Hi there.
Research Week attempts to investigate Pokemon who have potential, be it in stats, movepool, or supporting their team, to serve as an innovative choice in today's metagame. These are Pokemon that, for the most part, remain relatively untested. I've selected 3 Pokemon I feel, with help from everyone else, could see use as they fill a particular niche. Perhaps the title is a bit of a misnomer; in fact, this installment (and perhaps future ones) of Research Week will continue as long as the discussion does, and that's where you all come in.
If you have anything to say about any of these Pokemon, please post about them! It doesn't matter if you've used them or have just faced them in battle, anything is fine (but please, do try them). Just be sure to back up your posts with good competitive reasoning!
Some rules:
-Be open-minded. Just because something looks shitty doesn't mean it is (or if it is, back up your reasoning).
-Test it! Get crazy. This is the one time where I'm going to encourage being gimmicky (to a certain point).
-Don't just think of the Pokemon itself, think of what it does well for a team and what the team needs to support it.
-Don't suggest Pokemon in this thread, PM me or VM me or find me and maybe I'll include it in the next one!
The title is both referring to the three Pokemon in our next research week, and the fact that not a day has gone by without someone asking me when it would get posted. Well, here. Without further ado, here are the three Pokemon we're looking at this week:
[pimg]12[/pimg] | [pimg]284[/pimg] | [pimg]570[/pimg]
Research Week attempts to investigate Pokemon who have potential, be it in stats, movepool, or supporting their team, to serve as an innovative choice in today's metagame. These are Pokemon that, for the most part, remain relatively untested. I've selected 3 Pokemon I feel, with help from everyone else, could see use as they fill a particular niche. Perhaps the title is a bit of a misnomer; in fact, this installment (and perhaps future ones) of Research Week will continue as long as the discussion does, and that's where you all come in.
If you have anything to say about any of these Pokemon, please post about them! It doesn't matter if you've used them or have just faced them in battle, anything is fine (but please, do try them). Just be sure to back up your posts with good competitive reasoning!
Some rules:
-Be open-minded. Just because something looks shitty doesn't mean it is (or if it is, back up your reasoning).
-Test it! Get crazy. This is the one time where I'm going to encourage being gimmicky (to a certain point).
-Don't just think of the Pokemon itself, think of what it does well for a team and what the team needs to support it.
-Don't suggest Pokemon in this thread, PM me or VM me or find me and maybe I'll include it in the next one!
The title is both referring to the three Pokemon in our next research week, and the fact that not a day has gone by without someone asking me when it would get posted. Well, here. Without further ado, here are the three Pokemon we're looking at this week:
[pimg]12[/pimg] | [pimg]284[/pimg] | [pimg]570[/pimg]
Butterfree is well known as being the prototype shitty early-game Bug-type However, in the last couple of generations, Butterfree has been getting more and more helpful tools to keep it somewhat competitive. With the physical/special split in DP, Butterfree got special STAB in Bug Buzz. It also got Compoundeyes in Gen 3, and Tinted Lens through the Dream World. Finally, it got Roost, and more importantly, Quiver Dance. Quiver Dance allows Butterfree to boost its Special Attack, Special Defense, and Speed once it has slept something, in order to smash through much of the metagame. However, it is still 4x weak to Stealth Rock, so be careful.
Unfortunately for Surskit, it loses that excellent Water-type when it evolves, instead changing into yet another Bug/Flying type. However, Masquerain has a few tricks up its sleeve. It too gets Quiver Dance, and is one of the only Pokemon with Intimidate in NU. It is also the only mon that can Baton Pass Quiver Dance to other Pokemon (in NU). For coverage moves, it gets Bug Buzz, Air Slash, and Hydro Pump, all of which are excellent moves. However once again, its stats are lackluster, and it is still 4x weak to Stealth Rock (and a lot of other types in general).
The newest Pokemon of the three, and the most different. Leavanny doesn't get Quiver Dance, but has high attack, good speed for the metagame, Swords Dance, Baton Pass, and did I mention STAB X-Scissor and Leaf Blade? Where Leafeon would be forced to use non-STAB X-Scissor, Leavanny can power through almost all of the bulky Psychic types and OHKO (or OHKO with Stealth Rock). However Leavanny is frail, and carries a nice 4x weakness to both Flying and Fire, both common types in the metagame, with no immunities like the first two.
