I would imagine you would use a better check for base speed 100's besides another base 100 anyway. I don't see people checking max speed (insert base 100 speed here) with another base 100, when they could just use a scarfed poke or an ultimately faster poke, since there are plenty of pokemon over base 100 speed.
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You know, if the team is really oversensitive about Nattorei and would-be counters in general, Sazandora can go the Latias route and use a bait set with Expert Belt and Substitute to predict switches and cause damage in the long run. For Nattorei, just substitute and let loose the Flamethrower/Fire Blast. Sazandora's bluff as a Choice user is certainly helpful here since typical ones use Specs/Scarf Meteor upon appearance.
I think it could go something along the lines of:
Sazandora @ Expert Belt / Obligatory Pinch Berry / Jewel
Nature: Timid / Modest
EV's: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
~Substitute
~Dragon Pulse / Draco Meteor
~Flamethrower
~Some filler option like Surf, Dark Pulse, or for utility's sake Thunder Wave
I think it could go something along the lines of:
Sazandora @ Expert Belt / Obligatory Pinch Berry / Jewel
Nature: Timid / Modest
EV's: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
~Substitute
~Dragon Pulse / Draco Meteor
~Flamethrower
~Some filler option like Surf, Dark Pulse, or for utility's sake Thunder Wave
Actually, U-Turn looks like it definitely has some merit. It works out nicely, I just like Surf since I lack water moves on my team somewhat.
lmitchell0012
Wi-Fi Blacklisted
Is dark pulse+earth power illegal on this guy?? Pretty sure it is, but I'm not 100% sure.
Dear Gamefreak,
You suck! Why did you have to give him dark pulse as an egg move?!?! If he had just gotten dark pulse as a level up move, dark pulse+earth power probably wouldn't be illegal on this guy (if it is in fact illegal).
Dear Gamefreak,
You suck! Why did you have to give him dark pulse as an egg move?!?! If he had just gotten dark pulse as a level up move, dark pulse+earth power probably wouldn't be illegal on this guy (if it is in fact illegal).
yeah, its illegal... As stupid as it is for dark pulse to be an egg move on sazandora... (really game freak, really?)
Sazandora is an amazing Pokemon. A great deal of coveredge and power makes it a great Pokemon in the metagame. It does really stink that it dosn't get auto dark pulse. But eh, it dosn't have all the need for it. It kills ghosts easier though so it's quite useful in some cases. Draco Meteor / Fire Blast / U-Turn / Earth Power was a set I used at first as a special LO version. MixDora is probubly a bit better thanks to it's twin Outrage and Draco Meteor.
Another fantastic thing is that it can be used as a versitile Scarfer and Specs user. Both boast a great amount of power.
Another fantastic thing is that it can be used as a versitile Scarfer and Specs user. Both boast a great amount of power.
From what I see right now, it´s illegal, yes. NINJA´d
But up until now, I found Crunch way more useful, actually. True, you have to invest in Atk too, but Crunch hits most targets(Ghosts, Psychics) way harder because of their lower physical defense. And it remains usable after crushing something with DM, which is a nice bonus.
Granted, I only use him as stallbreaker, because I don´t like his kinda trollish speed, but it serves me well. OHKOing Burungeru AND Nattorei is nice.
Sazandora@LO/Expert Belt
252Atk 180SpAtk 76Speed
Naughty
- Crunch
- Draco Meteor
- U-Turn/Earth Power/Focus Blast
- Flamethrower/Fireblast
is what I use. Crunch KOs Burungeru, DM is a nice STAB to hammer a big hole into something. Earth Power/Focus Blast for not being walled by Heatran, U-Turn is for switching out and eventually hurting a Ttar switch in(VERY common). Flamethrower is usually powerful enough to get the job done, but FBlast is an option. Against offensive, it´s a bit tricky because of it´s low speed but the sheer power is usually worth the risk. Against stall it just wrecks as long as my prediction skill doesn´t let me down.
lmitchell0012
Wi-Fi Blacklisted
Thanks for the responses guys (and sorry for my little gamefreak rant...). Another thing I don't understand is why they had to take away dark pulse as a TM?? Is the move that replaced it even any good?? A lot of the stuff that they're doing this gen just doesn't make any sense to me.
What exactly is Earth Power doing for Sazandora that it can't otherwise do? There are various steels running balloon nowadays (Heatran, Dory, Magnezone), making it a useless option compared to a fire move. The attack is irrelevant on a Specs / Scarf set because the former can Surf while the latter U-Turns. Meanwhile, Fire Blast / Flamethrower is hitting Skarmory, Bronzong, Nattorei, Scizor, and Genosect whereas Earth Power would have done significantly less damage.
Empoleon is the only pokemon taking more damage from Earth Power than Flamethrower, and it isn't too glad to come into a Specs / LO Fire Blast anytime soon anyway.
Meanwhile, Dark Pulse is a nice STAB option for Sazandora to use, possibly pulling off a mini-sweep and hitting bulkier pokemon (like Suicune or something similar), harder without having to switch out following Draco Meteor.
Empoleon is the only pokemon taking more damage from Earth Power than Flamethrower, and it isn't too glad to come into a Specs / LO Fire Blast anytime soon anyway.
Meanwhile, Dark Pulse is a nice STAB option for Sazandora to use, possibly pulling off a mini-sweep and hitting bulkier pokemon (like Suicune or something similar), harder without having to switch out following Draco Meteor.
I can echo that sentiment; earth power didn't last long on my sazandora. You've got fire and/or water to cover dragon's resist. Also, choiced ground moves are usually a bad idea to begin with (if that's what your sazan is packing).
I've all but settled on meteor/fire blast/twave/u-turn @ life orb, but recently i've replaced u-turn with head smash and shifted some evs and nature accordingly. I've had some positive results, but the recoil is really painful even with wish support, and imo u-turn is the best attack in the game. It warrants more testing.
I've all but settled on meteor/fire blast/twave/u-turn @ life orb, but recently i've replaced u-turn with head smash and shifted some evs and nature accordingly. I've had some positive results, but the recoil is really painful even with wish support, and imo u-turn is the best attack in the game. It warrants more testing.
Are you using the set for support or as an attacker? It seems like it would be more effective with paralysis support from something like Borutorosu and surf in the third slot, though that all depends on how you use it.
It's set up to work with my team. I shouldn't have brought it up. It was just a segue into talking about head smash.
I'd say that Sazandorah's inability to have both Dark Pulse and Earth Power at the same time is fairly trivial, as I believe that both Earth Power and Surf on this Pokémon are fairly outclassed by Focus Blast, which can hit Heatran (one of, if not the most important Pokémon which Earth Power/Surf/Focus Blast is intended to hit, since nothing else resists the combination of Draco Meteor and a Fire-type move. In fact, as a result of this, it becomes even more obvious that Earth Power on Sazandorah is quite useless compared to Surf and especially Focus Blast, since Balloon is by far Heatran's most commonly-held item) hard, while at the same time being able to inflict heavy damage upon Empoleon (just like Earth Power can), Porygon2 (an extremely tough Pokémon to beat in this generation), and most importantly, being able to deal massive damage to Tyranitar (one of the most common Pokémon which switches into Sazandorah, and a Pokémon which laughs at Earth Power, Surf and Draco Meteor due to Sandstorm increasing its Special Defense), if not KO it outright.
As for Shandera, it is destroyed by Dark Pulse. Also, speaking of that Pokémon, something which seems to work is switching Sazandorah into a Shandera after it just revenge-killed one of your Pokémon with Shadow Ball or a Fire move, and then selecting either Flamethrower or Focus Blast and watching as their Nattorei/Forretress/Tyranitar gets obliterated on the switch. Fun and effective indeed.
As for Shandera, it is destroyed by Dark Pulse. Also, speaking of that Pokémon, something which seems to work is switching Sazandorah into a Shandera after it just revenge-killed one of your Pokémon with Shadow Ball or a Fire move, and then selecting either Flamethrower or Focus Blast and watching as their Nattorei/Forretress/Tyranitar gets obliterated on the switch. Fun and effective indeed.
I agree except for the fact that Focus Blast still has that shaky 75% accuracy. That alone makes it a hard choice to go with.
And if everything in Pokemon goes as planned then sure. But when you can't guarantee anything and have to have a last a resort, it's nice to know you still have A chance for a back up rather then NO chance at all. I mean after all, why would people bother using +speed on base 100's back in DP if they could just use a 105+ base speed scarfer? Perhaps those other Pokemon's doesn't fit within the team? Well same answer for this generation.
Focus Blast's accuracy is actually 70%, however I'd much rather have a 70% chance of taking Tyranitar down in one hit or destroying a Poygon2 that had previously taken some damage (considering how annoying it is to deal with this Pokémon due to its incredible survivability with Evolution Stone as well as its tendency to use moves like Ice Beam and Thunderwave) than to deal about 40% damage to Tyranitar or have to rely on Draco Meteor as the most powerful move option against Porygon2 (which obviously deals less damage than Focus Blast, which could mean trouble if this decreased damage is just enough to enable Porygon2 to survive the attack, as Porygon2 can then just use Recover, rendering all your efforts a failure as your Sazandorah is now left out with only half of its original offensive power against a full-health Porygon2 until it switches out).
Earth Power and Surf both have a 100% of hitting, but close to a 0% chance of accomplishing some of the things Focus Blast can 70% of the time.
Not that I've tested it, but I don't see a Focus Blast taking down a Porygon2 unless it was at a low percentage of HP. The only T-tar I've had a problem with is my friends. He runs 252 Sp.Def. A surf does nothing. Other than that, even with Sand Stream, taking out T-tar's has not been a problem.
I don't know if this has been mentioned but I think Expert Belt should definitely be considered. A 20% boost for super effective hits. Sazandora has great coverage with Fire Blast and Surf a lone.
I don't know if this has been mentioned but I think Expert Belt should definitely be considered. A 20% boost for super effective hits. Sazandora has great coverage with Fire Blast and Surf a lone.
I remember using sazandora on my mono-dark team. It was perfect pivot on banders using ground moves and i could strike back with STAB draco meteor.
People just keep saying Latios is a better choice Specs user because of the fighting resistance but I disagree.
This guy's main selling point is that with Specs, it is basically getting a KO everytime it comes in, murdering any non-steel except for Blissey and these steels must watch out for Fire Blast. You'd argue that Latios can do just the same, but once Latios has Draco Meteored something, if the opponent has Scizor or Tyranitar, (which are VERY common) it's essentially dead meat. Sazandora can just easily switch in and out, and unlike Latios it can scout Blissey with U-Turn or just Outrage it.
Dark is also much better than psychic offensively, and Sazandora doesn't have to resort to random HP Fire -which also make Latios fall 1 Speed Tier- to damage Steels.
Just my 2 cents to defend this great dude whose design, unlike many gen V pokemon, is both original AND beautiful.
This guy's main selling point is that with Specs, it is basically getting a KO everytime it comes in, murdering any non-steel except for Blissey and these steels must watch out for Fire Blast. You'd argue that Latios can do just the same, but once Latios has Draco Meteored something, if the opponent has Scizor or Tyranitar, (which are VERY common) it's essentially dead meat. Sazandora can just easily switch in and out, and unlike Latios it can scout Blissey with U-Turn or just Outrage it.
Dark is also much better than psychic offensively, and Sazandora doesn't have to resort to random HP Fire -which also make Latios fall 1 Speed Tier- to damage Steels.
Just my 2 cents to defend this great dude whose design, unlike many gen V pokemon, is both original AND beautiful.
Latios now has psycho shock for blissey.
So latios has fighting resist, 110>99 speed, and 5 more base sp atk, while sazandora has uturn and no pursuit weak, and flamethrower.
That no pursuit weak is pretty tempting though, I must admit. Even cb tar only does 24.6 ~ 29.2%. But being able to outspeed and ohko virizion, terakion, manaphy, and SD chomp is also important.
I'd have to say latios for specs, sazandora for scarf.
So latios has fighting resist, 110>99 speed, and 5 more base sp atk, while sazandora has uturn and no pursuit weak, and flamethrower.
That no pursuit weak is pretty tempting though, I must admit. Even cb tar only does 24.6 ~ 29.2%. But being able to outspeed and ohko virizion, terakion, manaphy, and SD chomp is also important.
I'd have to say latios for specs, sazandora for scarf.
Sazandora has Pursuit resist.
