Ask a Question Thread - READ FIRST POST

[jesusfreak94]

Does anyone know if it has been confirmed that the Evo Stone works (or doesn't work) on Phione?

Also, any news on the new POTW?

 

[Evil X]

I have a question about pokemon simulators. Is there a good pokemon simulator for macs? I tried shody and pokemon online and both of them don't work.

 

[windsong]

Shoddy should work, provided you have Java, and PO recently released a Mac download, I think (I use a Mac and have both, and neither have ever been any trouble for me).

 

[cheeselord]

I've been wondering... do moves that hit all pokemon in the field (eg. earthquake) hit the pokemon that you (and your opponent) are not currently using in a rotation battle?

 

[d0nut]

Pokemon in rotation battles cannot be hit by any attacks including Earthquake. The only reason they are out is so that you can switch out to them without losing a turn.

 

[FireTheAbsolLord]

Well, quite a while ago I asked 'what would be a bulky fire type?' and now I'm back to see if anyone had any recomendations for me. Look in my signature and I will have something saying its my singles competetive team. Does anyone have a recomendation for me? A bulky pokemon that can learn multible types moves other then the Chansey forms, and a fire type. Keep it out of the same types as the pokemon in my signature please, unless its a double type that has few moves of the type already used. If anyone could help me with this, I would be very thankful because I haven't even started on the team. No Infernape, or Ubers, please.

 

[munchlaxboy]

Well, quite a while ago I asked 'what would be a bulky fire type?' and now I'm back to see if anyone had any recomendations for me. Look in my signature and I will have something saying its my singles competetive team. Does anyone have a recomendation for me? A bulky pokemon that can learn multible types moves other then the Chansey forms, and a fire type. Keep it out of the same types as the pokemon in my signature please, unless its a double type that has few moves of the type already used. If anyone could help me with this, I would be very thankful because I haven't even started on the team. No Infernape, or Ubers, please.

Torkoal. Has 70/140/70 defenses, and is capable of boosting both defenses. Can take Earthquakes with relative easy.

Strategy: http://www.smogon.com/dp/pokemon/torkoal

 

[FireTheAbsolLord]

Thanks! Finallly, a bulky fire type that isn't a legendary! Thank you so much!

 

[Luxrayess]

I'm breeding some Modest Riolus in prep for B&W, seeing that Riolu now gets access to Nasty Plot. (Woot!) Does anyone have a good moveset for a 5th Gen Special Sweeper Lucario?

 

[jesusfreak94]

I'm breeding some Modest Riolus in prep for B&W, seeing that Riolu now gets access to Nasty Plot. (Woot!) Does anyone have a good moveset for a 5th Gen Special Sweeper Lucario?

Nasty Plot/Shadow Ball/Vacuum Wave/Aura Sphere make a nice combo. AS and SB have perfect coverage together, and Vacuum Wave is priority, and trust me when I say that Lucario needs that. Personally, I think that the old SD sets are better, but if you really want to use Nastly Plot then give that set a try.

 

[Evil X]

I just got this adamant dratini with perfect IVs in attack and speed and I thought I should build a team around the dragonite choice band set on smogon. Can someone give me suggestions on good teamates for him?

 

[Kirbx]

Heatran takes care of steels that switch in on a dragon attack and takes ice beams.

 

[JRCxyz]

I know this isn't the easiest question to answer, or well, the shortest one. What are the main changes in the post-5th gen OU meta? I mean, more so than that, explanations of the most used pokes. I would appreciate that more than a meta breakdown (which I wouldn't mind getting, by the way). I have a general idea of how it is; Sandstorm and Rain are dominant. They have UberMole+Garchomp and Manaphy+Kingdra+Politoaed, respectably. Other than that, I know some of the most used pokes but an explanation of each would be cool to have. By the way, anyone who answers this, please give me their opinion on the 5th gen OU metagame. I personally believe it has too many overpowered stuff.

 

[Eaglehawk]

I know this isn't the easiest question to answer, or well, the shortest one. What are the main changes in the post-5th gen OU meta? I mean, more so than that, explanations of the most used pokes. I would appreciate that more than a meta breakdown (which I wouldn't mind getting, by the way). I have a general idea of how it is; Sandstorm and Rain are dominant. They have UberMole+Garchomp and Manaphy+Kingdra+Politoaed, respectably. Other than that, I know some of the most used pokes but an explanation of each would be cool to have. By the way, anyone who answers this, please give me their opinion on the 5th gen OU metagame. I personally believe it has too many overpowered stuff.

Hi JRCxyz!
Had to get that out of my system.

Anyway, for starters, Smogon released a new Smog dedicated to the Gen. V metagame. It has articles on the top threats of Gen. V OU as well as an analysis of Gen.V OU and LC metagames. Plus, it lists some Pokemon who will probably not make the OU cut. However, this is all before DrizzleToed and DroutTales was introduced, but because of Politoed's overall frailty and utter uselessness out side of instant rain, DrizzleToed will be less popular, especially when compared to Sandstorm, which can knock out Rain and probably kill Politoed, meaning that the rest of the teammates dependent on Rain are almost virtually useless. Anyway, here is what you asked for.

Main changes
- More weather oriented
- Offensive sand
- A new item that makes a Pokemon immune to Ground-type moves temporarily
- A new item that negates immunities, which means an unblockable spin.

Unfortunately, I can't tell you the most used Pokemon, simply because of lack of statistics.
Threat List
- Manaphy: Tail Glow is no +3 Special Attack. End of story.
- Garchomp: Same reasons as last generation.
- Landlos: Base 125 Att and 101 Spe, Access to Sand Power [Increases power of all Rock, Ground, and Steel moves], Immunity to (Toxic) Spikes and T-Wave.
- Roopushin: Base 140 Att; access to 101 Subs; movepool including Bulk Up, Taunt, Drain Punch, Hammer Arm, and Mach Punch.
- Shaymin-S: Same reasons as last generation.
- Deoxys (D,N,A,and S): Same reasons as last generation.
- Latios: Same reasons as last generation, only now with Psycho Shock [Special move: Inflicts physical damage] to hurt Blissey.
- Wobbuffet: Same reasons as last generation.
- Doryuuzu: Base 135 Att, passable bulk, Base 88 Speed; Ability Sand Throw [Doubles Pokemon's speed in sand]; immunity to Toxic and T-Wave; Access to Swords Dance
- Ditto: Ability Eccentric [Changes Pokemon who has this ability into opposing Pokemon], technically auto-Transform; Slap on a Choice Scarf and revenge kill.

My opinion is that Gen. V pretty much undid all of the crappy Pokemon Gen. IV gave us, and now with new moves, abilities, and items that will definitively change the metagame.

Me: what's your opinion on Gen. V?
Zapper22001: It's...interesting.

 

[Eaglehawk]

I know this isn't the easiest question to answer, or well, the shortest one. What are the main changes in the post-5th gen OU meta? I mean, more so than that, explanations of the most used pokes. I would appreciate that more than a meta breakdown (which I wouldn't mind getting, by the way). I have a general idea of how it is; Sandstorm and Rain are dominant. They have UberMole+Garchomp and Manaphy+Kingdra+Politoaed, respectably. Other than that, I know some of the most used pokes but an explanation of each would be cool to have. By the way, anyone who answers this, please give me their opinion on the 5th gen OU metagame. I personally believe it has too many overpowered stuff.

Hi JRCxyz!
Had to get that out of my system.

Anyway, for starters, Smogon released a new Smog dedicated to the Gen. V metagame. It has articles on the top threats of Gen. V OU as well as an analysis of Gen.V OU and LC metagames. Plus, it lists some Pokemon who will probably not make the OU cut. However, this is all before DrizzleToed and DroutTales was introduced, but because of Politoed's overall frailty and utter uselessness out side of instant rain, DrizzleToed will be less popular, especially when compared to Sandstorm, which can knock out Rain and probably kill Politoed, meaning that the rest of the teammates dependent on Rain are almost virtually useless. Anyway, here is what you asked for.

Main changes
- More weather oriented
- Offensive sand
- A new item that makes a Pokemon immune to Ground-type moves temporarily
- A new item that negates immunities, which means an unblockable spin.

Unfortunately, I can't tell you the most used Pokemon, simply because of lack of statistics.
Threat List
- Manaphy: Tail Glow is no +3 Special Attack. End of story.
- Garchomp: Same reasons as last generation.
- Landlos: Base 125 Att and 101 Spe, Access to Sand Power [Increases power of all Rock, Ground, and Steel moves], Immunity to (Toxic) Spikes and T-Wave.
- Roopushin: Base 140 Att; access to 101 Subs; movepool including Bulk Up, Taunt, Drain Punch, Hammer Arm, and Mach Punch.
- Shaymin-S: Same reasons as last generation.
- Deoxys (D,N,A,and S): Same reasons as last generation.
- Latios: Same reasons as last generation, only now with Psycho Shock [Special move: Inflicts physical damage] to hurt Blissey.
- Wobbuffet: Same reasons as last generation.
- Doryuuzu: Base 135 Att, passable bulk, Base 88 Speed; Ability Sand Throw [Doubles Pokemon's speed in sand]; immunity to Toxic and T-Wave; Access to Swords Dance
- Ditto: Ability Eccentric [Changes Pokemon who has this ability into opposing Pokemon], technically auto-Transform; Slap on a Choice Scarf and revenge kill.

My opinion is that Gen. V pretty much undid all of the crappy Pokemon Gen. IV gave us, and now with new moves, abilities, and items that will definitively change the metagame.

Me: what's your opinion on Gen. V?
Zapper22001: It's...interesting.

 

[Beastiken9]

Ok, with the pre evo stone, which would be better, max special defense dusclops, or max defense?

 

[jesusfreak94]

Ok, with the pre evo stone, which would be better, max special defense dusclops, or max defense?

More SpD is usually more beneficial, since you can just burn physical attackers with Will-O-Wisp, alleviating the need for Def EVs.

 

[ASB]

I have a huge question. (duh, i wouldn't be posting here otherwise.) Anyway, would sheer force cancel out secondary effects such as Belly Drum's huge HP loss, Flare Blitz's recoil, Thrash's confusion, and Superpower's attack and defense loss, or does it only cancel out positive effects? I know it cancels out life orb recoil, but what about moves like these? And what about Giga Impact? I feel like some of these effects must not be canceled out, because Darmanitan would be hyped beyond reason if they were. Flare Blitz would be 1,245 base power with Orb, STAB, Belly Drum, and Sheer Power, Giga Impact would be 1,037, Superpower would be 830, and Thrash would be 830 (though you'd probably be locked in for a few turns by Thrash, unless this is canceled out too). However, the same mechanics may not apply to Belly Drum as it isn't an attacking move. Confirmation on all of these moves would be greatly appreciated.

 

[d0nut]

I have a huge question. (duh, i wouldn't be posting here otherwise.) Anyway, would sheer force cancel out secondary effects such as Belly Drum's huge HP loss, Flare Blitz's recoil, Trash's confusion, and Superpower's attack and defense loss, or does it only cancel out positive effects? I know it cancels out life orb recoil, but what about moves like these? And what about Giga Impact? I feel like some of these effects must not be canceled out, because Darmanitan would be hyped beyond reason if they were.

Sadly it does not cancel out such effects. This tends to be a common question/misconception among newer 5th gen players. Things such as recoil, defense or other stat drops, (re)charge moves, etc, do not get the boost nor lose the negative effect since this is the moves PRIMARY effect not secondary. Secondary effects include a chance to inflict status on moves like Fire Punch, or a chance to flinch. Of the moves you mentioned, Flare Blitz actually does get a boost since it does have a chance to burn, though it still does recoil damage.

 

[ASB]

Good, because Hihi would be way overpowered if these effects were canceled.

Also, I have a question as to who I should add to my team to defeat Doryuuzu. When I realized that opposing Doryuuzu could decimate my team completely in a sandstorm, I decided that I needed something to prevent myself from meeting a swift end should my opponent switch in Mole. I didn’t really want to use Roobushin because he’s the pokémon that everyone else immediately turns to. This is for my 5th-gen only team, so plz don't suggest pokémon from other gens like Banded Azumarill.

Priority Abuser/SubSeeder
-#546 - Cottonee@Evolution Stone-

Relaxed (+Def, -Spe)
Mischievous Heart
12 HP
252 DEF
244 SDEF
Taunt
Cotton Guard/Protect
Substitute
Leech Seed

Here, I chose a pokemon that can annoy the crap out of mole by using the magnificent ability, Mischievous Heart. You may be thinking "OH MY GOSH! Why isn't he using Erufuun?????" If you are, allow me to explain to you how Monmen outclasses Erufuun in nearly every way imaginable. Its defensive stats are much higher when combined with Evo stone, its attack doesn't matter (if you use Monmen and/or Erufuun to attack, I'm laughing at you right now), the lower speed allows it to survive more Gyro Balls from the likes of Natty who frequently counters it (don't forget the MH makes speed pretty much obsolete), the lower HP allows it to regain "more" health from Leech Seed, even though it loses Lefties. This pokémon can be quite irritating, to put it quite mildly. If I need to explain priority Substitute and Leech Seed to you, you probably shouldn't be reading this . Cotton Guard guarantees that I can survive an X-scissor from even a +2 Doryuuzu. Here's how it goes: I use Taunt to prevent Doryuuzu from dancing, Cotton Guard reduces his damage to around 20% or Monmen's HP, Leech Seed and Sub up. Chances are he'll switch, and this will give me a chance to Cotton Guard a second time to get up to +6 (Defense gets up to 1,440). I'm not sure if protect would be a better option though. I could use it every other turn, allowing me to gain twice as much health back from Leech Seed. Any other ideas are welcomed as well.

Sash-Endeavor-Priority
-#567 - Archeos (Archie) Archeops?@Focus Sash -

Jolly (+SPD, -SATK)
Faint-Hearted -_-
252 ATK
252 SPD
4 HP
Endeavor
Quick Attack
Aerial Ace
Rock Slide

This guy has a niche in that he is the only 5th gen pokémon that can use both Endeavor and a priority move. Also, Donphan is the only other user of this strategy that can survive a sandstorm hit afterwards. Combine this with Sash and you can reduce Doryuuzu to 1 HP and KO him with Quick Attack The next turn. Unfortunately, the fine folks at GameFreak decided to halve this guy’s Attack stats when his HP is below half, so he can’t do much after that. The other moves are there in case I want/need to use him for something else. I’m pretty sure Monmen outclasses him, but hey, you never know.

So, which of these two pokémon would be better at stopping Excadrill in its tracks? Monmen or Archeos? If Monmen, what moves should I use? Kirk or Picard? Help please!