Yeah, I mean Florges has a whole 2, I mean TWO more Defense when the higher HP only does a lot more then make up for that. Plus, look, my Attack is the same as Sylveon so I can easily become the worlds best physical sweeper.
The best way is not to throw that argument in, possible = possible no matter how you look at it so it will be taken into account.
Never said you shouldn't, I'm just saying that me personally will never bother since I can never count with any of those mons when I play any XY competitions, so getting used to them would be stupid on my part simply because to me showdown is for testing stuff that I would like to use in the cartridge, so if I can't use it in the cartridge or my chances are really slim, better not bother with it till I can actually get one (believe me, the second I get a 5 IV Heatran, I'll start using it actively).
At the very least, any pokemon you catch in XY that cannot be bred is guaranteed to have 3 perfect IVs, which makes it a ton easier for legendaries. I expect Z will add a bunch of old legendaries like B/W2 did.
We do have this Pokemon called Excadrill, don't we? That basically outclasses Forretress in rock laying and Rapid Spinning, while keeping an offensive presence. Forretress DOES get Volt Switch to grab momentum, though...
Yes, I mentioned klefki because of prankster, however Excadrill is a better offensive choice. Volt switch is as well another niche for forretress.
True, and this allows them to perform well on specific teams, but those are uncommon, and don't tend to work well. In the wide spectrum of the OU metagame, they are outclassed.
0 SpA Pixilate Sylveon Hyper Voice vs. 252 HP / 4 SpD Rotom-W: 129-153 (42.4 - 50.3%) -- guaranteed 3HKO after Leftovers recovery
Okay, this might come as a little bit annoyed, but do not say that he is utterly outclassed without giving a specific set and what outclasses him. Like say if you said compared to Infernape, I could understand as that makes a lot of sense with STAB Close Combat and higher speed, but to say he is outclassed by Entei is a little far.Doing this because I'm really amazed this Pokemon even manages to clock 2% usage:
Don't Use This:
Arcanine @ Leftovers
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SpD
- Flare Blitz
- ExtremeSpeed
- Close Combat
- Wild Charge
Basically took a look at the moveset statistics to see what the most common set was. Anyways, the fact that this thing manages to even get 2% usage is astonishing. I can see the appeal this thing has; it has a nice Attack stat, a somewhat usable Speed, and okay bulk along with good coverage. However, this isn't enough to justify using Arcanine over any Fire-type available. It can hit fairly hard, but it's a lackluster choice compared to other Fire-types available, especially Entei, Infernape, Mega Charizard X, etc. Yes, it has Close Combat and Wild Charge for Rock- and Water-types, but that isn't something the other Fire-types can't do (other than Talonflame I guess). Intimidate is cool, but not so much on Arcanine, since its defensive typing is rather poor, and most physical attackers have a way to hit it really hard.
Instead, use:
I could make a whole list here but I shouldn't because Arcanine is outclassed by so many things. In other words, if you want a Fire-type, there are plenty of other choices that are better than it. Entei has Sacred Fire, and the high burn chance is neat, while it also has the lovely ExtremeSpeed that Arcanine has. Infernape has good power and Close Combat, making it a better Pokemon than Arcanine in every way. There's also Mega Charizard X, who has Outrage and Dragon Dance along with Tough Claws so it's much more lethal than Arcanine. Talonflame has Gale Wings Brave Bird and U-turn and its revenge killing role makes it a better mon than Arcanine. You should probably get my point by now. There is simply no reason to use Arcanine over any of these Fire-types in OU. Everything Arcanine does, something else can already accomplish or even do it better.
You're dead wrong there. There's one very, very important target that Mega Mawile will want to have Iron Head for.Don't use this:
Mawile @ Mawilite
Ability: Intimidate / Hyper Cutter
EVs: 132 HP / 252 Atk / 124 Spd
Adamant Nature
- Play Rough
- Sucker Punch
- Iron Head
- Substitute / Swords Dance
Why it's bad: It's not exactly bad, but its inferior to having other attacks over Iron Head. While Iron Head might be tempting as a perfectly accurate STAB for Mawile, it simply does not provide enough coverage for Mawile alongside Play Rough and Sucker Punch. Iron Head hits Fairies and Ice types hard, but Play Rough is enough to 1-2HKO them anyway, especially when they can't really do much in return to Mawile. Rock types seen in OU are only limited to Tyranitar and Terrakion, which are also hit SE by Play Rough.
Instead, use this:
Mawile @ Mawilite
Ability: Intimidate / Hyper Cutter
EVs: 132 HP / 252 Atk / 124 Spd
Adamant Nature
- Play Rough
- Sucker Punch
- Fire Fang / Brick Break / Focus Punch
- Substitute / Swords Dance
Why it's better: As illustrated, Mawile doesn't really need to hit a target for SE to kill or dent them; having better coverage is usually better. The safest checks for Mawile are Steel or Fire types types which means we want something that hits them hard. Heatran, Ferrothorn, Skarmory are the few viable physical Fairy resists in the tier, so we want our 3rd slot to KO them. Fire Fang hits the latter 2 hard, whereas Brick Break dispatches the former 2. Focus Punch is also an option if running Substitute for anything that is not outright immune is almost OHKOed right away.
Nope, that's a bad set. Never mind that Dragonite wouldn't stay in on Greninja unless it was being sacked or had a way around it via prior Dragon Dances or Extremespeed, Protean is pretty much the only thing that keeps Greninja from being totally outclassed by the likes of Starmie, Scarf Keldeo, and Scarf Rotom-W, and the only case when this would actually come in to play is if they happen to have Scizor, the only common user of Bullet Punch, and aren't paying attention to the lack of Protean text. Stay away from Torrent.
You forgot to give a Relaxed nature for Mega venusaur, which only grants a <1% chance (0.4% to be exact) of 2HKO while Mega Venusaur clearly outspeeds and has a good chance to 2HKO with EQ. Focus Punch is definitely still viable if you can predict a switch and get a Sub up, allowing you to defeat a lot of steels that like to switch in on it, while also brings about a lot of mindgames with Sucker Punch. There is a reason why Focus Punch at least got a mention in other options in the analysis, while Iron Head didn't even appear in it. The merits of possibly beating Venusaur is not worth losing to Ferrothorn, Skarmory and/or Heatran, which you could have a good chance of beating otherwise. I'm not saying Iron Head is not viable, but losing out beating at least 2 of your checks to have a lower than 1% chance to beat Venusaur is not worth it . After all, this thread is not about pointing out unviable sets, but rather pointing out when a set is outclassed by another.
I would also add that this outclasses Jolteon (if you are not using a mega on your team):Don't use this:
Jolteon @ Choice Specs / Life Orb
Ability: Volt Absorb
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Thunderbolt
- Volt Switch
- Shadow Ball
- Hidden Power Ice / Signal Beam
Why it's bad: With many Pokemon introduced, revamped, or brought back to OU, most with far better stats, abilities, and movepools than seen before, Jolteon's main niche, a fast 130 base speed, is no longer as exclusive as it was before. Furthermore, the lack of permanent rain has severely undermined Jolteon's power by preventing it from spamming Thunder. With a severely lacking base 110 Special Attack, extremely thin defenses, and one of the worst STABs to be locked into, Jolteon can no longer find a place in OU, and using it is often only a liability to the rest of your team.
Instead, use this:
Thundurus @ Life Orb
Ability: Prankster
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid / Naive Nature
- Thunder Wave
- Thunderbolt
- Focus Blast / U-turn
- Hidden Power Ice / U-turn
Why it's better: Thundurus carries not only a substantially higher Special Attack stat, but an arguably superior typing that gives it far better of a matchup against the Ground-types that typically wall Jolteon. Thanks to Prankster, Thundurus can more than make up for its slightly lower speed in comparison to Jolteon by being able to utilize a priority Thunder Wave, allowing it to outspeed even the fastest of attackers. With just two attacks Thundurus can attain near-perfect coverage, and still have room for either another coverage move or the momentum-grabbing U-turn. With a powerful Focus Blast, Thundurus is not plagued by common special walls such as Heatran and Tyranitar. With a jaw-dropping array of options ranging from priority Taunt to physically based Defiant + Bulk Up sets, Thundurus is also many times more flexible than Jolteon and can easily fill a number of roles.
Conclusion:
If you're looking for a fast, powerful, and adaptable Electric-type attacker, look no more to Jolteon and instead embrace Thundurus. With better stats, typing, and a movepool that Jolteon would die for, Thundurus fulfills all of the roles that Jolteon does and much, much more. Overall, Thundurus brings to the battle field a much more threatening presence that can affect the whole tier.
