Moveset Help & Other Questions (FAQ in first post)

[Shiny]

Is there a compiled list somewhere of offensive moves I should be using in general?

 

[JolteonUsedOutrage]

So I love scrafty, and I get that its used completely differently in singles and doubles. In singles you want DDance Moxie Adamant scrafty and in doubles intimidate careful fake out scrafty, right? what is the best moveset for both of those?

 

[PlatinumDude]

So I love scrafty, and I get that its used completely differently in singles and doubles. In singles you want DDance Moxie Adamant scrafty and in doubles intimidate careful fake out scrafty, right? what is the best moveset for both of those?

Jolly is preferred on Scrafty as it would fail to outspeed +Speed Pokemon up to 105 base Speed after a Dragon Dance boost, which Jolly achieves:
-Dragon Dance
-Knock Off
-High Jump Kick
-Iron Head/Head Smash
Nature: Jolly
EVs: 252 Atk/4 SDef/252 Spe
Item: Life Orb/Lum Berry
Ability: Shed Skin/Intimidate

In doubles, Scrafty can run a nice Fake Out set as you already stated:
-Fake Out
-Knock Off
-Drain Punch/Low Kick
-Head Smash/Ice Punch/Protect/Detect
Nature: Brave
EVs: 252 HP/252 Atk/4 SDef
Item: Life Orb
Ability: Intimidate

 

[EternalSeekerX]

Hey guys,

So I started playing a hacked rom which just increases the level curve of the game to make it harder, and some pokemon learn different moves etc. Otherwise the game is as base as can be (i.e. legal). The game is set in a way that I should reach level 100 by E4 way before delta episode. I am looking for some team building hints, for in game, for some local battle with friends using similar rom hacks and as wi fi online (as the rom acts like my original ORAS cartridge.)

Right now I am thinking of running Blaziken, Milotic, Gardevior, Salamence but I don't know the last two. And my mega depends on whom I will be battling so the potential mega are blaziken, gardevour and salamence.

 

[Squirrelette]

Which is better for Kanto Classic?

Im going to take part in the Kanto Tourney and im wondering which Kangaskhan is better for battle.

1. Kangaskhan
-Level: 100
- HP: 351
- AT: 289
- DE: 197
- SP ATK: 104
- SP DEF: 196
- SPEED: 206
-Nature: Jolly
- Ability: Scrappy
Moves:
1. Return
2. Sucker Punch
3. Earthquake
4. Fake Out

OR

2. Kangaskhan
-Level: 100
- HP: 352
- AT: 289
- DE: 196
- SP ATK: 104
- SP DEF: 196
- SPEED: 306
-Nature: Jolly
- Ability: Inner Focus
Moves:
1. Double-Edge
2. Sucker Punch
3. Power-up Punch
4. Fake Out




thanks for any help :D

 

[Sirfetch’d]

I don't think Earthquake is very good on Kang,(though I am speaking for VGC experience so it might be better in this format, not too sure) I'd go for a Fighting move in that slot with Fake Out/Sucker Punch/Return or Double Edge as the other three moves. You also definitely want Scrappy as the ability so you can choose not to mega evolve and Fake Out Gengar if you are ever matched against one. So to answer your question, the first Kang is better but you might want to tweak the moveset a little!

 

[Don Daddio]

Can Anyone help? I can never win on random wifi matchups. My pokemon always seem to get one hitted by the other guy's pokemon and I barely cause any damage when I do land a move. It's driving me crazy I don't know why I'm so useless, what am I doing wrong? I always try my best but always lose :( can anyone please help?

My pokemon are:

LVL 100 Infernape holding Lum Berry. Ability Blaze
-Flare Blitz
-Flamethrower
-Close Combat
-Mach Punch
Nature: Modest
HP: 303 ATT: 225 DEF: 171 SPATK: 275 SPDEF: 159 SPEED:258


LVL 100 Salamence holding quick claw. ability intimidate.
-Fire Blast
-Draco Meteor
-Fly
-Earthquake
Nature: Careful
HP: 320 ATT: 314 DEF: 190 SPATK: 248 SPDEF: 221 SPEED: 251

LVL 100 Mewtwo holding mewtonite Y. Ability Pressure.
-Recover
-Psystrike
-Calm Mind
-Embargo
Nature: Modest
HP: 370 ATT: 243 DEF: 214 SP ATK: 393 SPDEF: 228 SPEED: 315

LVL 100 Absol holding Absolite. Ability Super Luck.
-Stone Edge
-Perish Song
-Sucker Punch
-Fire Blast
Nature: Mild
HP: 270 ATT: 330 DEF: 139 SPATK: 206 SPDEF: 145 SPEED:195

LVL 100 Blastoise holding rocky helmet. Ability Torrent.
-Surf
-Strength
-Hydro Pump
-Dark Pulse
Nature: Bold
HP: 310 ATT: 194 DEF: 256 SPATK: 197 SPDEF: 254 SPEED: 212

LVL 100 Lucario holding lucarionite, ability steadfast.
-Close Combat
-Dragon Pulse
-Me First
-Extreme Speed
Nature: Hasty
HP: 264 ATT: 282 DEF: 155 SPATK: 282 SPDEF: 175 SPEED: 281

 

[PlatinumDude]

Can Anyone help? I can never win on random wifi matchups. My pokemon always seem to get one hitted by the other guy's pokemon and I barely cause any damage when I do land a move. It's driving me crazy I don't know why I'm so useless, what am I doing wrong? I always try my best but always lose :( can anyone please help?

My pokemon are:

LVL 100 Infernape holding Lum Berry. Ability Blaze
-Flare Blitz
-Flamethrower
-Close Combat
-Mach Punch
Nature: Modest
HP: 303 ATT: 225 DEF: 171 SPATK: 275 SPDEF: 159 SPEED:258


LVL 100 Salamence holding quick claw. ability intimidate.
-Fire Blast
-Draco Meteor
-Fly
-Earthquake
Nature: Careful
HP: 320 ATT: 314 DEF: 190 SPATK: 248 SPDEF: 221 SPEED: 251

LVL 100 Mewtwo holding mewtonite Y. Ability Pressure.
-Recover
-Psystrike
-Calm Mind
-Embargo
Nature: Modest
HP: 370 ATT: 243 DEF: 214 SP ATK: 393 SPDEF: 228 SPEED: 315

LVL 100 Absol holding Absolite. Ability Super Luck.
-Stone Edge
-Perish Song
-Sucker Punch
-Fire Blast
Nature: Mild
HP: 270 ATT: 330 DEF: 139 SPATK: 206 SPDEF: 145 SPEED:195

LVL 100 Blastoise holding rocky helmet. Ability Torrent.
-Surf
-Strength
-Hydro Pump
-Dark Pulse
Nature: Bold
HP: 310 ATT: 194 DEF: 256 SPATK: 197 SPDEF: 254 SPEED: 212

LVL 100 Lucario holding lucarionite, ability steadfast.
-Close Combat
-Dragon Pulse
-Me First
-Extreme Speed
Nature: Hasty
HP: 264 ATT: 282 DEF: 155 SPATK: 282 SPDEF: 175 SPEED: 281

EVs for your Pokemon are more important than raw stats. By random matchup, do you mean Battle Spot or just 6v6 battling on the PSS? If you're playing Battle Spot, you can get away with two Mega Evolutions on the same team, since you only pick 3 Pokemon to battle and you can pick the Mega depending on the matchup. Also remember that each player can only Mega Evolve one Pokemon per battle, so it's not a good idea to have more than 1 Mega Stone on a team if you're doing 6v6 random single battles.

You need coverage moves on Infernape as it has a wide movepool and you're not taking advantage of that. Gunk Shot lets Infernape hit Fairy Pokemon harder, while Thunder Punch and Grass Knot let Infernape hit Water Pokemon without the defensive drops of Close Combat (the latter is also effective against Ground Pokemon):
-Flare Blitz/Overheat
-Close Combat
-Gunk Shot/Thunder Punch/Mach Punch
-Grass Knot/Hidden Power (Ice)/Thunder Punch/Mach Punch
Nature: Hasty/Naive
EVs: 100 Atk/156 SAtk/252 Spe
Item: Life Orb

Salamence's Mega Evolution vastly outclasses its regular counterpart, as it's stronger, bulkier, faster, and has a more reliable way of hitting Fairy Pokemon in Aerilate-boosted attacks:
-Dragon Dance
-Return/Double-Edge
-Earthquake
-Roost/Substitute/Fire Blast/Draco Meteor
Nature: Jolly/Adamant/Naive/Naughty
EVs: 252 Atk/4 Def/252 Spe
Item: Salamencite
Ability: Intimidate

or
-Draco Meteor
-Double-Edge
-Fire Blast
-Hyper Voice/Earthquake/Roost
Nature: Naive/Rash
EVs: 4 Atk/252 SAtk/252 Spe
Item: Salamencite
Ability: Intimidate

or
-Return/Double-Edge
-Substitute
-Toxic
-Roost
Nature: Jolly
EVs: 252 HP/4 Atk/252 Spe
Item: Salamencite
Ability: Intimidate

Or if you're not playing Battle Spot, you can just use Garchomp, as it's faster and has the ability to set up Stealth Rock when needed. Stealth Rock is a move that sets an entry hazard, which inflicts damage on Pokemon switching in to battle; how much is inflicted is based on how well that switch-in's type(s) take Rock attacks:
-Stealth Rock
-Outrage/Dragon Claw
-Earthquake
-Fire Blast/Swords Dance
Nature: Naive/Jolly
EVs: 252 Atk/4 SAtk/252 Spe
Item: Lum Berry/Focus Sash

or
-Stealth Rock
-Dragon Tail
-Earthquake/Toxic
-Fire Blast/Toxic
Nature: Impish
EVs: 240 HP/176 Def/92 Spe
Item: Rocky Helmet
Ability: Rough Skin

or
-Swords Dance
-Dragon Claw
-Earthquake
-Substitute
Nature: Jolly
EVs: 12 HP/244 Atk/252 Spe
Item: Leftovers/Salac Berry

or
-Draco Meteor
-Earthquake
-Fire Blast
-Stealth Rock/Stone Edge
Nature: Naive
EVs: 4 Atk/252 SAtk/252 Spe
Item: Life Orb

or
-Outrage
-Earthquake
-Stone Edge/Fire Blast
-Dragon Claw/Fire Blast
Nature: Jolly/Naive
EVs: 4 HP/252 Atk/252 Spe
Item: Choice Scarf

Embargo is a bad attack because it doesn't stop Pokemon from Mega Evolving and its effects are erased when the target switches out. Mewtwo should leave at least three of its moveslots open for offensive attacks to make the most out of its coverage:
-Psystrike
-Focus Blast
-Ice Beam/Shadow Ball
-Fire Blast/Taunt/Calm Mind
Nature: Timid
EVs: 4 Def/252 SAtk/252 Spe
Item: Life Orb

Absolve and Blastoise are terrible Pokemon without their Mega Evolutions. Since there's already fierce competition for a Mega slot on your team, a Dark Pokemon that can function effectively without Mega Evolving is Weavile:
-Knock Off
-Icicle Crash
-Ice Shard
-Pursuit/Low Kick/Poison Jab
Nature: Jolly
EVs: 252 Atk/4 Def/252 Spe
Item: Life Orb
Ability: Pressure

An example of a better bulky Water Pokemon to use here is Azumarill, as it hits a lot harder with Huge Power-boosted attacks:
-Waterfall
-Play Rough
-Aqua Jet
-Knock Off/Superpower
Nature: Adamant
EVs: 164 HP/252 Atk/92 Spe (Choice Band) or 240 HP/252 Atk/16 SDef (Assault Vest)
Item: Choice Band/Assault Vest
Ability: Huge Power

or
-Belly Drum
-Aqua Jet
-Play Rough
-Knock Off
Nature: Adamant
EVs: 92 HP/252 Atk/164 Spe
Item: Sitrus Berry
Ability: Huge Power

Note that the second set should be saved mid- to late-game.

Lucario has little use for Dragon Pulse, as its Adaptability-powered attacks hit very hard:
-Close Combat
-Iron Tail
-Extreme Speed
-Swords Dance/Ice Punch
Nature: Jolly
EVs: 252 Atk/4 SDef/252 Spe
Item: Lucarionite

or
-Nasty Plot
-Aura Sphere/Focus Blast
-Flash Cannon
-Shadow Ball/Dark Pulse/Vacuum Wave
Nature: Timid
EVs: 252 SAtk/4 SDef/252 Spe
Item: Lucarionite
Ability: Inner Focus/Steadfast

I don't think Earthquake is very good on Kang,(though I am speaking for VGC experience so it might be better in this format, not too sure) I'd go for a Fighting move in that slot with Fake Out/Sucker Punch/Return or Double Edge as the other three moves. You also definitely want Scrappy as the ability so you can choose not to mega evolve and Fake Out Gengar if you are ever matched against one. So to answer your question, the first Kang is better but you might want to tweak the moveset a little!

The Kanto classic is the old-fashioned 6v6 single battle format. All items are banned there.

 

[WingedDragon]

I am redoing this Prankster Liepard with 0 iv attack. Given how frail it is. Is it important to have 31 ivs in defense and sp defense?

 

[PlatinumDude]

I am redoing this Prankster Liepard with 0 iv attack. Given how frail it is. Is it important to have 31 ivs in defense and sp defense?

20-31 is fine. Liepard is frail either way.

 

[WingedDragon]

Given its frailty does it even matter if ivs are 20 or less excluding speed iv

 

[Shiny]

Would this be a viable set for Delphox?

Delphox @ Life Orb
252 Spd, 252 SAtk, 4 SDef
Modest Nature
- Psyshock
- Calm Mind
- Fire Blast
- Grass Knot

I got a shiny level 1 Fennekin via wonder trade and would love to use it.

 

[PlatinumDude]

Would this be a viable set for Delphox?

Delphox @ Life Orb
252 Spd, 252 SAtk, 4 SDef
Modest Nature
- Psyshock
- Calm Mind
- Fire Blast
- Grass Knot

I got a shiny level 1 Fennekin via wonder trade and would love to use it.

The moves are fine, but you're better off using a Timid nature with that set. With Modest, you should use a Choice Scarf set:
-Fire Blast
-Psyshock
-Dazzling Gleam
-Trick
Nature: Modest
EVs: 4 Def/252 SAtk/252 Spe
Item: Choice Scarf
Ability: Blaze

 

[Shiny]

The moves are fine, but you're better off using a Timid nature with that set. With Modest, you should use a Choice Scarf set:
-Fire Blast
-Psyshock
-Dazzling Gleam
-Trick
Nature: Modest
EVs: 4 Def/252 SAtk/252 Spe
Item: Choice Scarf
Ability: Blaze

Why does the nature affect which item I should give a pokemon? Honest question.

 

[RawrMonkey]

Why does the nature affect which item I should give a pokemon? Honest question.

Speed tiers. You're sacrificing outspeeding base 100s, as you usually would with timid, for a tiny bit more power (x1.1). Although power is important, speed plays a huge factor in viability.

In Delphox's case, outspeeding base 100s is better than a 10% boost in special attack. Life orb already gives you a x1.3 boost, so timid would be a "better" nature. But since you already have it modest nature, go with the choice scarf. You'll reach an even higher speed tier, outspeeding more threats and able to invest in a little bit of bulk after calculating what you want to outspeed.

Another example I can properly explain is Landorus in VGC(15). We usually used Adamant for scarf to outspeed it's threats and Jolly max speed for others as it outspeeds neutral Charizard and <=base 90s. max speed. It eventually got to a point where some used Jolly scarf for the Rock Slide flinch game, BUT THAT'S A DIFFERENT MATTER. :p

Delphox with scarf and neutral nature speed ties with Ninjask(2nd highest), if I'm poke-mathing right, so you have plenty of space to move speed EVs over.

But I have no idea what you're doing with this Delphox but hope it helps explain a bit about natures, items, and speed tiers.

 

[WingedDragon]

Why does the nature affect which item I should give a pokemon? Honest question.

Depends on what you want that pokemon to do for your team. Delphox has good sp atk but not so to great speed. A Timid will give Delphox a needed speed boost even if its just 10 %. Of you are running it in a trick room team you may wany to consider a quiet nature with 0 ivs in speed.

 

[Shiny]

Ohh I understand. Thanks for the input all!

 

[Oryxide]

Recommended Ev spread for Mega Scizor?

It's Adamant and has X-Scissor, Bullet Punch, Swords Dance and Ariel Ace.

I was thinking of sharing the EV's between HP and Defence, but after using it in the Battle Maison it gets outsped by a lot of Pokemon, so I was considering putting some into speed, but i'm not sure how many?

 

[PlatinumDude]

Not using Attack EVs with an Adamant Scizo is a waste. The overall bulky spread for level 50 Scizor to use is 252 HP/108 Atk/28 Def/116 SDef/4 Spe. However, if you want Scizor to hit as hard as possible, 252 HP/252 Atk/4 Spe is the spread to use.

As for your moves, Aerial Ace is useless outside of hitting Breloom and Virizion. If you're playing OR/AS, Bug Bite is superior to X-Scissor, as the former benefits from Technician, making it stronger than the latter after the Technician and STAB boosts:
-Swords Dance
-U-turn/Bug Bite/Superpower
-Bullet Punch
-Roost
Nature: Adamant
EVs: 252 HP/108 Atk/28 Def/116 SDef/4 Spe or 252 HP/252 Atk/4 Spe
Item: Scizorite/Life Orb/Lum Berry
Ability: Technician

 

[Howmander]

How EXACTLY does critical hits work? I know that no matter how many boosts the target gave to it's Def (for example) if you inflict a critical hit then all the boosts are ignored and it does the same damage it would have done if the target had done no boosts. That's fine, I get that, HOWEVER:

I recently read that ALL stat boosts are ignored when you inflict a critical hit, meaning that if I boosted by own Attack stat via Sword's Dance or whatever, if I THEN inflict a critical hit, then the boosts I gave myself are ignored and I inflict the same damage I would have inflicted if I never boosted at all. Is that true? (cause it certainly alters one of my strategies!) and if so, man that's a dumb mechanic where a critical hit does LESS damage than a normal (although boosted) attack.