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Single Rates Thread

Archstaraptor

Team Builder / RMT
Hey all just bought this game and plan to do something a little different then the norm.

Blastoise@Waterium Z/Leftovers?
Ability:Torrent
EVs: 252 Atk, 252 Hp 4 Sp.Def
Nature: Adamant +atk - spatk
-Aqua Jet
-Waterfall/Liquidation?
-Earthquake
-Rapid Spin/Bite?

I checked out blastoise, and saw his mega evolution is kind of, linear in what moves he should have i decided to ignore this for the sake of being different and am wondering if a physical blastoise can work rather then a special one, Its been a long time since ive played pokemon, i think pokemon black was the last one i played, but i intend to grind this game and have a really fun playthrough with my adamant blastoise! any tips would be appreciated in making this build alittle more effective as far as moves/nature Ev's. I thought of using work up as a move to slightly boost my attack as well but thats a little desperate? I know i havnt been in meta but im sure Rapid spin is a good move still vs the pros.
Fun idea! You could do all sorts of things with a different z- crystal. You have moves like Zen Headbutt, Dynamic Punch, Focus Punch, Earthquake, Ice Punch and Iron Tai, so a lot of scope to get some surprise KOs. I'd still be tempted to run at least one special move on this set (it'd probably be scald over liquidation/waterfall) just because Landorus-T is everywhere and killing / maiming it is nice. Rapid Spin is only necessary if your team has a considerable weakness, otherwise go nuts with slot 4(probably not bite though!Too weak and too slow to be worth it).Aqua jet is some nice utility that no one should really see coming.
 

NidokingJ

Addicted2Pokemon
Fun idea! You could do all sorts of things with a different z- crystal. You have moves like Zen Headbutt, Dynamic Punch, Focus Punch, Earthquake, Ice Punch and Iron Tai, so a lot of scope to get some surprise KOs. I'd still be tempted to run at least one special move on this set (it'd probably be scald over liquidation/waterfall) just because Landorus-T is everywhere and killing / maiming it is nice. Rapid Spin is only necessary if your team has a considerable weakness, otherwise go nuts with slot 4(probably not bite though!Too weak and too slow to be worth it).Aqua jet is some nice utility that no one should really see coming.
Man it’s been a while , I’ve beat the game completed the dex got my shiny charm and have been having a blast I’m at the point of just breeding battle mon now to play with friends, I appreciate your answer and I’m considering remaking a new blastoise, mine was fun for the play through but wasn’t any good, at all! I will try a special one another day, anywho I’m on to the next mon and would appreciate some feed back on him.


Garchomp@Rocky Helmet
Ability: Rough Skin
Nature: Impish
252 Hp 242 Sp.D 4 Atk
-Stealth Rock
-Dragon Tail
-Fire Fang
-Poison Jab

Keep in mind I’m not going for the ultra competitive garchomp your use to seeing I want to make a bulky annoying tank the main idea is impish nature with hp Evs and special D Evs to boost longevity with the remaining in attack. Impish to be able to take more hits allowing more damage from Ability/Item.
Stealth rock for more incremental dmg that combos nicely with stab dragon tail to shuffle teams and keep damage coming. Fire fang is for ice types and here for flinch/burn hacks, burning will keep the damage coming and the halving attack is a plus with my defense, poison jab is here for poison chance for even more continual damage and it even works on my weakness, fairies!
 

Archstaraptor

Team Builder / RMT
Garchomp@Rocky Helmet
Ability: Rough Skin
Nature: Impish
252 Hp 242 Sp.D 4 Atk
-Stealth Rock
-Dragon Tail
-Fire Fang
-Poison Jab

Nice idea!
Would probably steer away from fire fang if you're looking for residual damage and flinches, since Poison jab's poison rate is more likely and deals more residual damage. Ice types can be beaten passively using stealth rocks throughout the match. Fire coverage is only really useful for hitting scizor and ferrothorn ( by no means uncommon or pushovers though).

You want investment in phys. def over spec. def: increases amount of phys hits => residual damage. Garchomp doesn't really want to take special hits in the first place,so switch to another mon when under threat. You'll get more mileage using it exclusively against physical mons that can't deal much damage to you.

Run Earthquake instead of fire fang so you don't have to rely exclusively on residual damage to secure KO's!

You may also find it worthwhile investing in some speed instead of maxing defence - the faster you are when not using dragon tail the less damage you will take from mons slower than chomp but faster with some investment
 

NidokingJ

Addicted2Pokemon
Apologize for the incoming wall of text, but when theory crafting the mind does crazy things! New moveset here, mainly for doubles, would like some feedback;

Poliwrath!@Psychium Z
Nature- Adamant or Jolly
Ability- Water Absorb
252 Attack 252 Speed 4 Hp

-Hypnosis (Z)
-Wake-Up Slap
-Waterfall
-Bulk Up/Ice Punch/Rockslide

I always wanted to make this guy but never got around to it, I’m finally here to the point of making him. I contemplated a while between which ability I wanted to run because I was open to making a whole rain team based around him. It was either water absorb or swift swim, I had no interest in running damp.

I like wrath’s stats because hes naturally bulky, although no stats exceed 100 he’s still a beefy 90/95/90 in defenses. What I was worried about was his speed, because naturally he won’t be out speeding nothing that’s competitive, and in trick room 70 speed is a bit too high. This is when I thought of running swift swim double speed in the rain would make a whopping 140 base! Man that outspeeds pretty much anything unboosted! Then I thought about the hassle and shenanigans of getting rain up and keeping it up afterwards.

I looked at his second ability, water absorb, and thought an immunity and hp recovery for switching in on unsuspecting water moves? Or doubles surf/muddy water using teammates? Sounds like it can be a pain to play against.

I then looked at his moveset and realized this water/fighting type learns no good fighting moves!!! Not even a tutor drain punch is available. Man what can I do?! I saw wake up slap and thought, man this guy learns hypnosis why not give it a shot? And then it clicked Z Hypnosis can patch up his horrible speed, with a jolly nature max iVs/Evs after z hypnosis he boasts a 201 speed stat! Man, that’s fast enough to outrun a non-mega jolly Aerodactyl! I figured I would give it a shot.

I was thinking I would need adamant to be a little more threatening with my mediocre 95 base attack but then I thought why not use bulk up while they are asleep? Who knows, I want to test some to see which is better but with adamant nature after a z Hypnosis speed gets to about 180 something which is definitely not bad.

Anyways;
Waterfall is a reliable stab
Ice punch is coverage
Rockslide is for hacks flinches


Thanks for the read and don’t be afraid to tell me what you think! I’m open to suggestions.
 

EKZ1505

Well-Known Member
Apologize for the incoming wall of text, but when theory crafting the mind does crazy things! New moveset here, mainly for doubles, would like some feedback;

Poliwrath!@Psychium Z
Nature- Adamant or Jolly
Ability- Water Absorb
252 Attack 252 Speed 4 Hp

-Hypnosis (Z)
-Wake-Up Slap
-Waterfall
-Bulk Up/Ice Punch/Rockslide

I always wanted to make this guy but never got around to it, I’m finally here to the point of making him. I contemplated a while between which ability I wanted to run because I was open to making a whole rain team based around him. It was either water absorb or swift swim, I had no interest in running damp.

I like wrath’s stats because hes naturally bulky, although no stats exceed 100 he’s still a beefy 90/95/90 in defenses. What I was worried about was his speed, because naturally he won’t be out speeding nothing that’s competitive, and in trick room 70 speed is a bit too high. This is when I thought of running swift swim double speed in the rain would make a whopping 140 base! Man that outspeeds pretty much anything unboosted! Then I thought about the hassle and shenanigans of getting rain up and keeping it up afterwards.

I looked at his second ability, water absorb, and thought an immunity and hp recovery for switching in on unsuspecting water moves? Or doubles surf/muddy water using teammates? Sounds like it can be a pain to play against.

I then looked at his moveset and realized this water/fighting type learns no good fighting moves!!! Not even a tutor drain punch is available. Man what can I do?! I saw wake up slap and thought, man this guy learns hypnosis why not give it a shot? And then it clicked Z Hypnosis can patch up his horrible speed, with a jolly nature max iVs/Evs after z hypnosis he boasts a 201 speed stat! Man, that’s fast enough to outrun a non-mega jolly Aerodactyl! I figured I would give it a shot.

I was thinking I would need adamant to be a little more threatening with my mediocre 95 base attack but then I thought why not use bulk up while they are asleep? Who knows, I want to test some to see which is better but with adamant nature after a z Hypnosis speed gets to about 180 something which is definitely not bad.

Anyways;
Waterfall is a reliable stab
Ice punch is coverage
Rockslide is for hacks flinches


Thanks for the read and don’t be afraid to tell me what you think! I’m open to suggestions.

I think the set is good for something like the Battle Tree if supported well, but it might have more trouble in competitive formats like VGC or Smogon Doubles. You’re completely right about the speed, and although it’s outclassed as a Swift Swimmer, I think that’s still probably the best way to use it given the naturally faster threats it faces. Z-Hypnosis is really cool, but the two big problems I see with it are the terrible accuracy of the move itself (plus you won’t need the speed boost as much in the rain with Swift Swim), and the extremely common terrains of Tapu Koko and Tapu Fini blocking sleep. It can still be used against Zapdos, Lando-T, etc., but many of those threats give you other trouble, and you’re still risking the accuracy. For those reasons, I would suggest Waterium Z, as a rain-boosted Hydro Vortex can be very strong, or maybe even the fighting z move for Focus Punch (or Dynamicpunch?), though the fighting-type moves are potentially useless after using the z move.

So I think your spread is fine, and Adamant is ok if you go Swift Swim, but Jolly may be necessary if you keep Water Absorb. Protect is necessary for the last moveslot for competitive douibles (though you can probably get away without it in the Battle Tree or casual battles). I think Waterfall is a no-brainer, and then the remaining 2-3 moveslots (depending what you do with Hypnosis) can be filled by a fighting move, Ice Punch, Rock Slide, or Poison Jab, depending what coverage the team needs. I’m not sure Poliwrath has enough bulk/reliable recovery to have time to set up Bulk Up, but it could be worth a try!

Getting rain up shouldn’t be too much of a “hassle” with Poitoed (who has great support moves like Icy Wind and Helping Hand to boost a Hydro Vortex or something like that even more) or Pelipper, and there’s decent ways to set it up manually. If you stick with Water Absorb, I do think that Surf (Muddy Water does not hit a teammate) somewhere else on the team could be ok, but you really need a way to reliably handle things like Kartana and Tapu Koko for Poliwrath then.
 

NidokingJ

Addicted2Pokemon
I think the set is good for something like the Battle Tree if supported well, but it might have more trouble in competitive formats like VGC or Smogon Doubles. You’re completely right about the speed, and although it’s outclassed as a Swift Swimmer, I think that’s still probably the best way to use it given the naturally faster threats it faces. Z-Hypnosis is really cool, but the two big problems I see with it are the terrible accuracy of the move itself (plus you won’t need the speed boost as much in the rain with Swift Swim), and the extremely common terrains of Tapu Koko and Tapu Fini blocking sleep. It can still be used against Zapdos, Lando-T, etc., but many of those threats give you other trouble, and you’re still risking the accuracy. For those reasons, I would suggest Waterium Z, as a rain-boosted Hydro Vortex can be very strong, or maybe even the fighting z move for Focus Punch (or Dynamicpunch?), though the fighting-type moves are potentially useless after using the z move.

So I think your spread is fine, and Adamant is ok if you go Swift Swim, but Jolly may be necessary if you keep Water Absorb. Protect is necessary for the last moveslot for competitive douibles (though you can probably get away without it in the Battle Tree or casual battles). I think Waterfall is a no-brainer, and then the remaining 2-3 moveslots (depending what you do with Hypnosis) can be filled by a fighting move, Ice Punch, Rock Slide, or Poison Jab, depending what coverage the team needs. I’m not sure Poliwrath has enough bulk/reliable recovery to have time to set up Bulk Up, but it could be worth a try!

Getting rain up shouldn’t be too much of a “hassle” with Poitoed (who has great support moves like Icy Wind and Helping Hand to boost a Hydro Vortex or something like that even more) or Pelipper, and there’s decent ways to set it up manually. If you stick with Water Absorb, I do think that Surf (Muddy Water does not hit a teammate) somewhere else on the team could be ok, but you really need a way to reliably handle things like Kartana and Tapu Koko for Poliwrath then.

Hey there, thanks for the reply! After some thought, I’m glad I didn’t breed one up just yet and appreciate your feedback, Swiftswim does seem like the more reliable, safe way to go. I did not realize Hypnosis accuracy is dirt and didn’t get boosted by the Z crystal version. And there’s always a chance to get OhKo before I can even use the move to boost my speed!

Also did not think of the tapus blocking sleep that totally nullifies my whole set, and I don’t like that. Thanks for your help and I have now decided my Build;

Poliwrath@Fightinium Z
Ability- Swift Swim
Nature- Adamant
252 Attack 252 Speed 4Sp.D

-Focus Punch (Z)
-Waterfall
-Ice Punch
-Protect

I like the sound of a 1-time 200base power all out pummeling so I took it over dynamic punches 180 base power. Swift swim seems like the way to go so I might need to SoS a poliwag today, Adamant nature is strictly for the attack boost to pack the biggest punch possible. Waterfall reliable stab and flinch chance, Ice Punch covers weaknesses and kills dragons , Protect, because it’s probably the best doubles move to adjust match ups.

This looks a little more competitive to me, just had one question , do you recommend the full 252 Evs in speed ? Or can I get away with running less.

Thanks for your help have a good day!
 

EKZ1505

Well-Known Member
Hey there, thanks for the reply! After some thought, I’m glad I didn’t breed one up just yet and appreciate your feedback, Swiftswim does seem like the more reliable, safe way to go. I did not realize Hypnosis accuracy is dirt and didn’t get boosted by the Z crystal version. And there’s always a chance to get OhKo before I can even use the move to boost my speed!

Also did not think of the tapus blocking sleep that totally nullifies my whole set, and I don’t like that. Thanks for your help and I have now decided my Build;

Poliwrath@Fightinium Z
Ability- Swift Swim
Nature- Adamant
252 Attack 252 Speed 4Sp.D

-Focus Punch (Z)
-Waterfall
-Ice Punch
-Protect

I like the sound of a 1-time 200base power all out pummeling so I took it over dynamic punches 180 base power. Swift swim seems like the way to go so I might need to SoS a poliwag today, Adamant nature is strictly for the attack boost to pack the biggest punch possible. Waterfall reliable stab and flinch chance, Ice Punch covers weaknesses and kills dragons , Protect, because it’s probably the best doubles move to adjust match ups.

This looks a little more competitive to me, just had one question , do you recommend the full 252 Evs in speed ? Or can I get away with running less.

Thanks for your help have a good day!
I'm calculating everything for lvl 50 since that is what in-game battles typically are for VGC, Battle Spot, etc., so if you go on Showdown to play smogon doubles or anything else at lvl 100, you may have to adjust slightly.

I think there's a few important benchmarks to outspeed: Tapu Koko, Choice Scarf Modest Tapu Lele, and Scarf Timid Lele. To outspeed each, you would need 84, 156, and 244 speed EVs, respectively. I think Koko is the absolute minimum, but personally I would want to outspeed at least the Modest Lele, and really since Poliwrath's job is to outspeed everything to get big damage off, I would say to just outspeed the Timid Lele to be safe, but definitely test it out and see what you think for your team. Additionally, max speed will help you speed-tie Modest Swift Swim Ludicolo, which could be a threat depending on the rest of the matchup.
 

NidokingJ

Addicted2Pokemon
I'm calculating everything for lvl 50 since that is what in-game battles typically are for VGC, Battle Spot, etc., so if you go on Showdown to play smogon doubles or anything else at lvl 100, you may have to adjust slightly.

I think there's a few important benchmarks to outspeed: Tapu Koko, Choice Scarf Modest Tapu Lele, and Scarf Timid Lele. To outspeed each, you would need 84, 156, and 244 speed EVs, respectively. I think Koko is the absolute minimum, but personally I would want to outspeed at least the Modest Lele, and really since Poliwrath's job is to outspeed everything to get big damage off, I would say to just outspeed the Timid Lele to be safe, but definitely test it out and see what you think for your team. Additionally, max speed will help you speed-tie Modest Swift Swim Ludicolo, which could be a threat depending on the rest of the matchup.

I plan to outspeed everything I possibly could so the 244 speed iVs seems good to me that way I can dump the rest into one of my defenses, thank you I appreciate your help, and yeah me and my friends always play level 50s battles but we use 6 Pokémon rather then the 4.
 

NidokingJ

Addicted2Pokemon
Wonder why noone posts here? anyways, i got another set.
Doubles Moveset;

Crabominable@Electrium Z
Iron Fist
Brave
252 Hp 252 Atk 4 Def
-Bulk Up
-Ice Hammer
-Drain Punch
-Thunder Punch


Electrium Z to boost the non stab move of the bunch
Kind of a theme set with the iron fist ability, bulk up and 3 punches.
Brave Nature For trickroom
252 Hp for max Bulk 252 atk for max power 4 def for the bulk up benefit

Bulk up for the set ups, hopefully become a phsyical wall after a couple, or just boost attack since power of moves is a bit low.
Ice Hammer for strong ice , stab with iron fist boost.
Drain Punch for Recovery/stab with iron fist boost.
Thunder Punch for the famous Bolt/beam Combo, in Punch form! boosted by iron fist.
 

NidokingJ

Addicted2Pokemon
Caught a shiny impish Arbok


Rate my Arbok Moveset


Arbok@Black Sludge

Nature; Impish

Ability: Shed Skin

Evs: 252 Hp / 252 Sp.Def / 4Def


-Toxic

-Infestation

-Rest

-Protect/Coil/Stockpile


For singles and doubles
 

Archstaraptor

Team Builder / RMT
Caught a shiny impish Arbok


Rate my Arbok Moveset


Arbok@Black Sludge

Nature; Impish

Ability: Shed Skin

Evs: 252 Hp / 252 Sp.Def / 4Def


-Toxic

-Infestation

-Rest

-Protect/Coil/Stockpile


For singles and doubles
Hey, nice idea for a set. I'd argue that coil would be pretty worthless with no attacking moves on that set, seeing as only the defence boost is needed on the rest of your set. Can see protect working out,but you might not need it over rest.
Intimidate Arbok probably has better doubles utility.

A Potential variation you might want to consider that use coil would involve using an attack with a high bad poison/ poison chance instead of toxic, so you could use coil instead of stockpile and be less passive:

-Poison Fang / Poison Jab

-Infestation

-Rest

-Coil

Infestation can be replaced by another attack to help you hit ground or steel types harder if necessary.

Also despite the impish nature ( which is still a good nature to have for a coil set) I would recommend an EV spread of :
Evs: 252 Hp / 252 Spe
or in the second case:
Evs: 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Because the faster arbok is, the more likely it will be able to use coil before taking too much damage and rest, if you follow. In other words, the defensive investment is wasted if your opponents are going to outspeed anyways and damage you before you can accumulate boosts.
Hope this is useful!
 
Last edited:

Sceptile Leaf Blade

Nighttime Guardian
Go with Gunk Shot over Poison Jab on Coil Arbok. It hits significantly harder and makes no contact so you dodge stuff like Rocky Helmet, and Coil patches up its accuracy.
 
This is a team member for Black but the Older Gen Rate my pokemon is locked. So I'll give you a plan for a HA Leafeon:

Leafeon @ Heat Rock
Ability: Chlorophyll
Nature: Hasty (⬆Speed, ⬇Defence)
EVs: 252 Speed, 252 Attack, 6 SpD
Moves:
Swords Dance - Increase Attack for more damage
Sunny Day - Activates ability
Synthesis - For Immediate Healing plus heal more with Sunny Day
Leaf Blade - STAB move and powerful move
 
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