BW2 General Metagame Discussion Thread

Lavos

Banned deucer.
i wouldn't run bulky qd + roost volc without hurricane, stuff like terrakion is so prevalent and other double resists to fire/bug like dragonite and salamence are gaining steam again now that the lando-t craze is dying down...honestly i feel like most of the time the extra coverage that one more attacking move provides volc is far more important than having instant recovery, especially when the coverage move actually can nab you some hp like giga drain does. i know some people who swear by roost volc however
 
I'm thinking of running E-belt Volcarona because LO means it can be stalled out, whereas Lefties or E-belt prevent that from happening.
 
I'm thinking of running E-belt Volcarona because LO means it can be stalled out, whereas Lefties or E-belt prevent that from happening.
Just run Lefties or LO. Volcarona has pretty bad super effective coverage (so EBelt is basically useless but a set with Psychic/Bug Buzz/Fire Blast has perfect coverage on all but heatran.
The common coverage types Volcarona runs


Bug: Psychic, Dark, Grass
Fire: Ice, Bug, Steel, Grass
Rock: Fire, Bug, Flying
Ground:Steel, Rock, Fire, Electric, Poison
Ice: Ground, Grass, Flying, Dragon
Flying: Bug, Grass, Fighting
Grass: Water, Rock, Ground

Basically you get 9-10 super effective hits. But on neutral hits, ur walled.

Or if u run LO, just use Roost.
 

AccidentalGreed

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I'm thinking of running E-belt Volcarona because LO means it can be stalled out, whereas Lefties or E-belt prevent that from happening.
For some reason I read that as Electivire.

But yeah, there's much better options than even Expert Belt, since Volcarona's STABs won't gain you much super effective coverage by themselves, even with another coverage move put in. I would recommend using the Lum Berry, since this allows you to freely set up in fornt of Ferrothorn and the like freely without having to worry about them suiciding themselves to cripple you. Otherwise, Leftovers is another great alternative that doesn't exactly harm Volarona either.

I'm also surprised nobody's caught on and used U-turn on Thundurus-T at all lol
 

dcae

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For some reason I read that as Electivire.

But yeah, there's much better options than even Expert Belt, since Volcarona's STABs won't gain you much super effective coverage by themselves, even with another coverage move put in. I would recommend using the Lum Berry, since this allows you to freely set up in fornt of Ferrothorn and the like freely without having to worry about them suiciding themselves to cripple you. Otherwise, Leftovers is another great alternative that doesn't exactly harm Volarona either.

I'm also surprised nobody's caught on and used U-turn on Thundurus-T at all lol
I don't know why it isn't used more either. U-turn is actually a much better move than Volt Switch because you switch out no matter what. I've always used U-turn on my Choiced and EBelt Thundurus T's because the guaranteed momentum is much better than the risk of getting neutered by an Electric immunity. It also hits Grass types who like to switch in on Volt Switch for a decent amount of damage.
 
For some reason I read that as Electivire.

But yeah, there's much better options than even Expert Belt, since Volcarona's STABs won't gain you much super effective coverage by themselves, even with another coverage move put in. I would recommend using the Lum Berry, since this allows you to freely set up in fornt of Ferrothorn and the like freely without having to worry about them suiciding themselves to cripple you. Otherwise, Leftovers is another great alternative that doesn't exactly harm Volarona either.

I'm also surprised nobody's caught on and used U-turn on Thundurus-T at all lol
I use it! Love just tearing apart Celebi with U-Turn. Its so funny xD
 
anyone else appreciate just how boss toxic-stall gliscor is? soon as it can come in on something it is absolutely marvellous.
 

alexwolf

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Which Pokemon do you guys prefer for HO teams, TR Slowking or RD Kingdra? Both are good late-game cleaners and check rain teams. However, Kingdra can actually outspeed Pokemon without set-up, needs no set-up in rain, has better all-around coverage, and fairs better against sun. On the other hand, Slowking is one of the best checks to Keldeo offensive teams could ask for and can generally serve as a pivot in all stages of the game thanks to Regenerator (this is huge in comparison to Kingdra, which you usually try to keep safe until late game). It also has less trouble sweeping through rain teams after setting up TR, thanks to its ability to OHKO Pokemon such as Keldeo, Toxicroak, and Tentacruel, all of which can prevent Kingdra from cleaning if not sufficiently weakened. Finally, Slowking is less priority weak than Kingdra, thanks to HP investment and resistance to Ice Shard and Mach Punch, meaning it has much less trouble sweeping when priority users are alive. (Slowking also can act as a check to TR teams which usually trouble offensive teams, but this is really minor)

Both have its pros and cons and i feel that they are both equally viable options for HO teams, even though TR Slwoking is criminally underused and underrated compared to Kingdra (which is a bit underrated too).
 
shame that tr slowking has 4mss (it can only choose 3 out of surf/ice beam/psyshock/flamethrower/grass knot). also it's yet another keldeo counter that's pursuit weak... stick with kingdra if you're really scared of rain.
 

MikeDawg

Banned deucer.
I have seen a lot of Sigilyph high up on the ladder and they have been really hard to deal with

I know, crits and all, but as we know banking on hax (especially when there's such a small chance of it happening) is not a good idea nor a viable strategy, especially when being bombarded with super strong stored powers
 
I have seen a lot of Sigilyph high up on the ladder and they have been really hard to deal with

I know, crits and all, but as we know banking on hax (especially when there's such a small chance of it happening) is not a good idea nor a viable strategy, especially when being bombarded with super strong stored powers
Not letting Sigilyph set up is the best way to go. It isn't really that bulky or powerful without several boosts, so nipping it quick makes it a non-issue. Try Taunting it or hitting it hard when it switches in, that'll stop it pretty quick.
 
I guess it's prevalence is because it checks Lando without being too vulnerable to Tar.

In other news, sunstall is pretty good in this metagame. Virtual immunity to Scald hax and Keldeo spamming, not to mention Reflect Cress in Sun being the #1 most useful wall atm. All it's really missing is a good spinner.
 

Meru

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I guess it's prevalence is because it checks Lando without being too vulnerable to Tar.

In other news, sunstall is pretty good in this metagame. Virtual immunity to Scald hax and Keldeo spamming, not to mention Reflect Cress in Sun being the #1 most useful wall atm. All it's really missing is a good spinner.
Every Sun Stall I've seen always has glaring holes present in its teambuilding due to how much it has to overcompensate. It's dece but it's not anyyyyywhere near as good as you're hyping it up to be.
 

alexwolf

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shame that tr slowking has 4mss (it can only choose 3 out of surf/ice beam/psyshock/flamethrower/grass knot). also it's yet another keldeo counter that's pursuit weak... stick with kingdra if you're really scared of rain.
It's doesn't really have 4MSS, as it is supposed to be an anti-rain offense mon, so all you have to do is eliminate Ferrothorn beforehand and you are set. Also, unlike Kingdra, Slowking can serve as an early to mid-game pivot and actually provide defensive synergy to your team, without needing to keep itself healthy 'till late game in order to sweep, thanks to better bulk, HP investment, and Regenerator.

However, it is Pursuit weak which sucks, but if you see a Pursuit user in the opposing teram all you have to do is just wait to bring out Slowking until you can sweep (so play it like you would play any late-game sweeper and forgot its pivoting potential in early and mid-game.

Finally, Slowking is much harder to kill with priority due to better bulk and resistances to Ice Shard and Mach Punch, unlike Kingdra.
 

Bryce

Lun
Slowking's additional niche in being used as an early-mid game pivot seems especially useful in HO,being able to prevent a sac quite often resisting a lot of moves that common offensive pokes are revenge killed by and somewhat shaking off the damage via Regenerator.I haven't used TR Slowking yet but since on paper it seems on par with kindra for the role of anti-rain mon,Slowking could possibly be the superior choice.
 

Meru

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I know a lot of people are going to call this silly, but I've seen Leftovers Dragonite working out much better than Lum Dragonite lately. If you keep SR off, Leftovers guarantees a you have to incur a Multiscale hit, regardless of sand or hail. Even if you get hit with SR, there are a lot of revenge kills that Dragonite avoids just because it has 12% or even 6% more health. And that 6% health is the difference between your opponent OHKOing you vs. potentially eating a +1 Outrage.

Lum is still awesome just to set up on Sleep Inducers and not have your Outrage screwed over, but Leftovers has serious merit, and isn't as lolworthy as everybody things.
 

MikeDawg

Banned deucer.
I know a lot of people are going to call this silly, but I've seen Leftovers Dragonite working out much better than Lum Dragonite lately. If you keep SR off, Leftovers guarantees a you have to incur a Multiscale hit, regardless of sand or hail. Even if you get hit with SR, there are a lot of revenge kills that Dragonite avoids just because it has 12% or even 6% more health. And that 6% health is the difference between your opponent OHKOing you vs. potentially eating a +1 Outrage.

Lum is still awesome just to set up on Sleep Inducers and not have your Outrage screwed over, but Leftovers has serious merit, and isn't as lolworthy as everybody things.
Why did people think that leftovers was not a good item for it? Since multiscale is its main draw, it would seem like leftovers to alleviate sr damage/weak priority/sand would be the better of the two as long as you are careful around scalds and the like and don't care too much about the confusion.
 
What do you guys think is the best type of team for the current meta? I've been having some success (if you consider a rating of 1650 somewhat successful) with a offensive rain team but want to see if something else is better.
 
What do you guys think is the best type of team for the current meta? I've been having some success (if you consider a rating of 1650 somewhat successful) with a offensive rain team but want to see if something else is better.
Offensive weatherless or sand, depending on if one uses Scizor or Tyranitar, then all one really has to do is pair them with pokemon that love the things they pursuit (Breloom or Landorus for example for Celebi). Its a very straightforward and simple team style which is very effective in the current meta.
 
offensive sand. it's the least matchup prone of all the playstyles and it's consistently dangerous. there really isn't a way to "counter-style" it like you would with rain/sun.
 

MikeDawg

Banned deucer.
I've found sand stall(ish) to be much more dangerous than offense. With the standard offensive teams now it is nigh impossible to break through (damn jellicent). I decided to make one of my own just to see why there were so many around 2100 acre and they really do perform spectacularly, though it seems to be more prone to hax than an offensive team due to how vital rvery member is.
 
Typical sandstall gets utterly ruined by CBTar + Lando though and there isn't really a way around that. Every safe switch for Lando is SR + Sandstorm weak, or Pursuit weak. Agreeing that offensive sand is by far the most reliable in this metagame.
 
keldeo is a lot scarier when it's capable of switching moves. hydro pump/surf | secret sword | icy wind | hp bug @ wise glasses is the best set. expert belt also works but i like the 10% boost to every attack rather than 20% to only the ones who are super effective.
 

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