will work so it doesn't matter what movesets you use" it's just really frustrating when people answer every question EXCEPT the one you asked. Sorry for the rant! :D

Once again, Telepathy is preferred in doubles formats to protect Musharna from an allied Earthquake or the like. Synchronize is the best ability to use in singles, as it punishes opponents who burn, paralyze or poison Musharna. Forewarn is the least useful out of Musharna's 3 possible abilities.

Juxapose March 22nd, 2015 8:06 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zeffy (Post 8666777)
Care to share your idea?.

My idea was more like:

Seviper @Shuca Berry
Ability: Infiltrator
EVs: 252 Def / 252 SpA
Modest or Quiet nature
- Belch
- Flame Thrower
- Dark Pulse
- Stockpile

The idea was to trick someone into hitting it with Earthquake or other Physical ground move which reduces damage and eats berry while setting up with Stockpile. Then retaliating with Belch which hits at 120 power + Stab. Flamethrower and Dark Pulse for coverage, however I am sure there are other moves useful to coverage. Should work great with Trick Room.

Not sure this Idea would work though. . .

PlatinumDude March 22nd, 2015 8:14 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Juxapose (Post 8666984)
My idea was more like:

Seviper @Shuca Berry
Ability: Infiltrator
EVs: 252 Def / 252 SpA
Modest or Quiet nature
- Belch
- Flame Thrower
- Dark Pulse
- Stockpile

The idea was to trick someone into hitting it with Earthquake or other Physical ground move which reduces damage and eats berry while setting up with Stockpile. Then retaliating with Belch which hits at 120 power + Stab. Flamethrower and Dark Pulse for coverage, however I am sure there are other moves useful to coverage. Should work great with Trick Room.

Not sure this Idea would work though. . .

As I already mentioned, Seviper is slow and frail. This doesn't exactly go hand-in-hand, as it will be forced to take a (potentially) fatal hit before it even gets a chance to use Stockpile. Powerful Earthquakes can still take it out. 252 Defense EVs without any HP investment is also a waste of how to optimize a Pokemon's bulk, unless the Pokemon has significantly more HP than Defense, such as Wobbuffet and Drifblim:

Here's an example on why this Seviper variant isn't really effective:

0 Atk Landorus-T Earthquake vs. 0 HP / 252 Def Shuca Berry Seviper: 160-190 (55.7 - 66.2%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

0 Atk Landorus-T Earthquake vs. +1 0 HP / 252 Def Shuca Berry Seviper: 108-127 (37.6 - 44.2%) -- guaranteed 3HKO

In the time it takes for Seviper to use Stockpile, then Belch, Therian Landorus can simply spam Earthquake for the KO. Not only that, it also resists Belch.

There are also Pokemon that opt for Earth Power over Earthquake, like (Mega) Diancie and Heatran:

240 SpA Mega Diancie Earth Power vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Shuca Berry Seviper: 172-203 (59.9 - 70.7%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

Even if Seviper gets to use Belch, Mega Diancie can simply survive it and move in and KO Seviper.

252 SpA Heatran Earth Power vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Shuca Berry Seviper: 148-175 (51.5 - 60.9%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

252+ SpA Seviper Dark Pulse vs. 12 HP / 0 SpD Heatran: 76-90 (23.3 - 27.6%) -- 75.4% chance to 4HKO

The same applies to Heatran, but only this time, Dark Pulse is literally the only thing Seviper can do against it.

Juxapose March 22nd, 2015 8:28 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PlatinumDude (Post 8666992)
As I already mentioned, Seviper is slow and frail. This doesn't exactly go hand-in-hand, as it will be forced to take a (potentially) fatal hit before it even gets a chance to use Stockpile. Powerful Earthquakes can still take it out. 252 Defense EVs without any HP investment is also a waste of how to optimize a Pokemon's bulk, unless the Pokemon has significantly more HP than Defense, such as Wobbuffet and Drifblim:

Here's an example on why this Seviper variant isn't really effective:

0 Atk Landorus-T Earthquake vs. 0 HP / 252 Def Shuca Berry Seviper: 160-190 (55.7 - 66.2%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

0 Atk Landorus-T Earthquake vs. +1 0 HP / 252 Def Shuca Berry Seviper: 108-127 (37.6 - 44.2%) -- guaranteed 3HKO

In the time it takes for Seviper to use Stockpile, then Belch, Therian Landorus can simply spam Earthquake for the KO. Not only that, it also resists Belch.

There are also Pokemon that opt for Earth Power over Earthquake, like (Mega) Diancie and Heatran:

240 SpA Mega Diancie Earth Power vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Shuca Berry Seviper: 172-203 (59.9 - 70.7%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

(even if Seviper gets to use Belch, Mega Diancie can simply move in and KO Seviper)

252 SpA Heatran Earth Power vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Shuca Berry Seviper: 148-175 (51.5 - 60.9%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

252+ SpA Seviper Dark Pulse vs. 12 HP / 0 SpD Heatran: 76-90 (23.3 - 27.6%) -- 75.4% chance to 4HKO

The same applies to Heatran, but only this time, Dark Pulse is literally the only thing Seviper can do against it.

Thank you for your suggestion. However, I never intended to have Seviper go up against a Ground type Pokemon due to it's type disadvantage. Earthquake is a common move loved by many trainers, and lots of trainers use it on non ground types. Thusfore losing the STAB bonus. Lets use Feraligater as an example:

Feraligater comes out and sees Seviper. Knowing Seviper's frail stats, the trainer is tempted to go for an earthquake which he believes that will OHKO or at least survive with Focus Sash. Upon using Earthquake, it did minor damage with defense bulk, and allowed it to eats it's berry. Seviper retaliates with Giga drain which should deal a butt load of damage and restore it's health. Feraligater now is forced to retreat (assuming it's bulk held up to not get KO'd), which is a good time to stockpile.

There are more than one way to use your Pokemon than just reading and crunching a bunch of numbers. Think about that.

PlatinumDude March 22nd, 2015 8:39 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Juxapose (Post 8667017)
Thank you for your suggestion. However, I never intended to have Seviper go up against a Ground type Pokemon due to it's type disadvantage. Earthquake is a common move loved by many trainers, and lots of trainers use it on non ground types. Thusfore losing the STAB bonus. Lets use Feraligater as an example:

Feraligater comes out and sees Seviper. Knowing Seviper's frail stats, the trainer is tempted to go for an earthquake which he believes that will OHKO or at least survive with Focus Sash. Upon using Earthquake, it did minor damage with defense bulk, and allowed it to eats it's berry. Seviper retaliates with Giga drain which should deal a butt load of damage and restore it's health. Feraligater now is forced to retreat (assuming it's bulk held up to not get KO'd), which is a good time to stockpile.

There are more than one way to use your Pokemon than just reading and crunching a bunch of numbers. Think about that.

In your example, Feraligatr doesn't need to use Earthquake anymore, mainly because of Sheer Force.

Here's another example: Tyranitar. It doesn't use Earthquake as much, but it's still used on occasion. Not only that, it resists Belch, Dark Pulse and Flamethrower all at once, and takes pathetic damage from Giga Drain, due to the Special Defense buff it gets from sandstorm:

252+ SpA Seviper Giga Drain vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Tyranitar in Sand: 102-120 (29.9 - 35.1%) -- 15.1% chance to 3HKO

252+ SpA Seviper Giga Drain vs. 248 HP / 224 SpD Tyranitar in Sand: 82-98 (20.3 - 24.3%) -- guaranteed 5HKO

Meanwhile, Tyranitar can do whatever it pleases against Seviper:

Offensive:

252 Atk Tyranitar Earthquake vs. 0 HP / 252 Def Shuca Berry Seviper: 120-142 (41.8 - 49.4%) -- 21.5% chance to 2HKO after sandstorm damage

252 Atk Tyranitar Earthquake vs. 0 HP / 252 Def Seviper: 240-284 (83.6 - 98.9%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after sandstorm damage

252 Atk Tyranitar Stone Edge vs. 0 HP / 252 Def Seviper: 180-213 (62.7 - 74.2%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after sandstorm damage

252 Atk Tyranitar Crunch vs. 0 HP / 252 Def Seviper: 144-171 (50.1 - 59.5%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after sandstorm damage (same applies to Pursuit hitting a switching Seviper)

252+ Atk Choice Band Tyranitar Stone Edge vs. 0 HP / 252 Def Seviper: 297-349 (103.4 - 121.6%) -- guaranteed OHKO

252+ Atk Choice Band Tyranitar Earthquake vs. 0 HP / 252 Def Shuca Berry Seviper: 198-233 (68.9 - 81.1%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after sandstorm damage

252+ Atk Choice Band Tyranitar Earthquake vs. 0 HP / 252 Def Seviper: 396-466 (137.9 - 162.3%) -- guaranteed OHKO

252+ Atk Choice Band Tyranitar Crunch vs. 0 HP / 252 Def Seviper: 237-280 (82.5 - 97.5%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after sandstorm damage

Defensive:

0 Atk Tyranitar Stone Edge vs. 0 HP / 252 Def Seviper: 150-177 (52.2 - 61.6%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after sandstorm damage

0 Atk Tyranitar Earthquake vs. 0 HP / 252 Def Shuca Berry Seviper: 100-118 (34.8 - 41.1%) -- guaranteed 3HKO after sandstorm damage

0 Atk Tyranitar Earthquake vs. 0 HP / 252 Def Seviper: 200-236 (69.6 - 82.2%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after sandstorm damage

0 Atk Tyranitar Crunch vs. 0 HP / 252 Def Seviper: 120-142 (41.8 - 49.4%) -- 23.4% chance to 2HKO after sandstorm damage

And if you still insist on using Belch Seviper, SubSalac is a much safer way to do it. You spam Substitute until the Salac Berry activates, letting Seviper actually outspeed things. Of course, priority and special walls have to be taken out first:
-Substitute
-Belch
-Flamethrower
-Dark Pulse/Knock Off
Nature: Timid/Naive
EVs: 4 Def/252 SAtk/252 Spe (level 50) or 20 HP/236 SAtk/252 Spe (level 100)
Item: Salac Berry

Juxapose March 22nd, 2015 9:11 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PlatinumDude (Post 8667033)
And if you still insist on using Belch Seviper, SubSalac is a much safer way to do it. You spam Substitute until the Salac Berry activates, letting Seviper actually outspeed things. Of course, priority and special walls have to be taken out first:
-Substitute
-Belch
-Flamethrower
-Dark Pulse/Knock Off
Nature: Timid/Naive
EVs: 4 Def/252 SAtk/252 Spe (level 50) or 20 HP/236 SAtk/252 Spe (level 100)
Item: Salac Berry

That is an excellent idea. Thank you.

Breeder Mac March 22nd, 2015 9:30 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PlatinumDude (Post 8665651)
Black Kyurem will take on the regular Kyurem's attributes, like nature, EVs, IVs and shininess.

Okay cool. Thanks for the information.

GreenFlame March 23rd, 2015 12:33 AM

Zeffy, in the FAQ you said Pokémon can have 255 EVs max per stat, but IIRC isn't it 252?

Anyway, I've been finding that once Trick Room wears off, I don't have a reliable way to set it back up again, so it would be nice to have a fast (and preferably at least somewhat bulky) Trick Room user that I can safely switch into before using Trick Room.

Nah March 23rd, 2015 5:58 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GreenFlame (Post 8668214)
Zeffy, in the FAQ you said Pokémon can have 255 EVs max per stat, but IIRC isn't it 252?

It is 255, but 252 is always the number used because 252 is divisible by 4, while 255 is not. The extra 3 EVs from having 255 don't do anything since you need 4 EVs to get an extra stat point.

Quote:

Anyway, I've been finding that once Trick Room wears off, I don't have a reliable way to set it back up again, so it would be nice to have a fast (and preferably at least somewhat bulky) Trick Room user that I can safely switch into before using Trick Room.
A LOT of Pokemon can learn Trick Room, actually. Some stuff that's not terribly slow or frail would be like....Jirachi, Celebi, Starmie, Espeon, (Prankster) Whimsicott,.....idk you can look at the list and see what you like.

GreenFlame March 23rd, 2015 6:20 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zekrom (Post 8668454)
It is 255, but 252 is always the number used because 252 is divisible by 4, while 255 is not. The extra 3 EVs from having 255 don't do anything since you need 4 EVs to get an extra stat point.


A LOT of Pokemon can learn Trick Room, actually. Some stuff that's not terribly slow or frail would be like....Jirachi, Celebi, Starmie, Espeon, (Prankster) Whimsicott,.....idk you can look at the list and see what you like.

I know only 252 of them count, but didn't they make the limit 252 in Gen VI so you never waste any by going over it?

Nah March 23rd, 2015 6:31 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GreenFlame (Post 8668487)
I know only 252 of them count, but didn't they make the limit 252 in Gen VI so you never waste any by going over it?

I went and looked around....and apparently they did change it ta 252..

....I didn't know that

Juxapose March 23rd, 2015 12:07 PM

Here's an interesting question. When a Pokemon gets hit with Knockoff while holding a Colbur berry, what actually happens?

I can assume one of these answers:

1. Knockoff trumps everything and knocks off berry while getting increased damage and no effect from berry.

2. Berry gets eaten and damage is reduced, but knockoff damage is still increased because berry was held when the attack was used.

3. Berry gets eaten, and knockoff damage is reduced and no held item damage bonus.

4. 3DS explodes.

PlatinumDude March 23rd, 2015 12:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Juxapose (Post 8669219)
Here's an interesting question. When a Pokemon gets hit with Knockoff while holding a Colbur berry, what actually happens?

I can assume one of these answers:

1. Knockoff trumps everything and knocks off berry while getting increased damage and no effect from berry.

2. Berry gets eaten and damage is reduced, but knockoff damage is still increased because berry was held when the attack was used.

3. Berry gets eaten, and knockoff damage is reduced and no held item damage bonus.

4. 3DS explodes.

The Colbur Berry activates before it gets knocked away, so Knock Off's damage is reduced down to its regular base power (in other words, the third scenario).

Juxapose March 23rd, 2015 12:44 PM

Nice. Next question. This one is a build related question.

I just ported in my shiny Gyarados (Nicknamed Livio) from HGSS. It's an Adamant nature, and I want to use it in competative combat. I want to go for a 252 Speed/attack build, but other trainers say that I should go more bulky with 152 defense, 100 special defence, and 252 HP with Gyarados. I understand the need for bulk because you need it for Dragon Dance set-ups. But for the obvious reason of those annoying Prankster/Taunt users, I don't see myself setting up more than 1 Dragon Dance. So if I crank up speed and attack, I should scare off a physical Pokemon using Intimidate, and set up the Dragon Dance while opponent is switching (especially users of Garchomp who fears ice fang).

I don't know, what do you think?

PlatinumDude March 23rd, 2015 1:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Juxapose (Post 8669280)
Nice. Next question. This one is a build related question.

I just ported in my shiny Gyarados (Nicknamed Livio) from HGSS. It's an Adamant nature, and I want to use it in competative combat. I want to go for a 252 Speed/attack build, but other trainers say that I should go more bulky with 152 defense, 100 special defence, and 252 HP with Gyarados. I understand the need for bulk because you need it for Dragon Dance set-ups. But for the obvious reason of those annoying Prankster/Taunt users, I don't see myself setting up more than 1 Dragon Dance. So if I crank up speed and attack, I should scare off a physical Pokemon using Intimidate, and set up the Dragon Dance while opponent is switching (especially users of Garchomp who fears ice fang).

I don't know, what do you think?

To take advantage of Intimidate + Dragon Dance, Gyarados should be brought in on physical attackers that can't do much to it, then set up a Dragon Dance on the switch. It's even better if you're about to Mega Evolve it into Mega Gyarados, as the latter has incredible all-round bulk.

Substitute + Dragon Dance Gyarados has an easier time against status users, as Substitute blocks status, but you have to predict if the status will come your way or if the opponent switches. Here's a better Sub + Dragon Dance set:
-Substitute
-Dragon Dance
-Waterfall
-Bounce
Nature: Adamant/Jolly
EVs: 88 HP/220 Atk/4 Def/196 Spe
Item: Leftovers
Ability: Intimidate

This spread prevents a burned Ferrothorn's Power Whip from breaking Gyarados' substitute

pokemaster2001 March 25th, 2015 10:55 AM

Vgc championship points Can you win them year round and what time of year are they erased

Polar Spectrum March 25th, 2015 4:39 PM

You can and can't win them year round - depending on your region things are a bit different. Check this out- http://nuggetbridge.com/about-vgc/

If you're in North America, you can compete in their spring, summer, fall, or winter seasons to qualify for regional championships, which can in turn should you succeed - qualify you for national championships. Only the top 16 in North America get to go to the VGC World Championships, and contend with the other top players from the rest of the world.

Juxapose March 28th, 2015 4:42 AM

Why did my Hypnosis "Failed". Usually when Hypnosis misses, the message comes off as "The opposing Pokemon avoided the attack." When using it against a Dark-type Pokemon due to it's immunity to psychic moves, the message comes off as "Does not affect the opposing Pokemon." But this time, when I used Hypnosis, the message read "The attack failed." Why? If it didn't miss, or the opponent was not immune to the attack, why did it just randomly fail?

Nah March 28th, 2015 4:50 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Juxapose (Post 8677486)
Why did my Hypnosis "Failed". Usually when Hypnosis misses, the message comes off as "The opposing Pokemon avoided the attack." When using it against a Dark-type Pokemon due to it's immunity to psychic moves, the message comes off as "Does not affect the opposing Pokemon." But this time, when I used Hypnosis, the message read "The attack failed." Why? If it didn't miss, or the opponent was not immune to the attack, why did it just randomly fail?

What exactly were you trying to use Hypnosis on? Some pokes have abilities that make them unable to be put to sleep.

Juxapose March 28th, 2015 4:55 AM

Mega-Gardevoir

Nah March 28th, 2015 4:58 AM

Uh....was Safeguard up or something? That's the only thing I can think of really....

Juxapose March 28th, 2015 5:00 AM

Nope. It just Mega evolved and used 2 calm minds before Hypnosis was used. Then the attack "Failed" for no random reason.

*Edit*

Oh wait, never mind, I found out. I paralyzed the Pokemon earlier in the battle. You can't Paralyze and sleep at the same time. I am such a Noob.

Howmander March 29th, 2015 11:39 AM

Advice for Mono weather Castform
 
So I do have 1 castform Rain Dance, sunny Day and Hail with Weatherball, but I decided to also breed 3 more Castforms with singular weather conditions and I'm having trouble getting enough moves that would benefit from the weather condition.

Rainy is the easiest with Rain Dance, Hurricane, Thunder and Weatherball (as Weatherball doubles in strength, gets STAB and the 50% bonus from being a water move in rainy weather)

Sunny is a little harder with Sunny Day, SolarBeam and Weatherball (again, as Weatherball doubles in strength, gets STAB and the 50% bonus from being a fire move in Sunny Day) but I'm not sure of what (if any) other move might get a benefit from being in a sunny day weather

Icy is much harder as all there is is Hail and Weatherball (weatherball only getting the double strength and Stab, but no bonus from being an ice move used in hail) and even though Blizzard would get 100% accuracy, it's also a second ice move, so I don't know what to do with this weather condition.

(and I don't think I'll be bothering with a sandstream moveset as Castform doesn't get a form change and therefore doesn't get STAB from weatherball, even if weatherball gets double the power in sandy weather)

Anyway, thanks for any tips!

Sirfetch’d March 29th, 2015 11:48 AM

Resident Castform here to help!

For an in game team, Castform does okay I guess. You really don't need more than one on your team but if you are determined to use all forms we'll have to make due.

Your rain set is fine, you can run Hydro Pump if you want over Weather Ball. It hits harder which Castform needs since it is ridiculously weak. Hurricane and Thunder are fine as the other attacking options.

Sunny form you should run Sunny Day, Ice Beam, Solarbeam, and Fire Blast. Again it hits harder than Weather Ball and has a burn chance.

Snowy form is easily the worst. You could run something like Hail, Blizzard, Fire Blast, and Hydro Pump. Really not much you can do here other than going for coverage moves. Unlike other weathers, only one attack type really benefits.

Good luck though with your castforms!!

Howmander March 29th, 2015 12:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Castform (Post 8679877)
Resident Castform here to help!

For an in game team, Castform does okay I guess. You really don't need more than one on your team but if you are determined to use all forms we'll have to make due.

Your rain set is fine, you can run Hydro Pump if you want over Weather Ball. It hits harder which Castform needs since it is ridiculously weak. Hurricane and Thunder are fine as the other attacking options.

Sunny form you should run Sunny Day, Ice Beam, Solarbeam, and Fire Blast. Again it hits harder than Weather Ball and has a burn chance.

Snowy form is easily the worst. You could run something like Hail, Blizzard, Fire Blast, and Hydro Pump. Really not much you can do here other than going for coverage moves. Unlike other weathers, only one attack type really benefits.

Good luck though with your castforms!!

Thanks for the advice, and just for clarification, I'm not running ALL the castforms in the same team, I'm having one with all the weather if I want to run a general weather team, and the other three are if I want to run a rain team or a sunny team or a hail team, so at any given time I would only have 1 castform on it, I don't battle on simulators or anything but in the real game so it takes FOREVER to breed so I'm breeding now for a just in case in the future. And one thing Hydro Pump and Fire Blast are only 10 base points higher than weather ball (since weather ball doubles in power) is it really worth the tradeoff of 100% accuracy for 85% accuracy (fire blast) or 80% accuracy (Hydro Pump)?

Sirfetch’d March 29th, 2015 12:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Howmander (Post 8679895)
Thanks for the advice, and just for clarification, I'm not running ALL the castforms in the same team, I'm having one with all the weather if I want to run a general weather team, and the other three are if I want to run a rain team or a sunny team or a hail team, so at any given time I would only have 1 castform on it, I don't battle on simulators or anything but in the real game so it takes FOREVER to breed so I'm breeding now for a just in case in the future. And one thing Hydro Pump and Fire Blast are only 10 base points higher than weather ball (since weather ball doubles in power) is it really worth the tradeoff of 100% accuracy for 85% accuracy (fire blast) or 80% accuracy (Hydro Pump)?

It's up to you if you want the tradeoff. Fire Blast is a bit more reliable than most 110 bp moves. I'd definitely run it over weather ball. On rain form you can run weather ball/scald/or hydro pump. It's personal preference really.

Anything works in game and that is the only time I would recommend using any of these. Castform is useless in any other type of play.

Nah March 30th, 2015 7:26 AM

So I'm finally finishing up raising my Scarf Rock Head Tyrantrum, but in my laziness I didn't breed Ice Fang or Fire Fang onto it (did get Thunder Fang and Dragon Dance on it tho lol). And since I'm too lazy to breed and raise another one now, does anyone have ideas for moves? It's getting Head Smash and Earthquake obviously, and was kinda thinking about Superpower, but idk what else to do.

Detox March 30th, 2015 7:37 AM

Dragon Claw and Outrage are both viable options. A lot of people run some combination of Head Smash / [Dragon STAB] / Superpower / Earthquake and even Toxic on the choiced sets. The fangs are decent options, but I am sure people prefer other coverage options since they have such low base power.

PlatinumDude March 30th, 2015 7:50 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by King Syn (Post 8681236)
Dragon Claw and Outrage are both viable options. A lot of people run some combination of Head Smash / [Dragon STAB] / Superpower / Earthquake and even Toxic on the choiced sets. The fangs are decent options, but I am sure people prefer other coverage options since they have such low base power.

Outrage is actually preferred over Dragon Claw as without it, Tyrantrum has a hard time muscling past bulky Ground Pokemon.

Rednazella April 5th, 2015 9:36 AM

Goodra help?
 
Hey guys. Not sure if this is the wrong forum but I'm trying to breed a Goodra and I was wondering if anyone could give me some advice on how I should train it for competitive battle. Any advice helps! Thanks!

Mr_Nelsy April 5th, 2015 11:38 AM

Goodra is a natural SpD wall so thats most probably how it'll be built. So it would be a Bulky Special Sweeper.
So you'd want 240HP For Bulk. 252 SpA for obvious reasons XD and you'll want 16evs in Speed just so you can outspeed Azumarill and it's playrough which could be beneficial to the game.
You want Sap Sipper ability for Grass Immunity on your team. (Amoongus' Spore, Ferrothorn's Leech seed ect..)
Now the moveset.
Draco Meteor/Dragon Pulse - Draco Meteor is a OHKO on a Bulky Latias whilst Dragon Pulse is just under and is a 2HKO. However Draco Meteor will hit anything he switches in pretty hard aswell aslong as it's not a fairy type!
Fire Blast/ Flamethrower- Power vs Accuracy. Fireblast is OHKO on Ferrothorn whilst Flamethrower is again just under. Fire Blast would hit anything that switches in pretty hard too!
Sludge Bomb - For those annoying ass fairy types!
Muddy Water/Earthquake. For max coverage you got the debate between these 2. 2HKOs Most Heatrans even with Goodra having a modest nature but Muddy water is 97% chance to 3HKO Heatran after leftovers. However this is based on just a few mons. Have a play and see what move sets work for you.
And finally the item should be Assault Vest! To add to Goodras already Impressive SpD bulk!

Volga April 5th, 2015 12:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mr_Nelsy (Post 8692009)
Muddy Water

I agree with everything except for this. Surf is better imo.
Both are 90 BP, but Surf has 100% accuracy, while Muddy Water has 85% Accuracy.
Muddy Water does have a 30% chance of lowering accuracy by one stage, but I don't think that's worth the less accuracy.

PlatinumDude April 5th, 2015 12:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Volga (Post 8692044)
I agree with everything except for this. Surf is better imo.
Both are 90 BP, but Surf has 100% accuracy, while Muddy Water has 85% Accuracy.
Muddy Water does have a 30% chance of lowering accuracy by one stage, but I don't think that's worth the less accuracy.

The sad part about Goodra is that it can't learn Surf. Muddy Water is its best Water attack, I'm afraid.

GreenFlame April 5th, 2015 11:56 PM

What would be the best ability for this Mega Lucario set?

Lucario @ Lucarionite
Ability: ???
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Close Combat
- Bullet Punch
- Ice Punch/Stone Edge
- Iron Tail


I'm thinking either Steadfast or Justified because it will allow Lucario to switch into flinching or Dark attacks respectively and get a boost.

Mr_Nelsy April 6th, 2015 4:55 AM

Well when Lucario mega evolves his ability changes to adaptability anyway. But I'd go with the either Inner Focus or Justified rather than steadfast for definite. As Lucarios fast enough anyway and Steadfast doesn't prevent flinching. So first turn you could just hit away without the worry of Fake out and then the turn after Mega evolve. <- Thats for Inner Focus. Justified could become very handy when your opponent's using Mons' like T-Tar/Bisharp which are both very common in todays metagame. It's more of a personal preference thing but it would depend on what format I was playing to which one I'd use. Inner Focus for doubles, Justified for singles.
Hope this helps

Mr_Nelsy

Khaotic Kebab April 6th, 2015 4:35 PM

Disclaimer: I'm not playing on Showdown, and I don't follow Smogon tiers or rules. Just to clear things up.

I've been playing around with a few ideas for Cleric Pokemon. I don't want to use Clefable, as it's stats are slightly underwhelming compared to my other choices, and since many people use it, they'd probably expect me to use it too and therefore know how to counter it. I considered Florges, but it'd hurt my team synergy as I already have a Special Tank in Goodra. So I'm thinking Aromatisse - It's fairly unexpected as nobody really uses it, it has superior stats to Clefable and has a great ability in Aroma Veil. Here's what I'm thinking:

Aromatisse @ Leftovers/Light Clay
252 HP, 252 DEF, 4 SP.DEF
Ability: Aroma Veil
- Wish
- Aromatherapy
- Protect
- Light Screen

Because of its ability, Aromatisse doesn't have to worry about Taunt/Encore, so it's free to fill its whole moveset with support moves. Some people recommend giving it Moonblast, but despite its nice SP.ATK stat, that's not really what I'm going for.
The defense EVs are for its own survivability, and it makes up for its lower SP.DEF with Light Screen - this also benefits my whole team, especially my already Specially Bulky 'mons like Mismagius and Goodra, and somewhat helps Avalugg with it's low SP.DEF. Aromatisse would hold a Light Clay to extend the Light Screen time. If Light Screen is replaced by Moonblast anyway, I'll sub in the Leftovers.
Lastly, the Wish + Protect + Aromatherapy combo is a no-brainer. Standard Cleric Moveset.

Any advice would be much obliged.

Zeffy April 6th, 2015 10:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Khaotic Kebab (Post 8694120)
stuff

Personally I'd go with Moonblast over Light Screen because you are basically setup-bait right now.

I'm not overly fond of Aromatisse because it's so... underwhelming. Have you considered Altaria/Mega Altaira? Audino/Mega-Audino? Blissey? Chansey? Vileplume? Togekiss? Granbull? Celebi? The list of 'mons that you could use that are potentially better than Aromatisse can go on, really.

PlatinumDude April 6th, 2015 10:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zeffy (Post 8694544)
Personally I'd go with Moonblast over Light Screen because you are basically Taunt-bait right now.

I'm not overly fond of Aromatisse because it's so... underwhelming. Have you considered Altaria/Mega Altaira? Audino/Mega-Audino? Blissey? Chansey? Vileplume? Togekiss? Granbull? Celebi? The list of 'mons that you could use that are potentially better than Aromatisse can go on, really.

Just saying, Aromatisse has Aroma Veil, which blocks Taunt and Encore entirely, meaning it's not Taunt bait and it can get away with running 4 status moves. Then again, Moonblast should be on Aromatisse so it won't be setup bait for a ton of things.

Zeffy April 6th, 2015 10:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PlatinumDude (Post 8694560)
Just saying, Aromatisse has Aroma Veil, which blocks Taunt and Encore entirely, meaning it's not Taunt bait and it can get away with running 4 status moves. Then again, Moonblast should be on Aromatisse so it won't be setup bait for a ton of things.

ehh i used taunt-bait as a catch-all term but yeah it still doesn't change the fact that there's a myriad of other better choices :)

GreenFlame April 6th, 2015 10:37 PM

I'm still not sure about ability for Lucario. I know I won't be using Steadfast, but I don't know if I should use Justified or Inner Focus. I'm leaning towards Justified because it seems more useful than Inner Focus when Lucario will be Mega Evolving anyway.

I'm thinking Inner Focus really can't help much if Lucario is Mega Evolving as soon as it's in battle, but Justified can help it switch into a Dark type attack, take the hit, get the boost and then Mega Evolve. Far more utility, so maybe I should go with that.

PlatinumDude April 6th, 2015 10:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GreenFlame (Post 8694578)
I'm still not sure about ability for Lucario. I know I won't be using Steadfast, but I don't know if I should use Justified or Inner Focus. I'm leaning towards Justified because it seems more useful than Inner Focus when Lucario will be Mega Evolving anyway.

I'm thinking Inner Focus really can't help much if Lucario is Mega Evolving as soon as it's in battle, but Justified can help it switch into a Dark type attack, take the hit, get the boost and then Mega Evolve. Far more utility, so maybe I should go with that.

Just stick to Justified on physical Lucario. Other than that, the ability doesn't really matter.

skyburial April 7th, 2015 8:26 AM

On the subject of Lucario, anyone ever tried it out with a support set? I created one because I needed Follow Me support on my VGC team and Lucario is the only Steel type that learns it, which appealed to me for team synergy.

Since the support move pool on this mon is top notch, I thought I'd see if anyone else had tried it. Turns out Smogon had a similar set to mine posted in their Gen V Dex:

Lucario @ Chople Berry
Ability: Inner Focus
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD
Careful Nature
- Follow Me
- Extreme Speed
- Drain Punch
- Detect

Mine is pretty similar:

Lucario @ Chople Berry/Leftovers
Ability: Steadfast
EVs: 252 HP / 28 SpA / 228 SpD
Calm Nature
- Follow Me
- Vacuum Wave
- Helping Hand
- Protect

It gets walled by Ghost types but I have 3 answers to Aegislash, 2 for Mega Gengar, and 3 for Support Gengar, and Sableye is not at all a problem for my team. What are your thoughts on this mon? It's actually doing surprisingly well on the ladder so far.

Juxapose April 7th, 2015 2:18 PM

Can someone explain how Bulk works?

Before you give me some dumb answers like:
"Defense reduces your physical damage"
"Special Defense reduces special damage"
"HP allows you to live through strong hits"

I will say that I already know all this. My question refers to how does bulk allows some Pokemon to survive 2-3 super effective attacks, while others can't.

I ask this because today I was involved in a battle between Conkeldurr and my Crobat. I have battled Conkeldurr many times in the past. One bravebird normally takes his HP down to 0 unless the opponent is using a Focus Sash (which happens a lot!) This time, I was only able to get his HP down to 20% which blew my mind! I checked Conkeldurr's bulk, and at 95 defense and 108 HP rate, this thing is pretty bulky. But why did this thing just take my hit like a champ while other times it diddn't?

I did win the battle, considering that Crobat put Conkeldurr to sleep and hit it twice. But why did this thing have so much more bulk than ANY other Conkeldurr that I have ever faced? And why even my bulkiest pokemon cannot take hits like other equally bulky Pokemon?

Nah April 7th, 2015 2:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Juxapose (Post 8695703)
I ask this because today I was involved in a battle between Conkeldurr and my Crobat. I have battled Conkeldurr many times in the past. One bravebird normally takes his HP down to 0 unless the opponent is using a Focus Sash (which happens a lot!) This time, I was only able to get his HP down to 20% which blew my mind! I checked Conkeldurr's bulk, and at 95 defense and 108 HP rate, this thing is pretty bulky. But why did this thing just take my hit like a champ while other times it diddn't?

I did win the battle, considering that Crobat put Conkeldurr to sleep and hit it twice. But why did this thing have so much more bulk than ANY other Conkeldurr that I have ever faced? And why even my bulkiest pokemon cannot take hits like other equally bulky Pokemon?

That Conkeldurr was probably running significant Defense and/or HP investment, which would let it live a Brave Bird. What exactly is your Crobat's set?

Juxapose April 7th, 2015 2:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zekrom (Post 8695721)
That Conkeldurr was probably running significant Defense and/or HP investment, which would let it live a Brave Bird. What exactly is your Crobat's set?

My Crobat is Jolly Nature with 252 Speed/Attack with Wide Lens (For accuracy). 31 IV to HP, Attack, Defense, Special Defense, Speed.

Nah April 7th, 2015 2:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Juxapose (Post 8695722)
My Crobat is Jolly Nature with 252 Speed/Attack with Wide Lens (For accuracy). 31 IV to HP, Attack, Defense, Special Defense, Speed.

Ah, that would explain it. Conkeldurrs in singles typically run an Assault Vest set, which has very little, if any, HP and/or Defense investment. Which is why your Crobat normally OHKOs them.

252 Atk Crobat Brave Bird vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Conkeldurr: 320-378 (91.1 - 107.6%) -- 43.8% chance to OHKO

But what you ran into is a much less common set that has a lot of HP EVs, maybe something like this:

252 Atk Crobat Brave Bird vs. 252 HP / 0 Def Conkeldurr: 320-378 (77.2 - 91.3%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

Damage rolls also kind of factor into things.

Juxapose April 7th, 2015 2:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zekrom (Post 8695733)
Ah, that would explain it. Conkeldurrs in singles typically run an Assault Vest set, which has very little, if any, HP and/or Defense investment. Which is why your Crobat normally OHKOs them.

252 Atk Crobat Brave Bird vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Conkeldurr: 320-378 (91.1 - 107.6%) -- 43.8% chance to OHKO

But what you ran into is a much less common set that has a lot of HP EVs, maybe something like this:

252 Atk Crobat Brave Bird vs. 252 HP / 0 Def Conkeldurr: 320-378 (77.2 - 91.3%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

Damage rolls also kind of factor into things.

This does make sense, except 1 thing. If Conkeldurr fails to invest in HP or Defense, then what stat (Other than attack) are they investing?

Nah April 7th, 2015 2:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Juxapose (Post 8695742)
This does make sense, except 1 thing. If Conkeldurr fails to invest in HP or Defense, then what stat (Other than attack) are they investing?

Special Defense. It has low Sp.Defense, so EVs+Assault Vest patch up that weakness.

Sebastian_Sommer April 8th, 2015 9:10 AM

Could someone please explain to me the limitation of 'infestation'? I ask because I was able to switch out my pokemon during a single battle even though they got hit by this trapping move. I checked my battle video several times and counted only three turns had passed before I switched.

PlatinumDude April 8th, 2015 9:21 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sebastian_Sommer (Post 8696940)
Could someone please explain to me the limitation of 'infestation'? I ask because I was able to switch out my pokemon during a single battle even though they got hit by this trapping move. I checked my battle video several times and counted only three turns had passed before I switched.

Were you using a Ghost Pokemon? Ghost Pokemon can escape the effects of trapping moves and abilities by switching out as of Gen VI.

Sebastian_Sommer April 8th, 2015 9:48 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PlatinumDude (Post 8696956)
Were you using a Ghost Pokemon? Ghost Pokemon can escape the effects of trapping moves and abilities by switching out as of Gen VI.

Well that made a lot of sense, I was using a mega banette during the battle which explains why I was able to switch out so frequently. Thanks mate! but I wonder why bulbapedia didn't mention this small detail about infestation?

PlatinumDude April 8th, 2015 10:00 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sebastian_Sommer (Post 8696991)
Well that made a lot of sense, I was using a mega banette during the battle which explains why I was able to switch out so frequently. Thanks mate! but I wonder why bulbapedia didn't mention this small detail about infestation?

Because the Ghost type article already mentioned that all Ghost Pokemon can escape trapping moves/abilities.

Sebastian_Sommer April 8th, 2015 10:02 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PlatinumDude (Post 8696999)

*sigh* seems like I will have to look at the typings first before looking at the specific moves. Thanks for the help!

GreenFlame April 15th, 2015 9:26 PM

What's a good EV set for this Calm Prankster Klefki?

-Thunder Wave
-Attract
-Swagger
-Foul Play


Yes, I know it's Taunt bait (especially against Special Attackers), but I don't really mind. It's mostly for Battle Maison.

PlatinumDude April 16th, 2015 7:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GreenFlame (Post 8709573)
What's a good EV set for this Calm Prankster Klefki?

-Thunder Wave
-Attract
-Swagger
-Foul Play


Yes, I know it's Taunt bait (especially against Special Attackers), but I don't really mind. It's mostly for Battle Maison.

Max HP/max Special Defense if you can't find any notable physical attacks that Klefki should survive with any defensive investment.

Howmander April 18th, 2015 4:33 PM

I am having a really hard time figuring out what ability to give Chatot. Tangled Feet, Big Pecks and Keen Eye all seem like kind of "meh" abilities, and even competitive sites seem to suggest all of them pretty evenly (which I read as "they're all equally bad") so I'm totally stumped. I've got a 5iv Chatot ready to start breeding (Boomburst, Nasty Plot, Defog and Encore egg moves, although I'll have to give up one of those because you lose 1 move as you level up in daycare) but I have no idea what ability to breed for (the final moveset will likely be Boomburst, Chatter, Heat Wave and Nasty Plot, Enocore or Defog, if that helps the ability suggestion any)

PlatinumDude April 18th, 2015 5:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Howmander (Post 8713780)
I am having a really hard time figuring out what ability to give Chatot. Tangled Feet, Big Pecks and Keen Eye all seem like kind of "meh" abilities, and even competitive sites seem to suggest all of them pretty evenly (which I read as "they're all equally bad") so I'm totally stumped. I've got a 5iv Chatot ready to start breeding (Boomburst, Nasty Plot, Defog and Encore egg moves, although I'll have to give up one of those because you lose 1 move as you level up in daycare) but I have no idea what ability to breed for (the final moveset will likely be Boomburst, Chatter, Heat Wave and Nasty Plot, Enocore or Defog, if that helps the ability suggestion any)

None of these abilities matter on Chatot. They're all situational.

As for moves, Chatot should use:
-Nasty Plot
-Boomburst
-Chatter
-Heat Wave
Nature: Timid
EVs: 4 Def/252 SAtk/252 Spe
Item: Life Orb/Focus Sash

Chatot needs Nasty Plot because it's not that strong unboosted.

Juxapose April 19th, 2015 4:04 AM

Okay, I got m hands on my own Suicune (Nicknamed Izelude), Modest nature. I really hate my opponents when they decide to use one against me, but since I've caught one, I figured I put it to good use and give opponents a taste of their own medicine.

So now need a recommended build for my Suicune. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

(Not to mention that with my own Suicune, I can use it against myself and teach me how to handle super buff tanks.)

Nah April 19th, 2015 4:26 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Juxapose (Post 8714438)
Okay, I got m hands on my own Suicune (Nicknamed Izelude), Modest nature. I really hate my opponents when they decide to use one against me, but since I've caught one, I figured I put it to good use and give opponents a taste of their own medicine.

So now need a recommended build for my Suicune. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

(Not to mention that with my own Suicune, I can use it against myself and teach me how to handle super buff tanks.)

Bold is the optimal nature, but since getting one with the perfect nature is annoying on cartridge we'll just work with that. The most common and one of the best Suicune sets is the ol' Crocune set:

-Suciune w/Leftovers
Nature: Modest (since that's what you got)
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 252 HP, 252 Defense, 4 Sp.Attack
Moves: Scald, Calm Mind, Rest, Sleep Talk

That's probably the stally Suciune you've run into before. Just watch out for stuff with Water Absorb/Dry Skin/Storm Drain.

Juxapose April 19th, 2015 4:46 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zekrom (Post 8714453)
Bold is the optimal nature, but since getting one with the perfect nature is annoying on cartridge we'll just work with that. The most common and one of the best Suicune sets is the ol' Crocune set:

-Suciune w/Leftovers
Nature: Modest (since that's what you got)
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 252 HP, 252 Defense, 4 Sp.Attack
Moves: Scald, Calm Mind, Rest, Sleep Talk

That's probably the stally Suciune you've run into before. Just watch out for stuff with Water Absorb/Dry Skin/Storm Drain.

Thank you, I'll put some thought into this.

One thing I keep finding involving Suicune is Toxic Spikes. Toxic Spikes is supposedly a Great counter against Suicune's threats such as special defensive walls. But in my experience with Toxic spikes, things didn't go well. Poison type Pokemon remove toxic spikes, and many special walls can just refresh toxic off (I do it all the time).

Any advice on the use of Toxic Spikes?

Nah April 19th, 2015 5:01 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Juxapose (Post 8714465)
Thank you, I'll put some thought into this.

One thing I keep finding involving Suicune is Toxic Spikes. Toxic Spikes is supposedly a Great counter against Suicune's threats such as special defensive walls. But in my experience with Toxic spikes, things didn't go well. Poison type Pokemon remove toxic spikes, and many special walls can just refresh toxic off (I do it all the time).

Any advice on the use of Toxic Spikes?

Tbh I have little experience with Toxic Spikes, so I don't have much advice for you on that. Sorry =(

All I can think of is to eliminate opposing Poison types before laying down Toxic Spikes. I don't really get why Toxic Spikes is supposed to be good against special walls when most of them carry some sort of status recovery or a teammate does like you said.

Idk maybe someone else can help you out with this one.

Juxapose April 21st, 2015 5:40 PM

New question: How does anyone use Landorus?

I have one, but Landorus seems to be way too slow, has that annoying yet common 4x weakness to ice, and despite being a Flying/Ground type it learns no Flying moves.

Any advice is appreciated.

PlatinumDude April 21st, 2015 6:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Juxapose (Post 8718514)
New question: How does anyone use Landorus?

I have one, but Landorus seems to be way too slow, has that annoying yet common 4x weakness to ice, and despite being a Flying/Ground type it learns no Flying moves.

Any advice is appreciated.

Landorus doesn't need a Flying STAB to function. Its move pool is just good enough for it to function well, offensively or defensively.

Landorus comes in two flavors: Incarnate and Therian.

The Incarnate form utilizes the Sheer Force ability to power up Earth Power (and other coverage moves that benefit from it) to powerful levels. However, cartridge users will have a hard time getting a hold of this kind of Landorus, as it's only obtainable via Pokemon Dream Radar (when the Therian genies captured there are turned to Incarnate form with the Reveal Glass, they'll have their Dream World/Hidden abilities). While it may seem tempting to use Incarnate Landorus with Sand Force, this forces you to run Pokemon that share its weaknesses to make that effective (Tyranitar and Hippowdon).

The Therian form of Landorus has the Intimidate ability, which is a major help against physical attackers. It's versatile; it can run offensive or defensive sets.

Here are possible move sets for both forms if you're interested:

Incarnate:
-Rock Polish
-Earth Power
-Hidden Power (Ice)
-Sludge Wave/Knock Off
Nature: Modest/Rash
EVs: 4 Def/252 SAtk/252 Spe
Item: Life Orb
Ability: Sheer Force

or
-Earth Power
-Sludge Wave/Knock Off
-Hidden Power (Ice)
-Stealth Rock/Focus Blast
Nature: Timid/Naive
EVs: 4 Def/252 SAtk/252 Spe
Item: Life Orb
Ability: Sheer Force

or
-Calm Mind
-Earth Power
-Focus Blast
-Psychic/Hidden Power (Ice)
Nature: Timid
EVs: 4 Def/252 SAtk/252 Spe
Item: Life Orb
Ability: Sheer Force

Therian:
-Earthquake
-Stone Edge
-U-turn
-Knock Off/Superpower/Explosion
Nature: Jolly
EVs: 252 Atk/4 Def/252 Spe
Item: Choice Scarf

or
-Stealth Rock
-Earthquake
-U-turn
-Stone Edge/Knock Off/Rock Slide
Nature: Impish
EVs: 252 HP/240 Def/8 SDef/8 Spe
Item: Leftovers/Rocky Helmet

or
-Stealth Rock
-Earthquake
-Stone Edge/Knock Off
-U-turn/Explosion
Nature: Adamant/Jolly
EVs: 72 HP/252 Atk/184 Spe
Item: Soft Sand/Earth Plate/Focus Sash

or
-Swords Dance
-Rock Polish
-Earthquake
-Stone Edge
Nature: Adamant
EVs: 56 HP/220 Atk/252 Spe
Item: Soft Sand/Earth Plate/Leftovers

(for the last set, you don't try to set up both boosts at once; you pick the boost based on the team you're up against; Rock Polish for offensive teams, Swords Dance for defensive ones)

Juxapose April 22nd, 2015 2:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PlatinumDude (Post 8718632)
Landorus doesn't need a Flying STAB to function. Its move pool is just good enough for it to function well, offensively or defensively.

Thanks for your advice. However knowing my Battle Spot cousins, these builds will not work. It's rather sad when the absolute hatred for threats like Garchomp, Dragonite, and Gliscor; Landorus never had a chance in battle. People laugh whenever we see it being used in Battle Spot, and even I have no trouble taking care of it. Only successful build I have ever seen is an Adamant choice scarf/bulk mix that outspeeds and sweeps anyone unprepared. Landorus may have a place with Smogon rules, but it looks like this Pokemon will remain in my PC box.

Besides, Landorus's intimidate can suck on an ice beam.

Last time I encountered one, it took a leaf storm to the face, and I lost respect for this so-called Legendary Pokemon.

PlatinumDude April 22nd, 2015 2:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Juxapose (Post 8719861)
Thanks for your advice. However knowing my Battle Spot cousins, these builds will not work. It's rather sad when the absolute hatred for threats like Garchomp, Dragonite, and Gliscor; Landorus never had a chance in battle. People laugh whenever we see it being used in Battle Spot, and even I have no trouble taking care of it. Only successful build I have ever seen is an Adamant choice scarf/bulk mix that outspeeds and sweeps anyone unprepared. Landorus may have a place with Smogon rules, but it looks like this Pokemon will remain in my PC box.

Besides, Landorus's intimidate can suck on an ice beam.

Last time I encountered one, it took a leaf storm to the face, and I lost respect for this so-called Legendary Pokemon.

Then you're using Therian Landorus wrong.

For Choice Scarf variants, you only bring it in after a teammate is KOed or on physical attackers. You don't bring it in on special attackers. Choice Scarf versions use max Attack/max Speed.

As for defensive variants, you only bring them in on physical attackers to weaken them.

For all Therian Landorus sets, switch as soon as it's up against faster special attackers. A good player never leaves Therian Landorus in against Pokemon that use Water and Ice moves (or powerful special attacks in general).

Juxapose April 22nd, 2015 10:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PlatinumDude (Post 8719874)
Then you're using Therian Landorus wrong.

For Choice Scarf variants, you only bring it in after a teammate is KOed or on physical attackers. You don't bring it in on special attackers. Choice Scarf versions use max Attack/max Speed.

As for defensive variants, you only bring them in on physical attackers to weaken them.

For all Therian Landorus sets, switch as soon as it's up against faster special attackers. A good player never leaves Therian Landorus in against Pokemon that use Water and Ice moves (or powerful special attacks in general).

I am not sure why would you say this considering I HAVE NEVER USED ONE. I have one, but it's untrained and burning a hole in my PC box since generation 5. And in Battle spot, they just plain suck in my opinion because nobody has trouble beating them.

PlatinumDude April 22nd, 2015 10:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Juxapose (Post 8720414)
I am not sure why would you say this considering I HAVE NEVER USED ONE. I have one, but it's untrained and burning a hole in my PC box since generation 5. And in Battle spot, they just plain suck in my opinion because nobody has trouble beating them.

I'm saying this because those people aren't using Therian Landorus right. It's mainly a check for physical attackers.

The overview of its revamp should sum up its good points nicely. Sure, it's for its OU analysis, but it should apply to Battle Spot as well:

Quote:

Landorus-Therian has become one of the most recognised faces of OU, and with its great versatility, utility, and noteworthy prowess both offensively and defensively it’s not difficult to see why. Landorus-T’s superb typing gives him immunity to Electric and Ground, two very potent offensive typings, as well as further providing resistance to Bug, Fighting and Poison. Landorus-T's defensive potential is also commendable, primarily his physically defensive capabilities which are further helped by his fantastic ability, Intimidate, which helps his abilities to perform physically defensive roles to soar. His incredibly high attack and very workable offensive movepool make him a potent offensive threat against many as well. This combination of Intimidate, offensive and defensive presence has allowed him to establish himself as one of the best pivots in the meta due to his ability to force switches with ease. To top it off, Landorus-T is very versatile, being able to successfully play various roles to fit almost any playstyle; offensive roles, defensive roles, revenge killer, defensive pivot, late-game sweeper, wall-breaker, are all great possibilities with Landorus-T.
Edit: here are its flaws as well, which can be addressed if you have the right teammates to take care of said flaws:
Quote:

While a diverse and effective Pokemon he may be however, there are still faults that do hold him down. Most notably his 4x weakness to Ice is the largest initial flaw many might see, this is problematic for Landorus-T due to the abundance of Hidden Power Ice seen on Electric type Pokemon who Landorus would otherwise counter or check much more effectively. His weakness to Water and no coverage in his movepool to effectively handle a fair many does leave him at a loss in a match-up against the likes of Keldeo, Rotom-W and Slowbro just to name a few. His speed tier has also fallen behind in the fast-paced OR/AS metagame; he does have quite a workable speed tier which is by no stretch useless, but it does often leave a lot to be desired in many situations. Finally, lack of any form of reliable recovery makes him much more susceptible to residual damage and he can be worn down considerably easier than other potential walls or sweepers.
While it is undoubtedly not a perfect Pokemon, Landorus-T's popularity is certainly a testament to its relatively low risk high reward nature and his versatility allows him to effectively function on almost any team.

Juxapose April 23rd, 2015 1:21 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PlatinumDude (Post 8720430)
I'm saying this because those people aren't using Therian Landorus right. It's mainly a check for physical attackers.

The overview of its revamp should sum up its good points nicely. Sure, it's for its OU analysis, but it should apply to Battle Spot as well:
Edit: here are its flaws as well, which can be addressed if you have the right teammates to take care of said flaws:

After reading the reviews, I can clearly say that this person who wrote this has no idea how the game works outside of Pokemon simulators. Once again, this Pokemon only works when you ban a whole bunch of stuff to Ubers and are facing others mainly of it's own tiers. But when you play in Battle spot where you have 3v3 as opposed to 6v6 singles, Landorus is now at a HUGE disadvantage where all the other pokemon who cover it's weaknesses are now reduced to a cornering contest. How many times did I corner a Landorus because it literally cannot switch because the other 2 teamates were already KO'd, and it was up against a speedy threat like Mewtwo or Greninja. In battle spot, it cannot hide behind 5 other Pokemon like in simulators like Pokemon Showdown. In Battlespot singles where there are no restrictions on what pokemon are up against, and you had no choice but to pick 3 Pokemon carefully out of the six you brought into the internet.

I also forgot to mention that since I do not play in Pokemon Simulators, other players have a much harder time getting a 6IV Landorus of any type legitly. Yeah, you can hack one in, but many legit players find that non breedable pokemon such as Landorus cannot perform at the same level as the ones used in the simulators. You can get a legit 6IV landorus, but it takes weeks of soft resetting to achieve that, and there are way better Pokemon that can be used in it's place such as Garchomp.

Nah April 23rd, 2015 4:02 AM

How does Flash Fire and Storm Drain work in doubles in regards to spread moves? Like let's say that I have a Pokemon with Flash Fire/Storm Drain on my side, and the opponent uses Heat Wave/Surf. Obviously the Flash Fire/Storm Drain 'mon will be unaffected and get the boost, but will it also prevent my other Pokemon from taking damage as well?

PlatinumDude April 23rd, 2015 7:24 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Juxapose (Post 8720598)
After reading the reviews, I can clearly say that this person who wrote this has no idea how the game works outside of Pokemon simulators. Once again, this Pokemon only works when you ban a whole bunch of stuff to Ubers and are facing others mainly of it's own tiers. But when you play in Battle spot where you have 3v3 as opposed to 6v6 singles, Landorus is now at a HUGE disadvantage where all the other pokemon who cover it's weaknesses are now reduced to a cornering contest. How many times did I corner a Landorus because it literally cannot switch because the other 2 teamates were already KO'd, and it was up against a speedy threat like Mewtwo or Greninja. In battle spot, it cannot hide behind 5 other Pokemon like in simulators like Pokemon Showdown. In Battlespot singles where there are no restrictions on what pokemon are up against, and you had no choice but to pick 3 Pokemon carefully out of the six you brought into the internet.

I also forgot to mention that since I do not play in Pokemon Simulators, other players have a much harder time getting a 6IV Landorus of any type legitly. Yeah, you can hack one in, but many legit players find that non breedable pokemon such as Landorus cannot perform at the same level as the ones used in the simulators. You can get a legit 6IV landorus, but it takes weeks of soft resetting to achieve that, and there are way better Pokemon that can be used in it's place such as Garchomp.

I hope you also realize that you can also conduct 6 on 6 battles on the PSS as well. Battle Spot isn't the only format available in Wi-Fi.

Now while I also realize that Battle Spot kind of limits the teammates that Landorus can utilize to cover its flaws, this doesn't automatically make it bad. You're still underestimating its versatility. 6 IV Landorus in-game doesn't really matter, IMO, as some people settle for IVs in the 20-31 range, like me. Special Attack also doesn't matter.
Quote:

Originally Posted by Zekrom (Post 8720713)
How does Flash Fire and Storm Drain work in doubles in regards to spread moves? Like let's say that I have a Pokemon with Flash Fire/Storm Drain on my side, and the opponent uses Heat Wave/Surf. Obviously the Flash Fire/Storm Drain 'mon will be unaffected and get the boost, but will it also prevent my other Pokemon from taking damage as well?

In the case of Flash Fire, your partner will still take damage on Heat Wave.

In the case of Storm Drain, the user will receive the Special Attack boost if its partner uses Surf, but Surf will still hit the opponents.

Lickage May 5th, 2015 4:46 PM

Kabutops
 
My Mega beedrill is suffering a lot from Gale Wings Talonflame so I was thinking of putting a kabutops in my team so I can also get rid of those pesky stealth rocks. just not sure how I should run the Kabutops. all tips welcome :)

Detox May 5th, 2015 6:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lickage (Post 8738085)
My Mega beedrill is suffering a lot from Gale Wings Talonflame so I was thinking of putting a kabutops in my team so I can also get rid of those pesky stealth rocks. just not sure how I should run the Kabutops. all tips welcome :)

If you're set on using Kabutops, I'd advise you to use it in rain, otherwise it will be a very iffy choice. The standard set for Kabutops is:

Kabutops @ Life Orb
Ability: Swift Swim
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Waterfall
- Stone Edge
- Rapid Spin
- Aqua Jet

Hope it helps.

Golurks Were Meant to Fly May 6th, 2015 5:53 PM

If someone (i.e. me) wanted to get back into competitive battling, where would be the best place to learn the current meta?

PlatinumDude May 6th, 2015 6:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sheerow (Post 8739397)
If someone (i.e. me) wanted to get back into competitive battling, where would be the best place to learn the current meta?

For starters, you can check out Smogon's main website and its forums.

Sirfetch’d May 6th, 2015 6:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sheerow (Post 8739397)
If someone (i.e. me) wanted to get back into competitive battling, where would be the best place to learn the current meta?

You can ladder but the lower part of the ladder is literally aids and you won't learn anything. It's really dependent on where you left off. If you haven't battled ORAS competitively you need to read up on the tier changes, banlists, threats etc. Smogon has some good guides.

Essentially just teambuild, experiment, and learn by trial and error. Pick a mega(broken ones are gardy, zards, and meta. other good ones are megados, mega sableye, mega zam, etc) and then build a team around it. Pick good supporting mons and just practice. ORAS is a fun meta but a really unbalanced meta.

Golurks Were Meant to Fly May 6th, 2015 6:17 PM

Thanks! I may look into coming back to battling after school is less cray cray.

Sirfetch’d May 6th, 2015 6:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sheerow (Post 8739443)
Thanks! I may look into coming back to battling after school is less cray cray.

Commday is Saturday if you want to spectate some tournaments and what not to get an idea of things. Also the PCL is going on and watching replays from that will give you a good idea :)

Khaotic Kebab May 8th, 2015 12:56 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zekrom (Post 8720713)
How does Flash Fire and Storm Drain work in doubles in regards to spread moves? Like let's say that I have a Pokemon with Flash Fire/Storm Drain on my side, and the opponent uses Heat Wave/Surf. Obviously the Flash Fire/Storm Drain 'mon will be unaffected and get the boost, but will it also prevent my other Pokemon from taking damage as well?

As far as I know, Storm Drain = yes, Flash Fire = no.

dr4g0nfru1t May 11th, 2015 8:46 AM

Where to begin? First Competitive Team
 
Which Tier best suits a beginner? What are the basics in making a successful and enjoyable team? How do I select which Pokemon to use? Which pokemon are most common in the meta, that I should be wary of? How do I know when my team is ready? Any and all help required and appreciated. ~_~

Oblox May 13th, 2015 6:21 AM

I've just bred a Lucario (non mega) for battle spot in game but i'm curious as to what moves would be recommended, currently she's as follows

Poledra, Jolly, 31/31/31/xx/31/31
Inner focus
Wide Lens (for high jump kick and Zen Headbutt/stone edges lower accuracy)
High Jump Kick
Extreme Speed
Zen Headbutt
Drain Punch

HJK seems nicer to me than close combat and wide lens makes up the deficiency, Extreme speed is good with its +2 priority and beats bullet punch as I'm not using mega.

Drain punch was to keep her topped up in health but she's probably a bit weak to need it too much so this can go, Zen headbutt was at the tutor so I picked that up too but that's not a definite keeper.

Was thinking Ice punch is nice to replace one of these and maybe earthquake/stone edge from reading some other movesets?

PlatinumDude May 13th, 2015 7:44 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Oblox (Post 8748915)
I've just bred a Lucario (non mega) for battle spot in game but i'm curious as to what moves would be recommended, currently she's as follows

Poledra, Jolly, 31/31/31/xx/31/31
Inner focus
Wide Lens (for high jump kick and Zen Headbutt/stone edges lower accuracy)
High Jump Kick
Extreme Speed
Zen Headbutt
Drain Punch

HJK seems nicer to me than close combat and wide lens makes up the deficiency, Extreme speed is good with its +2 priority and beats bullet punch as I'm not using mega.

Drain punch was to keep her topped up in health but she's probably a bit weak to need it too much so this can go, Zen headbutt was at the tutor so I picked that up too but that's not a definite keeper.

Was thinking Ice punch is nice to replace one of these and maybe earthquake/stone edge from reading some other movesets?

Zen Headbutt doesn't let Lucario hit anything notable. Close Combat is better over High Jump Kick because of its better accuracy; Lucario is frail, so the defensive drops don't really matter. Despite its frailty, Lucario can afford to set up Swords Dance on forced switches. It also lacks a way to reliably deal with Fairy Pokemon. Drain Punch isn't that strong when not boosted by Swords Dance, a power-boosting item, or an incredibly high Attack, things that Lucario doesn't have. Mega Lucario is better in every way in Battle Spot formats, but if you're not using it for whatever reason, fine:
-Swords Dance
-Close Combat
-Extreme Speed
-Crunch/Iron Tail/Ice Punch
Nature: Adamant/Jolly
EVs: 252 Atk/4 Def/252 Spe
Item: Life Orb/Lum Berry

Oblox May 14th, 2015 3:29 AM

Thanks for the help.

dopamine May 15th, 2015 11:52 AM

Help with evolving my shiny eevee
 
So I finally found the shiny eevee I was looking for after days of searching and over 999 encounters, and now that I have it I'm not sure what I should do with it.

It's a lv.25 male
Quirky
HA: Anticipation
IVs: x/31/x/31/31/x

According to an IV calculator I consulted it's Def. is also pretty high (28-30), it's HP is average, but it's Speed is pretty low.
It's a newly caught pokemon so it hasn't been trained at all, and its moveset as of now is pretty basic with the exception of one egg move: tickle.

What would you do?

Nah May 15th, 2015 12:09 PM

I'd say either Sylveon or Espeon. The Hidden Abilities on the other Eeveelutions are either crap, they have an arguably better normal ability, or their ability requires weather to activate (and it's simpler to not go with a weather related ability so you don't have to make a weather team). Sylveon gets Pixilate, turning it into a big offensive threat, and Espeon gets Magic Bounce, which is a really good ability in general. Sorta leaning towards Sylveon since the IVs you have work a little better for it than Espeon, but it's your choice.

2Fruit May 16th, 2015 4:33 AM

Is it a bad idea to have analytic Magnezone?
Magnezone @ Choice Specs
Ability: Analytic
EVs: 248 HP / 252 SpA / 8 SpD
Modest Nature
- Flash Cannon
- Volt Switch
- Hidden Power [Fire]
- Signal Beam

With a special attack stat of 393, boosted by choice specs and analytic together, coupled with it's low speed and good defenses and typing, it can hit extremely hard, but it loses out on magnet pull.

Is it really that good off an ability? My team isn't particularly weak to steel types. Actually, is it enough that people think I have magnet pull and don't bother trying to switch out?

Also, how are the evs and moves?

PlatinumDude May 16th, 2015 4:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by EvanGalea (Post 8752910)
Is it a bad idea to have analytic Magnezone?
Magnezone @ Choice Specs
Ability: Analytic
EVs: 248 HP / 252 SpA / 8 SpD
Modest Nature
- Flash Cannon
- Volt Switch
- Hidden Power [Fire]
- Signal Beam

With a special attack stat of 393, boosted by choice specs and analytic together, coupled with it's low speed and good defenses and typing, it can hit extremely hard, but it loses out on magnet pull.

Is it really that good off an ability? My team isn't particularly weak to steel types. Actually, is it enough that people think I have magnet pull and don't bother trying to switch out?

Also, how are the evs and moves?

It's actually preferable to have Magnet Pull over Analytic mainly because the former ability is Magnezone's biggest niche. Outside of hitting Celebi, Signal Beam doesn't really do Magnezone much, and other Grass Pokemon are hit by Flash Cannon anyway. It's better to have Thunderbolt over Signal Beam as a reliable Electric STAB that doesn't force Magnezone out. 84 Speed EVs are also ideal to let Magnezone outrun Skarmory, something that it counters very effectively:
-Thunderbolt
-Volt Switch
-Flash Cannon
-Hidden Power (Fire)
Nature: Modest
EVs: 172 HP/252 SAtk/84 Spe
Item: Choice Specs
Ability: Magnet Pull

Polar Spectrum May 16th, 2015 9:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by EvanGalea (Post 8752910)
Is it a bad idea to have analytic Magnezone?
Magnezone @ Choice Specs
Ability: Analytic
EVs: 248 HP / 252 SpA / 8 SpD
Modest Nature
- Flash Cannon
- Volt Switch
- Hidden Power [Fire]
- Signal Beam

With a special attack stat of 393, boosted by choice specs and analytic together, coupled with it's low speed and good defenses and typing, it can hit extremely hard, but it loses out on magnet pull.

Is it really that good off an ability? My team isn't particularly weak to steel types. Actually, is it enough that people think I have magnet pull and don't bother trying to switch out?

Also, how are the evs and moves?

I would say it depends on your situation and stuff, obviously in singles, especially if you need to deal with ferrothorn or other popular steel types promptly magnet pull is invaluable. Buuuut I would disagree in saying it's always preferable. Analytic is obviously gonna help it punch holes in things in conjunction with that set and choice specs, you just have to play it right. Expect switch ins etc. Trick room'd help yo. Doubles wise, I'm seriously battling a very similar analytic set without specs right now, literally as I type this and it's bothering things with its typing stabs and damage alone. So yeah; viable I'd say. Not fantastic but threatening at the least.

Nah May 17th, 2015 4:32 AM

So I happened to get this yesterday in a trade:

http://img1.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20141028021036/pokemon/images/e/e2/Garchomp_Mega_XY_Shiny_Sprite.gif
Garchomp (M) @ Garchompite
Level: 100
Ability: Rough Skin---->Sand Force
EVs: 4 Atk / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Naughty Nature
- Draco Meteor
- Earthquake
- Fire Blast
- Stone Edge

Yup, it came like that, even has all 6 perfect IVs. I understand that a +Speed nature is preferrable to Naughty, but Naughty's not bad and that's what I have to work with. I understand that it's not the best Mega out there and that the Speed drop sucks balls.
What I was wondering though was what would be the best way to make use of it in Battle Spot. Singles or Doubles (note that I already have a Garchomp for doubles running the standard VGC set but with Yache Berry)? Teammates? Tips for making the most of it in battle?

Garchomp is one of my favorite Pokemon and this just dropped into my lap so I thought that I might as well make use of it.

skyburial May 18th, 2015 8:42 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nah (Post 8754209)
So I happened to get this yesterday in a trade:

http://img1.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20141028021036/pokemon/images/e/e2/Garchomp_Mega_XY_Shiny_Sprite.gif
Garchomp (M) @ Garchompite
Level: 100
Ability: Rough Skin---->Sand Force
EVs: 4 Atk / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Naughty Nature
- Draco Meteor
- Earthquake
- Fire Blast
- Stone Edge

Yup, it came like that, even has all 6 perfect IVs. I understand that a +Speed nature is preferrable to Naughty, but Naughty's not bad and that's what I have to work with. I understand that it's not the best Mega out there and that the Speed drop sucks balls.
What I was wondering though was what would be the best way to make use of it in Battle Spot. Singles or Doubles (note that I already have a Garchomp for doubles running the standard VGC set but with Yache Berry)? Teammates? Tips for making the most of it in battle?

Garchomp is one of my favorite Pokemon and this just dropped into my lap so I thought that I might as well make use of it.

You want something to set up sand for it if you're going to use it in Doubles, and you'll need a lot of support, primarily speed control. It appreciates Tailwind and Follow Me! from Togekiss if you decide to run EQ over Earth Power. Otherwise, Clefairy or Clefable will be a good choice (Thunderwave recommended), with Suicune or Talonflame running Tailwind. The problem with running EQ is that it is hands down the most expected move on Megachomp. And that will probably lose you some turns to Wide Guard, etc.

Earth Power deals with certain threats more effectively:

252 SpA Mega Garchomp Earth Power vs. 252 HP / 4 SpD Mega Mawile: 152-180 (96.8 - 114.6%) -- 75% chance to OHKO

4+ Atk Mega Garchomp Earthquake vs. 252 HP / 0 Def Mega Mawile: 122-146 (77.7 - 92.9%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

4+ Atk Sand Force Mega Garchomp Earthquake vs. 4 HP / 0 Def Mega Metagross in Sand: 134-162 (85.8 - 103.8%) -- 25% chance to OHKO

252 SpA Sand Force Mega Garchomp Earth Power vs. 4 HP / 0 SpD Mega Metagross in Sand: 176-210 (112.8 - 134.6%) -- guaranteed OHKO

... I'd probably also run Rock Slide over Fire Blast and Protect over Stone Edge.

Juxapose May 21st, 2015 7:11 AM

Here goes something. . . Odd. A Gardevoir (Not mega, remember this) took a full blast of Iron Head to the face from a MEGA FREAKING STEELIX!!!!!!! And survived with no buffs to defence, and no help from Reflect or any item/move that lowers physical or steel damage. Can someone explain how? Note that Mega Steelix has 252 EV's to attack.

PlatinumDude May 21st, 2015 2:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Juxapose (Post 8760280)
Here goes something. . . Odd. A Gardevoir (Not mega, remember this) took a full blast of Iron Head to the face from a MEGA FREAKING STEELIX!!!!!!! And survived with no buffs to defence, and no help from Reflect or any item/move that lowers physical or steel damage. Can someone explain how? Note that Mega Steelix has 252 EV's to attack.

Normally, an Iron Head from a max Attack Mega Steelix (whether it's Adamant/Brave or a neutral nature), would've OHKOed the offensive Mega Gardevoir variant, but my speculation is that the Mega Gardevoir variant you were up against ran significant defensive EV investment, despite what you said. Bulky Mega Gardevoir is a thing, you know; it still has enough Speed to outspeed other walls like (Mega) Steelix:

Level 100:
252 Atk Mega Steelix Iron Head vs. 248 HP / 244 Def Mega Gardevoir: 266-314 (78.4 - 92.6%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

252+ Atk Mega Steelix Iron Head vs. 248 HP / 244 Def Mega Gardevoir: 290-344 (85.5 - 101.4%) -- 6.3% chance to OHKO

Level 50:
252+ Atk Mega Steelix Iron Head vs. 248 HP / 244 Def Mega Gardevoir: 152-180 (87.3 - 103.4%) -- 25% chance to OHKO

252 Atk Mega Steelix Iron Head vs. 248 HP / 244 Def Mega Gardevoir: 138-164 (79.3 - 94.2%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

Edit: Let me ask you a question: was the Steelix burned? The burn status halves the victim's Attack.

Level 100:

252+ Atk burned Mega Steelix Iron Head vs. 0 HP / 24 Def Mega Gardevoir: 192-226 (69.3 - 81.5%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

Level 50:

252+ Atk burned Mega Steelix Iron Head vs. 0 HP / 24 Def Mega Gardevoir: 100-118 (69.9 - 82.5%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

ShivaDF May 21st, 2015 6:48 PM

This is a very strange question, but I was wondering... how do I get a pokemon suspect tested? There's a pokemon I think should be in a higher tier than what it's in right now. I have five replays I've collected as proof so far. Who do I turn to with the replays? And will my opinion not be taken seriously unless I'm famously good at battling?

Emboar May 21st, 2015 6:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ShivaDF (Post 8761331)
This is a very strange question, but I was wondering... how do I get a pokemon suspect tested? There's a pokemon I think should be in a higher tier than what it's in right now. I have five replays I've collected as proof so far. Who do I turn to with the replays? And will my opinion not be taken seriously unless I'm famously good at battling?

You don't suspect test a Pokemon, Smogon does. If their tiering council or whatever sees a Pokemon as too overpowered for their current tier, then they will perform a suspect test.

Are you using the same team in all of these replays? If so, you're really going to want to find a way to counter this Pokemon, since it does a lot of damage to your team.

ShivaDF May 21st, 2015 6:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Emboar (Post 8761339)
Are you using the same team in all of these replays? If so, you're really going to want to find a way to counter this Pokemon, since it does a lot of damage to your team.

But I'm the one using the pokemon. Not my opponents.
Yes, I'm using pretty much the same team in all of the replays.

Emboar May 21st, 2015 6:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ShivaDF (Post 8761340)
But I'm the one using the pokemon. Not my opponents.

...what Pokemon is this?


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