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Ask a Question Thread - READ FIRST POST

ChaosBlizzard

Crit Happens.
Synchronize is a very poor ability. There are a handful of Pokemon that are immune to the status they use (Burns from Fire types, Poison from Poison types, Paralysis from Electric types), and Synchronize means Alakazam will still be affected by the status anyway. Magic Guard on the other hand prevents damage from indirect sources, and considering how frail Alakazam is, it needs all the survivability it can afford.

...Besides, it's not like Alakazam is very easy to switch in anyway. And Synchronize does not afford him an extra option to switch in. It's unreliable.

I think I phrased my reasoning poorly. I understand that the majority of the time, Alakazam is going to have to get a safe switch in and that he isn't bulky enough to switch into some kind of attack. Even when he isn't getting a safe switch in, only a small fraction of the time is the move he switches into going to be a status move versus a damage dealing move. That's why in the vast majority of cases, which ability he has for all of 1 turn before he mega evolves doesn't even really matter. But it seems to me that on those occasions where he can't get a safe switch in and the move he comes in on does turn out to be a status move, it would be better to at least try and inflict the same thing onto your opponent than to stay safe from it for one additional turn. Even if Magic Guard keeps him safe from it for the one turn he's an Alakazam, once he mega evolves he'll get Trace and will be effected by the status anyway. Magic Guard protects him for one turn, while Synchronize at least attempts to hurt his opponent. At least in the case of an Alakazam that is going to mega evolve as quickly as possible, why then is Magic Guard better?
 

McDanger

Well-Known Member
it allows you to come in with hazards up and not take damage, same with weather or status, most things that burn you cant be burned back, same with poison making synchronize near useless in competitive play
 

RifleAvenger

See you starside
What's a good way to get a team where lucario is viable?

While I don't think anyone here is going to build you a team, but Mega-Lucario is one of the best offensive pokemon legal in OU currently (if not one of the best ever). The issue is getting Lucario a switch in, as it is quite frail. One way to buy a free turn is through putting a foe to sleep, then switching in. At worst, they'll switch in a pokemon that threatens Lucario, in which case you can just switch it back out. At best, you get to mega-evolve set-up Lucario for free. However, the most reliable sleep moves (sleep powder, spore) got nerfed in this gen such that they no longer affect grass types. Another method is to use Wobbuffet or Gothetelle, utilizing shadow tag and encore/tricking a choice item respectively to lock the foe into a move that cannot harm Lucario. Switch in Lucario, and get a free turn to set-up.

Outside of somewhat gimmicky strategies like that, build a team with members that compliment Lucario. Include things that deal with and kill its checks, set up hazards and support. Rotom-W, for example, could be a good partner because it resists fire and is immune to ground, can have bulk Lucario lacks, and can burn or volt-turn on foes to help Lucario come in. It's also a counter to Talon-flame, a pokemon that can threaten Lucario.

Another method is to treat Lucario as a clean-up sweeper. Build the rest of your team around wittling the foe down as much as possible, then bring in Lucario after one of your pokemon dies (or you get a good chance to switch in) and rip through the weakened team. In fact, you always want to try and save your sweeper for when you've worn down the enemy's team. Trying to attempt a sweep too early, against a healthy foe, is asking for some check to come in and wreck your momentum. A team like this likes having heavy hitting pivots, pokemon intended to come in as a check/counter for something, hit the foe's switch in for decent damage, then switch out. Volt-turn cores do a good job of this since the attack itself switches you out, letting you keep momentum. Rotom-W, Genesect, and Landorus-T are good examples of pokemon that can form such a core. Volt-turn is by no means the only method though; pivots and pivoting are a staple of competitive pokemon.

Another method is Semi-stall, where you use a defensive core and stall tactics early on to cripple the foe, and then sweep using Lucario.

This may not be what you were looking for, but trust me, M-Lucario is so good it's not hard to find a place for it on a team. Regular Lucario is a bit harder to use, but the same principles apply.
 
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Ryohei

Shiny Hunter
What are the best movesets & abilities for :
-Mega Gengar TIMID?
-Mega Tyranitar ADAMANT?
-Mega Manectric TIMID?
-Mega Meditite ADAMANT or JOLLY?
-Mega Banette BRAVE + trick room?
-Mega Scizor ADAMANT?
? Do they need any eggmove?

Thank you for your opinions.
 

LexSuicune

Feraligatr Master
Guys, I want to try a Sun Team for the first time, but I'm completely new to the Metagame, started with XY tbh.

Here are the only Pokemon I've included so far:

Charizard Y, Leavanny, Volcarona, Rotom-H, Victini and Ninetales.

Can you guys help me recommend movesets and items for them?
 

McDanger

Well-Known Member
a pure sun team is often weak to a lot of threats, levanny is outclassed as a chlorophyll sweeper as well. As your team sits its destroyed by entry hazards, stealth rocks, so you should add a spinner or defogger. Also ask in the team building help thread in the rmt section and check the teambuilding guide as it breaks down styles and weather in XY
 

Regiultima

Rises with Magnetism
Would it be wise to reuse Infernape's standard Choice Band set from Gen V (will be posted below) or is there a better Jolly + Iron Fist set?

Infernape @ Choice Band
Jolly nature
Iron Fist
252 Atk, 252 Speed, 4 HP
- Fire Punch / Flare Blitz
- Close Combat
- Thunder Punch
- U-Turn
 

dewey911p

primus inter pares
Would it be wise to reuse Infernape's standard Choice Band set from Gen V (will be posted below) or is there a better Jolly + Iron Fist set?

Infernape @ Choice Band
Jolly nature
Iron Fist
252 Atk, 252 Speed, 4 HP
- Fire Punch / Flare Blitz
- Close Combat
- Thunder Punch
- U-Turn

I'm not really a fan of Choice items, I can't stand being locked into a single move. That aside, if you are going to use Iron Fist, you should at least have a few more punch moves. As it stands you have only one, maybe two. I would suggest at least adding Mach Punch. Personally I would get rid of U-Turn and just use a different U-Turn pokemon, but if you have a volt-turn team or something very particular you want for this pokemon you might find it better to leave it as is. You could also try Power-Up punch, it has the same BP as Mach Punch, gets an Iron Fist boost, and gives you an attack boost as well. Infernape already suffers from FMSS, though, so it really depends on what you want it to do and what other pokemon/moves your team has.
 

Zachmac

Well-Known Member
I'm not really a fan of Choice items, I can't stand being locked into a single move. That aside, if you are going to use Iron Fist, you should at least have a few more punch moves. As it stands you have only one, maybe two. I would suggest at least adding Mach Punch. Personally I would get rid of U-Turn and just use a different U-Turn pokemon, but if you have a volt-turn team or something very particular you want for this pokemon you might find it better to leave it as is. You could also try Power-Up punch, it has the same BP as Mach Punch, gets an Iron Fist boost, and gives you an attack boost as well. Infernape already suffers from FMSS, though, so it really depends on what you want it to do and what other pokemon/moves your team has.
No. Don't get rid of U-turn, not matter what.

First of all, it's pairs really well with choice items. Sure, it's locked into one move, which makes it easy to check, but that doesn't matter if your Infernape is swapped out. And secondly, it's just one of the best - if not the best - offensive moves to exist right now.

Generally, Infernapes run Life Orb, because it's a bit weak for wall breaking compared to, say, Terrakion, but it lacks in survivabilty that way, so Slack Off could be potentially an option over Thunder Punch if you try that. It may not seem like a frail Pokemon like that would get many chances to use Slack Off, but it could easily do that if it forces a swap out on things like Ferrothorn or Tyranitar that would be insane to stay in on it.
 
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akalani

New Member
I've been doing competitive battling for a while, but I've managed to avoid hidden abilities until now. I know that the best way to get them is through Dream World (which I don't have as I skipped Black/White) or the Friend Safari, but I don't understand how they work. Specifically, if I want a Flareon with Guts, then do I need to get an eevee with Guts, or do I want an eevee with its hidden ability Adaptability?
 

KillerDraco

Well-Known Member
I've been doing competitive battling for a while, but I've managed to avoid hidden abilities until now. I know that the best way to get them is through Dream World (which I don't have as I skipped Black/White) or the Friend Safari, but I don't understand how they work. Specifically, if I want a Flareon with Guts, then do I need to get an eevee with Guts, or do I want an eevee with its hidden ability Adaptability?

The latter. You want an Eevee with its Hidden Ability, such that when it evolves, its ability will change to Guts. Anytime a pre-evolution has its Hidden Ability, its evolution will also have its Hidden Ability, even if the ability changes upon evolution.
 
I'm looking to get into the competitive scene after many years of hiadus. ( I'm talking about red and blue kinda hiadus.... ) Whats the best way to obtain the best pokemon for competitive battles? Is it common for ppl to trade shinys for 5-6 IV pokemon, because id be into that.( Im not so good at breeding pokemon. Nor do i have a 5-6 IV ditto.) Feel free to pm me any helpful tips and whatnot. Thanks in advance.
 

Ryohei

Shiny Hunter
What are the best movesets & abilities for :
-Mega Gengar TIMID?
-Mega Tyranitar ADAMANT?
-Mega Manectric TIMID?
-Mega Meditite ADAMANT or JOLLY?
-Mega Banette BRAVE + trick room?
-Mega Scizor ADAMANT?
? Do they need any eggmove?

Thank you for your opinions.

Can someone please help me? Thank you.
 

ChaosBlizzard

Crit Happens.
I'm looking to get into the competitive scene after many years of hiadus. ( I'm talking about red and blue kinda hiadus.... ) Whats the best way to obtain the best pokemon for competitive battles? Is it common for ppl to trade shinys for 5-6 IV pokemon, because id be into that.( Im not so good at breeding pokemon. Nor do i have a 5-6 IV ditto.) Feel free to pm me any helpful tips and whatnot. Thanks in advance.

The fastest and most effective way is RNGing. When you get good at it, you can get literally anything you want in under an hour. It also requires comparatively fewer resources than any other method. However, it has a somewhat steep learning curve. Any time you see the pros play at stuff like VGCs, this is the method they've used to acquire their Pokemon.

The next step down from this would be breeding. It has gotten considerably easier in Generation 6 than it used to be in any previous generation, and you can also get mathematically better Pokemon out of it now. It takes more resources and way more time than RNGing, but it is still improving every generation by leaps and bounds.

Short of those two methods however would just be random encountering for usable Pokemon. You almost definitely won't be able to get good IVs from this method, but if you don't care about that and are only after getting the right species, ability and nature, then this method actually could work out for you. It will take a long time if you don't have a Synchronizer, and it will get you significantly worse results in terms of stats, but it is a possibility.

Basically, you can improve quality and lessen the amount of time it takes by doing things that are a little harder, or you can lessen quality and increase the time it takes by doing things a more brute force way. Where you choose to go on the number line depends on you.

Can someone please help me? Thank you.

I've seen you posting variations on this question several times now. There's a site called Smogon that does very detailed, in-depths analyses of virtually every competitive Pokemon, and the megas are no exception. If you want to just know the standard set for whatever Pokemon, you can find your answer in about 10 seconds by just googling "smogon <name of Pokemon> xy analysis". Smogon is considered the central hub of the competitive Pokemon scene, and it's an excellent place to get a launching off point for figuring out what set you want to run. It will save you a lot of time to just look there.
 
What are some good defensive pokemon to use with assault vest Tyrantitar in a defensive core?
 

Arceus500

Well-Known Member
Okay, I have a few questions:

1. Which is better, hyper offense, bulky offense or stall?
2. How common is Sticky Web
3. What is a good bulky offense core?
4. What is a good stall core?

Thanks in advance
 

BL00p

Active Member
I was breeding eevee's and hatched a shiny 5iv modest, run away, eevee a few weeks ago. It has the moveset yawn, charm, curse, and wish. It's been sitting in my PC box because I don't know what to do with it. I've done some research and this is a summary of what I found: Sylveon, umbreon, and vaporeon seem to work better as defensive pokemon, Jolteon is more reliant on speed, Flareon and leafeon are better suited as physical attackers or you could add some bulk on them, and espeon is useless without its hidden ability. That leaves me with glaceon.

But isn't glaceon also better with its hidden ability snow cloak?

I already have many other 5iv eevees that could fulfill the role of any of the eeveelutions. The point of using this shiny is to use my first competitively bred, shiny pokemon in battle. I don't want it to stay in my box of useless shinies. :(

If you have any suggestions please tell me. Also, if this is the wrong thread for this question, please direct me to the correct one.

Thank you! :)
 

BL00p

Active Member
Whoops. How did it double post? 0_o

Sorry about that.
 
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Playful Latios

@Soul Dew
WillieNelson said:
I just got a shiny, quiet, Analytic Magneton and EV'd it in HP and SpAtk. Should I keep it and use an Eviolite set or evolve it into Magnezone?

I would evolve it in this case. If you want to be using Eviolite, you really should be using a nature that boosts either Defense or Special Defense because then you get more out of the boost. Magneton also has more Speed so Quiet nature would defeat the purpose of it.

BL00p said:
I was breeding eevee's and hatched a shiny 5iv modest, run away, eevee a few weeks ago. It has the moveset yawn, charm, curse, and wish. It's been sitting in my PC box because I don't know what to do with it. I've done some research and this is a summary of what I found: Sylveon, umbreon, and vaporeon seem to work better as defensive pokemon, Jolteon is more reliant on speed, Flareon and leafeon are better suited as physical attackers or you could add some bulk on them, and espeon is useless without its hidden ability. That leaves me with glaceon.

But isn't glaceon also better with its hidden ability snow cloak?

I already have many other 5iv eevees that could fulfill the role of any of the eeveelutions. The point of using this shiny is to use my first competitively bred, shiny pokemon in battle. I don't want it to stay in my box of useless shinies.

If you have any suggestions please tell me. Also, if this is the wrong thread for this question, please direct me to the correct one.

Thank you!

If you are playing by standard rules and not Nintendo rules, Snow Cloak is banned because anything that raises evasion is. I'm going to say Sylveon would still work alright for it. Think of it as a small damage output boost. You need Jolteon to have max Speed because it can outpace Greninja and others.
 
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