I'd be willing to grammar check, I'm not the best at grammar but I'm not bad either.
-
Welcome to Smogon! Take a moment to read the Introduction to Smogon for a run-down on everything Smogon, and make sure you take some time to read the global rules.
-
Congrats to the winners of the 2023 Smog Awards!
Data ASB Pokemon Compendium (WIP - Check inside if you want to colaborate)
- Thread starter Frosty
- Start date
I can grammar check, as well.
A Rough Example of Snorlax is on the OP. Feel free to pitch in if you know something that is missing or was said wrong. Grammar Nazis also feel free to check it (please PM me the results, so I can edit it in without clogging the thread).
Don't worry too much about sizes for now. Just write what you feel its important and go from there. Right now the main goal is to get the information on and the analysis done. After that is done, we can work on pretifying them or something like that.
Don't worry too much about sizes for now. Just write what you feel its important and go from there. Right now the main goal is to get the information on and the analysis done. After that is done, we can work on pretifying them or something like that.
Add
Comment
Snorlax
Stats: 130/4/3/3/4/30 WC/SC?
Abilities: Thick Fat, Immunity, Gluttony
Signature Item: Full Incense What it does?
Availaibility: Evolve from Munchlax 4 CC
Overview: After the downfall of GSC, the great Snorlax finally found another to call "home": the realm of ASB. Combining 130 HP, a huge movepool, strong attacks and decent stats overall, Snorlax is a tank through and through. Whether it is with Double-Edge, Giga Impact and related combos, or through the abuse of moves such as Focus Blast, Dynamic Punch, Blizzard, Thunder and Zap Cannon, Snorlax sure knows how to deal damage to 95% of the mons around... You missed a space here while the opposite sure can't be said. More often than not, Snorlax will emerge victorious in a 1vs1 combat, somethingnot many few can boast.
But Mr. Fatso here isn't inveincible. While his strengths are many, his weaknesses go deep. Fighting pokemons in general, users of Low Kick and Bulky Ghosts like Dusknoir will outdamage defeat Snorlax more often than not. While there is usually some way to go around, Weird wording here with Snorlax if you are on a tough spot, you will lose, no questions asked. Unless your opponent is high, but you can't count on that haha.
All-in-all Snorlax is a very good mon, with strong options, a simple and stable playstyle and a vast movepool. Be careful when pairing pokemons and you should be fine. ?
Stats and Natures: As you can see above, Snorlax is a very slow pokemon, which means that investing on Speed is not recommended at all. Most, if not all, natures, useable on Snorlax, are (-)speed ones. So while you may be in doubt of which stat to boost, don't think twice before reducing its speed. You won't notice the difference most of the time.
Quiet (+SpA, -Spe) is probably the most common ability you will see being used on Snorlax. And for a good reason. Being from Generation 1, Snorlax has a very wide movepool, with many options on the physical and special sides. Quiet complements that wellenough, boosting the special moves Snorlax will, most of the time, use as coverage. And makes it less vulnerable to Will-o-Wisp.
Relaxed (+Def, -Spe) is also a viable nature, although not nearly as common as Quiet. With Relaxed, Snorlax gets even defenses and can resist most moves much better. Since he will be hit mostly with physical attacks, Relaxed patches up a "hole" in his defenses nicely. Although, most of the time, Snorlax prefers an offensive nature, as the 130hp already goes extremely far in the "bulky" scale.
Sassy (+SpD, -Spe) is also a possible nature, albeit not common at all. Still, it is good if you want Snorlax to play a defensive role and you know that your opponents will be mostly special based (on a Raid or a Facility battle, or even against an specific Gym). But it usually isn't a good nature to be kept permanently on Snorlax, only for specific targets.
The next is Brave (+Atk, -Spe). While in-game +atk is the most common route on Snorlax, here on ASB it doesn't need more attack. His weight-based moves already deal great damage and you will hardly ever use physical attacks to hit super effectively (at least compared to special attacks), which means that if you are to boost an offense, boost Special Attack, as it will give you a much better payout. Still, it may work on a specific situations against physically weak targets (like on the EotS raid, or against the psychic gym), as long as you change it back when it is over.
Finally, Impish (+Def, -Spa). Don't use it. Period. No defense boost is worth reducing even more the power of like half Snorlax's offensive movepool. If you want to boost defense, go with Relaxed, as 10% evasion is not nearly as good as +1SpA on Snorlax. This section is good
Abilities, Moves, Movepool and Combos: Snorlax's abilities compliment its defensive side nicely, while the Moves are the main source of its offensive prowess
Thick Fat reduces the strength of Fire and Ice Moves. While, more often than not, Snorlax won't be hit with said moves, it is still a nice thing to have. This is extra useful if you intend to challenge a specific raid (Like Wildfire Plateau) or Gym (Hint: there is no Ice/Fighting mon, and only Weavile knows Low Kick, and you can sure handle it, right?).
Immunity makes Snorlax immune (sorry!) from Poison damage and is usually the go-to ability in 1-ability matches or RPs. Toxic is a very popular move thanks to ASB enabling more than one status on the same mon, and most popular poison moves (Sludge Bomb, Gunk Shot and Poison Jab) have high poison rates, which means that getting poisoned is quite common actually. Removing it from the equation is a significant advantage, specially if you are challenging the Poison Gym or the Pike.
Finally, Gluttony is only worth noticing if you are using Leftovers. Which you won't more often than not. HP triggered berries have a very questionableeffectivity use effectivity isn't a word outside of raids (and inside too) and more often than not (read: pretty much always) Gluttony won't make much of a difference regardless. More on that when we talk about Leftovers.
As for the moves, Snorlax sports a 120+ movepool filled with goodies. If you look closely, you will notice that there are several offensive moves, but not many support moves. Aside from Reflect and the Weather Moves, there aren't many support moves worth noticing: most non-offensive moves enhance Snorlax's own capacities (like Belly Drum, Refresh and Odor Sleuth).
But in the other hand, it gets pretty much every attacking move under the sun. To give you an idea, it has coverage on the following types: Physical: Dark (Crunch), Dragon (Outrage), Electric (Wild Charge), Fighting (Focus Punch, Brick Break), Fire (Fire Punch), Grass (Seed Bomb), Ground (Earthquake), Ice (Ice Punch), Poison (Gunk Shot), Psychic (Zen Headbutt), Rock (Rock Slide), Steel (Iron Head); Special: Electric (thunderbolt), Fighting (focus blast), Fire (flamethrower), Ghost (Shadow Ball), Grass (Solar beam), Ice (Ice beam), Poison (Belch, but it is pretty rare), Psychic (Psychic), Water (Surf). If you are counting, that means that only Fairy, Flying and Bug don't have good options. 15 out of 18 isn't bad at all. Solar beam and ice beam have spaces
The attacking moves you will see and use the most are only three though: Body Slam (11BAP), Double-Edge (16BAP) and Giga Impact (18BAP). Body Slam is used when you don't want recoil and when you want paralysis, Double-Edge for middle-game and Giga Impact for finishing off an opponent. These should win you most damage races, and the ones they don't, the coverage handles nicely.
And don't forget to say good bye with STAB Self-Destruct! Redundant
Finally, as far as combos goes, feel free to go wild. Hyper Beam goes well with beam moves and most special moves and is great to KO through a weakness. Giga Impact can be combo'd with most physical moves, now that it is passive; but it is best when comboed with itself or with Double-Edge for great damage. Focus Punch is also a good option to KO through a weakness on the physical side and can combined with itself to crush most fighting-weak mons (like the Weavile I mentioned earlier:D). Finally, Self-Destruct + Self-Destruct is a lovely good-bye kiss on your opponent. Mention counter somewhere
Items:
Expert Belt is probably your best bet for an offensive item, now that Full Incense was nerfed. The usage of Expert Belt goes by the premise that you don't need extra power with Normal moves, but you sure do when said moves aren't enough to get a KO. Expert Belt puts your opponent is a tough "damned if you don't, damned if you do" position, as Snorlax will get enough power to do really well on damage races vs most mons that resist normal, and its normal attacks are, by default, strong enough for mons that resist other typings but don't resist normal. If you are in doubt, go with Expert Belt: you will be right more often than not.
Silk Scarf goes by a completely opposite premise. It boosts Snorlax's main weapon greatly, making it much more dangerous against pokemons that don't resist normal. That option has a stronger punch than Expert Belt, since you will use normal moves more often than not, but should be used carefully. Without the boost of Expert Belt or the usage of hgh BAP moves (more on that below), Snorlax's coverage options are sometimes lacking in power, which increase the number of mons that can defeat it without much hassle. Use Silk Scarf only when you are sure that the pokemon Snorlax will face doesn't resist Normal and can't make it a bad option (with Ion Deluge, for example). If you do so, you will have nothing to worry about.
Full Incense is Snorlax's signature item. It gives it the effects of "No-Guard", but makes it always move last on the same priority bracket. Also, it boosts the healing of rest to 15hp per action. Full Incense gives you two important advantages: access to high BAP moves such as Blizzard, Focus Blast, Thunder and Dynamic Punch, to complement your coverage nicely and in a powerful manner; and the strategic advantage of not having to sub for Evasive Moves or prepare yourself in case of a miss. But the price for said advantages is quite big. With Full Incense Snorlax becomes vulnerable to low accuracy moves, mostly Dynamic Punch or Cross Chop and Zap Cannon to a lesser extent, and it can't patch up its bad speed with Trick Room, a very common strategy to use with Snorlax. Most of the time you will get the same BAP boost for coverage with Expert Belt, making it the best option more often than not. But, if you know that Snorlax won't face an user of Dynamic Punch and you don't intend to use Trick Room, then by all means go with Full Incense, as the No Guard effects makes ordering a hell lot easier.
Finally, leftovers. Thanks to Gluttony, Snorlax is one of the few good users of Leftovers, so it is an option here. But (there is always a but) what I said about defensive natures applies here: Snorlax's high HP already goes leaps and bounds on the bulk business, so you don't need to enhance it further. You will usually get a better return investing on the offensive side (mainly considering that ASB is a very offensive game), mostly on the special side. But, if you know that you can play stall well and you intend to do so, Leftovers is a nice, stable option to consider.
Other items such as Chople Berry or Macho Brace may also be used, but they are usually very situational (Chople Berry's case: use it only when you don't need coverage and you are sure that there is a risk that your opponent will switch in a Low Kick user) or, most of the time, outclassed by one of the options above (Macho Brace: Silk Scarf gives it a better output for normal moves, and it is only the better option if you intend to use moves such as Wild Charge or Heavy Slam). Good
Roles and Strategies:
As said above, Snorlax is best used on an offensive position as a damage dealer. The high HP allows you to take some risks, so do that. Don't waste actions with support moves or set up unless really necessary and pick the moves that allow you to deal the most damage right off the bat. A Heavy Offensive approach, more often than not, forces your opponent to also go for the damage race, and lose to Snorlax in the process.
Before sending Snorlax out, if you are to send out first, take a good look at your opponent's team and be certain that thereisaren't any pokemon that can defeat Snorlax (more on that below). If there is, then don't send Snorlax out. I repeat: don't send Snorlax out expecting to defeat a would-be counter with turn-order advantage, as it won't work. Save your Snorlax for when the most dangerous mons of your opponent's team are weakened or fainted or when you can be sure that he can't switch in said mons (when you send out last or when you send out after a KO). Pay attention to U-Turn and Volt Switch too: they may bring your nemesis, and you won't like that.
In the other hand, don't save your Snorlax for too long. The opponent may also be saving its counter and you will end up in a bad match-up. Let Snorlax loose as soon as you have a safe opportunity and call it back as soon as danger approaches. Do that and you should carve some nicely holes on your opponent's team.
Let me give you some examples of what I mean.
- SimonSays vs Yarnus of Bethany - Snorlax was sent out against a Low Kick user, who managed to deal a good 27.75hp damage on one action, without STAB or a boosting item (but with Slaking). Needless to say, Snorlax wasn't really useful here.
- Frosty vs Dogfish44 and Frosty vs Athenodoros - Good examples of how good Snorlax is on a Damage Race, provided that you use its options well, and keep fighting mons and Low Kick away.
- Maxim vs Engineer - Snorlax was sent out first while the opponent had a Gallade just waiting for it. Needless to say, Snorlax didn't do much and turn-order advantage wasn't much of an advantage after all.
- Maxim vs Smashlloyd20 - A good example of what I said about saving Snorlax. Smashlloyd had 2 fighting types on his team of 3. Maxim smartly used his other two pokemon to dispatch the fighting mons and only sent Snorlax out when Low Kick-less Kitsunoh was the only mon left.
- Frosty vs TheWolfe - An example of what you should not do to preserve your Snorlax. Frosty switched Snorlax in without much care and TheWolfe counterswitched his Low Kick Swampert and proceeded to destroy Snorlax, while still ordering first. Okay
Partners and Counters:
Regardless the format, Snorlax is easy prey to most fighting mons and most Low Kick users, since both with win any damage races against Mr. Fatso (go go 15BAP Low Kick). Bulky Ghosts like Eviolite Dusclops or Dusknoir (see here) also work wonders, since Snorlax's best option against them is Crunch or Shadow Ball and they don't do nearly enough. Dynamic Punch users also work well against a Full Incense Snorlax. You mentioned Odor Sleuth...
Against them your best bet is running, I am afraid. Bide and Counter may work against the less aware player and Reflect may ease the pain a bit, but Snorlax still loses.
Snorlax should be paired to mons that can defeat those, so it can do its job more easily. Psychic and Fairy mons in general are good options and MegaGengar can be used for Shadow Tag goodness as well.
On Doubles or Triples, Snorlax works great with Helping Hand Support, thanks to the high BAP of his moves. Pair him with Dusknoir or Gallade and you should be ready to lay down the hurt (see here, it was pre-Helping Hand nerf, but it is still a good example).
Stats: 130/4/3/3/4/30 WC/SC?
Abilities: Thick Fat, Immunity, Gluttony
Signature Item: Full Incense What it does?
Avail
Overview: After the downfall of GSC, the great Snorlax finally found another to call "home": the realm of ASB. Combining 130 HP, a huge movepool, strong attacks and decent stats overall, Snorlax is a tank through and through. Whether it is with Double-Edge, Giga Impact and related combos, or through the abuse of moves such as Focus Blast, Dynamic Punch, Blizzard, Thunder and Zap Cannon, Snorlax sure knows how to deal damage to 95% of the mons around... You missed a space here while the opposite sure can't be said. More often than not, Snorlax will emerge victorious in a 1vs1 combat, something
But Mr. Fatso here isn't inv
All-in-all Snorlax is a very good mon, with strong options, a simple and stable playstyle and a vast movepool. Be careful when pairing pokemons and you should be fine. ?
Stats and Natures: As you can see above, Snorlax is a very slow pokemon, which means that investing on Speed is not recommended at all. Most, if not all, natures, useable on Snorlax, are (-)speed ones. So while you may be in doubt of which stat to boost, don't think twice before reducing its speed. You won't notice the difference most of the time.
Quiet (+SpA, -Spe) is probably the most common ability you will see being used on Snorlax. And for a good reason. Being from Generation 1, Snorlax has a very wide movepool, with many options on the physical and special sides. Quiet complements that well
Relaxed (+Def, -Spe) is also a viable nature, although not nearly as common as Quiet. With Relaxed, Snorlax gets even defenses and can resist most moves much better. Since he will be hit mostly with physical attacks, Relaxed patches up a "hole" in his defenses nicely. Although, most of the time, Snorlax prefers an offensive nature, as the 130hp already goes extremely far in the "bulky" scale.
Sassy (+SpD, -Spe) is also a possible nature, albeit not common at all. Still, it is good if you want Snorlax to play a defensive role and you know that your opponents will be mostly special based (on a Raid or a Facility battle, or even against an specific Gym). But it usually isn't a good nature to be kept permanently on Snorlax, only for specific targets.
The next is Brave (+Atk, -Spe). While in-game +atk is the most common route on Snorlax, here on ASB it doesn't need more attack. His weight-based moves already deal great damage and you will hardly ever use physical attacks to hit super effectively (at least compared to special attacks), which means that if you are to boost an offense, boost Special Attack, as it will give you a much better payout. Still, it may work on a specific situations against physically weak targets (like on the EotS raid, or against the psychic gym), as long as you change it back when it is over.
Finally, Impish (+Def, -Spa). Don't use it. Period. No defense boost is worth reducing even more the power of like half Snorlax's offensive movepool. If you want to boost defense, go with Relaxed, as 10% evasion is not nearly as good as +1SpA on Snorlax. This section is good
Abilities, Moves, Movepool and Combos: Snorlax's abilities compliment its defensive side nicely, while the Moves are the main source of its offensive prowess
Thick Fat reduces the strength of Fire and Ice Moves. While, more often than not, Snorlax won't be hit with said moves, it is still a nice thing to have. This is extra useful if you intend to challenge a specific raid (Like Wildfire Plateau) or Gym (Hint: there is no Ice/Fighting mon, and only Weavile knows Low Kick, and you can sure handle it, right?).
Immunity makes Snorlax immune (sorry!) from Poison damage and is usually the go-to ability in 1-ability matches or RPs. Toxic is a very popular move thanks to ASB enabling more than one status on the same mon, and most popular poison moves (Sludge Bomb, Gunk Shot and Poison Jab) have high poison rates, which means that getting poisoned is quite common actually. Removing it from the equation is a significant advantage, specially if you are challenging the Poison Gym or the Pike.
Finally, Gluttony is only worth noticing if you are using Leftovers. Which you won't more often than not. HP triggered berries have a very questionable
As for the moves, Snorlax sports a 120+ movepool filled with goodies. If you look closely, you will notice that there are several offensive moves, but not many support moves. Aside from Reflect and the Weather Moves, there aren't many support moves worth noticing: most non-offensive moves enhance Snorlax's own capacities (like Belly Drum, Refresh and Odor Sleuth).
But in the other hand, it gets pretty much every attacking move under the sun. To give you an idea, it has coverage on the following types: Physical: Dark (Crunch), Dragon (Outrage), Electric (Wild Charge), Fighting (Focus Punch, Brick Break), Fire (Fire Punch), Grass (Seed Bomb), Ground (Earthquake), Ice (Ice Punch), Poison (Gunk Shot), Psychic (Zen Headbutt), Rock (Rock Slide), Steel (Iron Head); Special: Electric (thunderbolt), Fighting (focus blast), Fire (flamethrower), Ghost (Shadow Ball), Grass (Solar beam), Ice (Ice beam), Poison (Belch, but it is pretty rare), Psychic (Psychic), Water (Surf). If you are counting, that means that only Fairy, Flying and Bug don't have good options. 15 out of 18 isn't bad at all. Solar beam and ice beam have spaces
The attacking moves you will see and use the most are only three though: Body Slam (11BAP), Double-Edge (16BAP) and Giga Impact (18BAP). Body Slam is used when you don't want recoil and when you want paralysis, Double-Edge for middle-game and Giga Impact for finishing off an opponent. These should win you most damage races, and the ones they don't, the coverage handles nicely.
Finally, as far as combos goes, feel free to go wild. Hyper Beam goes well with beam moves and most special moves and is great to KO through a weakness. Giga Impact can be combo'd with most physical moves, now that it is passive; but it is best when comboed with itself or with Double-Edge for great damage. Focus Punch is also a good option to KO through a weakness on the physical side and can combined with itself to crush most fighting-weak mons (like the Weavile I mentioned earlier
Items:
Expert Belt is probably your best bet for an offensive item, now that Full Incense was nerfed. The usage of Expert Belt goes by the premise that you don't need extra power with Normal moves, but you sure do when said moves aren't enough to get a KO. Expert Belt puts your opponent is a tough "damned if you don't, damned if you do" position, as Snorlax will get enough power to do really well on damage races vs most mons that resist normal, and its normal attacks are, by default, strong enough for mons that resist other typings but don't resist normal. If you are in doubt, go with Expert Belt: you will be right more often than not.
Silk Scarf goes by a completely opposite premise. It boosts Snorlax's main weapon greatly, making it much more dangerous against pokemons that don't resist normal. That option has a stronger punch than Expert Belt, since you will use normal moves more often than not, but should be used carefully. Without the boost of Expert Belt or the usage of hgh BAP moves (more on that below), Snorlax's coverage options are sometimes lacking in power, which increase the number of mons that can defeat it without much hassle. Use Silk Scarf only when you are sure that the pokemon Snorlax will face doesn't resist Normal and can't make it a bad option (with Ion Deluge, for example). If you do so, you will have nothing to worry about.
Full Incense is Snorlax's signature item. It gives it the effects of "No-Guard", but makes it always move last on the same priority bracket. Also, it boosts the healing of rest to 15hp per action. Full Incense gives you two important advantages: access to high BAP moves such as Blizzard, Focus Blast, Thunder and Dynamic Punch, to complement your coverage nicely and in a powerful manner; and the strategic advantage of not having to sub for Evasive Moves or prepare yourself in case of a miss. But the price for said advantages is quite big. With Full Incense Snorlax becomes vulnerable to low accuracy moves, mostly Dynamic Punch or Cross Chop and Zap Cannon to a lesser extent, and it can't patch up its bad speed with Trick Room, a very common strategy to use with Snorlax. Most of the time you will get the same BAP boost for coverage with Expert Belt, making it the best option more often than not. But, if you know that Snorlax won't face an user of Dynamic Punch and you don't intend to use Trick Room, then by all means go with Full Incense, as the No Guard effects makes ordering a hell lot easier.
Finally, leftovers. Thanks to Gluttony, Snorlax is one of the few good users of Leftovers, so it is an option here. But (there is always a but) what I said about defensive natures applies here: Snorlax's high HP already goes leaps and bounds on the bulk business, so you don't need to enhance it further. You will usually get a better return investing on the offensive side (mainly considering that ASB is a very offensive game), mostly on the special side. But, if you know that you can play stall well and you intend to do so, Leftovers is a nice, stable option to consider.
Other items such as Chople Berry or Macho Brace may also be used, but they are usually very situational (Chople Berry's case: use it only when you don't need coverage and you are sure that there is a risk that your opponent will switch in a Low Kick user) or, most of the time, outclassed by one of the options above (Macho Brace: Silk Scarf gives it a better output for normal moves, and it is only the better option if you intend to use moves such as Wild Charge or Heavy Slam). Good
Roles and Strategies:
As said above, Snorlax is best used on an offensive position as a damage dealer. The high HP allows you to take some risks, so do that. Don't waste actions with support moves or set up unless really necessary and pick the moves that allow you to deal the most damage right off the bat. A Heavy Offensive approach, more often than not, forces your opponent to also go for the damage race, and lose to Snorlax in the process.
Before sending Snorlax out, if you are to send out first, take a good look at your opponent's team and be certain that there
In the other hand, don't save your Snorlax for too long. The opponent may also be saving its counter and you will end up in a bad match-up. Let Snorlax loose as soon as you have a safe opportunity and call it back as soon as danger approaches. Do that and you should carve some nicely holes on your opponent's team.
Let me give you some examples of what I mean.
- SimonSays vs Yarnus of Bethany - Snorlax was sent out against a Low Kick user, who managed to deal a good 27.75hp damage on one action, without STAB or a boosting item (but with Slaking). Needless to say, Snorlax wasn't really useful here.
- Frosty vs Dogfish44 and Frosty vs Athenodoros - Good examples of how good Snorlax is on a Damage Race, provided that you use its options well, and keep fighting mons and Low Kick away.
- Maxim vs Engineer - Snorlax was sent out first while the opponent had a Gallade just waiting for it. Needless to say, Snorlax didn't do much and turn-order advantage wasn't much of an advantage after all.
- Maxim vs Smashlloyd20 - A good example of what I said about saving Snorlax. Smashlloyd had 2 fighting types on his team of 3. Maxim smartly used his other two pokemon to dispatch the fighting mons and only sent Snorlax out when Low Kick-less Kitsunoh was the only mon left.
- Frosty vs TheWolfe - An example of what you should not do to preserve your Snorlax. Frosty switched Snorlax in without much care and TheWolfe counterswitched his Low Kick Swampert and proceeded to destroy Snorlax, while still ordering first. Okay
Partners and Counters:
Regardless the format, Snorlax is easy prey to most fighting mons and most Low Kick users, since both with win any damage races against Mr. Fatso (go go 15BAP Low Kick). Bulky Ghosts like Eviolite Dusclops or Dusknoir (see here) also work wonders, since Snorlax's best option against them is Crunch or Shadow Ball and they don't do nearly enough. Dynamic Punch users also work well against a Full Incense Snorlax. You mentioned Odor Sleuth...
Against them your best bet is running, I am afraid. Bide and Counter may work against the less aware player and Reflect may ease the pain a bit, but Snorlax still loses.
Snorlax should be paired to mons that can defeat those, so it can do its job more easily. Psychic and Fairy mons in general are good options and MegaGengar can be used for Shadow Tag goodness as well.
On Doubles or Triples, Snorlax works great with Helping Hand Support, thanks to the high BAP of his moves. Pair him with Dusknoir or Gallade and you should be ready to lay down the hurt (see here, it was pre-Helping Hand nerf, but it is still a good example).
Spell and Grammar-checking the skeleton in the OP. My comments are in bold red. I do not have enough experience to comment on the advice, though.
Overview: Gives an overview about the mons pokemon, its strengths and weaknesses, and how to play it. Feel free to include some flavor (just here, though).
Stats and Natures: Explain themons pokemon's stats, the natures that can should be used on it, and which roles they allow the pokemon to perform. Emphasis on the natures (Fragment, consider revising). Feel free to include examples like "XXX likes to use Timid Moltres for the extra acc" or "if you want to check a more defensive nature for Moltres, check the battles of YYY, (s)he uses a bold type". One of the main perks of ASB is that we have thousands of battles at are disposal if we need examples and ideas.
Abilities, Moves, Movepool and Combos: Mention the main moves themon pokemon gets and how to use them. How to combine (not in Combos per se, but one attack and then other) moves of the mons pokemon's movepool. How the moves work with the abilities and how to use one to boost the other. Say the amount of moves this mon pokemon needs to have a working movepool, provided the player gets all the moves mentioned here. Mention examples of Combos this pokemon can perform effectively. NOTE: When mentioning specific combos, include at least 2 instances where this combo was accepted (except for generally accepted combos such as Double Edge + Giga Impact, or Focus Punch + Elemental Punch or Same move combos in general). We don't want this list to be a poor precedent, but for it to list the combos that were tried and accepted before.
Items: Which items go well with saidmon pokemon, which items may seem to go well but actually don't (a.k.a. leftovers on 99% of the mons pokemon <_<). Signature items and respective stats (Fragment, consider revising). Mixing items with natures (Fragment, consider revising). Items for specific occasions (mainly type resistant berries and the like) (Fragment, consider revising).
Roles and Strategies: The main part (Fragment, consider revising). Use all that was written above to explain ways to use the pokemon you have chosen. Its strengths and weaknesses (Fragment, consider revising). How to use and how not to use it (Fragment, consider revising).Examples examples examples. Mention the battle and explain it ("against the XXX Gym, YYY used Moltres in a ZZZ manner to cause most damage" or "notice that Ferrothorn managed to wall Ice Gym as they don't have moves to face it"). Our primary goal is Gyms and Tourney battles, so use them as examples when you can. Don't be afraid of using your own battles, but just don't go overboard on them.
Partners and Counters: Partners is mostly for doubles+ (but can be for singles if there is an AWESOME partner,since however, for the most part, there isn't that much interation between mons in ASB). Counters (check is a hard concept to find in ASB checks do not exist in ASB) for the mon go here, too. Mention them, mention why they counter and say how to face them (either use X move, or switch to X mon pokemon, etc).
Stats and Natures: Explain the
Abilities, Moves, Movepool and Combos: Mention the main moves the
Items: Which items go well with said
Roles and Strategies: The main part (Fragment, consider revising). Use all that was written above to explain ways to use the pokemon you have chosen. Its strengths and weaknesses (Fragment, consider revising). How to use and how not to use it (Fragment, consider revising).
Partners and Counters: Partners is mostly for doubles+ (but can be for singles if there is an AWESOME partner,
Snorlax
Stats: 130/4/3/3/4/30 WC/SC?
Abilities: Thick Fat, Immunity, Gluttony
Signature Item: Full Incense What it does?
Availaibility: Evolve from Munchlax 4 CC
Overview: After the downfall of GSC, the great Snorlax finally found another to call "home": the realm of ASB. Combining 130 HP, a huge movepool, strong attacks and decent stats overall, Snorlax is a tank through and through. Whether it is with Double-Edge, Giga Impact and related combos, or through the abuse of moves such as Focus Blast, Dynamic Punch, Blizzard, Thunder and Zap Cannon, Snorlax sure knows how to deal damage to 95% of the mons around... You missed a space here while the opposite sure can't be said. More often than not, Snorlax will emerge victorious in a 1vs1 combat, somethingnot many few can boast.
But Mr. Fatso here isn't inveincible. While his strengths are many, his weaknesses go deep. Fighting pokemons in general, users of Low Kick and Bulky Ghosts like Dusknoir will outdamage defeat Snorlax more often than not. While there is usually some way to go around, Weird wording here with Snorlax if you are on a tough spot, you will lose, no questions asked. Unless your opponent is high, but you can't count on that haha.
All-in-all Snorlax is a very good mon, with strong options, a simple and stable playstyle and a vast movepool. Be careful when pairing pokemons and you should be fine. ?
Stats and Natures: As you can see above, Snorlax is a very slow pokemon, which means that investing on Speed is not recommended at all. Most, if not all, natures, useable on Snorlax, are (-)speed ones. So while you may be in doubt of which stat to boost, don't think twice before reducing its speed. You won't notice the difference most of the time.
Quiet (+SpA, -Spe) is probably the most common ability you will see being used on Snorlax. And for a good reason. Being from Generation 1, Snorlax has a very wide movepool, with many options on the physical and special sides. Quiet complements that wellenough, boosting the special moves Snorlax will, most of the time, use as coverage. And makes it less vulnerable to Will-o-Wisp.
Relaxed (+Def, -Spe) is also a viable nature, although not nearly as common as Quiet. With Relaxed, Snorlax gets even defenses and can resist most moves much better. Since he will be hit mostly with physical attacks, Relaxed patches up a "hole" in his defenses nicely. Although, most of the time, Snorlax prefers an offensive nature, as the 130hp already goes extremely far in the "bulky" scale.
Sassy (+SpD, -Spe) is also a possible nature, albeit not common at all. Still, it is good if you want Snorlax to play a defensive role and you know that your opponents will be mostly special based (on a Raid or a Facility battle, or even against an specific Gym). But it usually isn't a good nature to be kept permanently on Snorlax, only for specific targets.
The next is Brave (+Atk, -Spe). While in-game +atk is the most common route on Snorlax, here on ASB it doesn't need more attack. His weight-based moves already deal great damage and you will hardly ever use physical attacks to hit super effectively (at least compared to special attacks), which means that if you are to boost an offense, boost Special Attack, as it will give you a much better payout. Still, it may work on a specific situations against physically weak targets (like on the EotS raid, or against the psychic gym), as long as you change it back when it is over.
Finally, Impish (+Def, -Spa). Don't use it. Period. No defense boost is worth reducing even more the power of like half Snorlax's offensive movepool. If you want to boost defense, go with Relaxed, as 10% evasion is not nearly as good as +1SpA on Snorlax. This section is good
Abilities, Moves, Movepool and Combos: Snorlax's abilities compliment its defensive side nicely, while the Moves are the main source of its offensive prowess
Thick Fat reduces the strength of Fire and Ice Moves. While, more often than not, Snorlax won't be hit with said moves, it is still a nice thing to have. This is extra useful if you intend to challenge a specific raid (Like Wildfire Plateau) or Gym (Hint: there is no Ice/Fighting mon, and only Weavile knows Low Kick, and you can sure handle it, right?).
Immunity makes Snorlax immune (sorry!) from Poison damage, and is usually the go-to ability in 1-ability matches or RPs. Toxic is a very popular move thanks to ASB enabling more than one status on the same mon, and most popular poison moves (Sludge Bomb, Gunk Shot and Poison Jab) have high poison rates, which means that getting poisoned is quite common actually. Removing it from the equation is a significant advantage, specially if you are challenging the Poison Gym or the Pike.
Finally, Gluttony is only worth noticing if you are using Leftovers. Which you won't more often than not. HP triggered berries have a very questionableeffectivity use effectivity isn't a word try using effectiveness outside of raids (and inside too) and more often than not (read: pretty much always) Gluttony won't make much of a difference regardless. More on that when we talk about Leftovers.
As for the moves, Snorlax sports a 120+ movepool filled with goodies. If you look closely, you will notice that there are several offensive moves, but not many support moves. Aside from Reflect and the Weather Moves, there aren't many support moves worth noticing: most non-offensive moves enhance Snorlax's own capacities (like Belly Drum, Refresh and Odor Sleuth).
But in the other hand, it gets pretty much every attacking move under the sun. To give you an idea, it has coverage on the following types: Physical: Dark (Crunch), Dragon (Outrage), Electric (Wild Charge), Fighting (Focus Punch, Brick Break), Fire (Fire Punch), Grass (Seed Bomb), Ground (Earthquake), Ice (Ice Punch), Poison (Gunk Shot), Psychic (Zen Headbutt), Rock (Rock Slide), Steel (Iron Head); Special: Electric (thunderbolt), Fighting (focus blast), Fire (flamethrower), Ghost (Shadow Ball), Grass (Solar beam), Ice (Ice beam), Poison (Belch, but it is pretty rare), Psychic (Psychic), Water (Surf). If you are counting, that means that only Fairy, Flying and Bug don't have good options. 15 out of 18 isn't bad at all. Solar beam and ice beam have spaces
The attacking moves you will see and use the most are only three though: Body Slam (11BAP), Double-Edge (16BAP) and Giga Impact (18BAP). Body Slam is used when you don't want recoil and when you want paralysis, Double-Edge for middle-game and Giga Impact for finishing off an opponent. These should win you most damage races, and the ones they don't, the coverage handles nicely.
And don't forget to say good bye with STAB Self-Destruct! Redundant
Finally, as far as combos goes, feel free to go wild. Hyper Beam goes well with beam moves and most special moves and is great to KO through a weakness. Giga Impact can be combo'd with most physical moves, now that it is passive; but it is best when comboed with itself or with Double-Edge for great damage. Focus Punch is also a good option to KO through a weakness on the physical side and can combined with itself to crush most fighting-weak mons (like the Weavile I mentioned earlier:D). Finally, Self-Destruct + Self-Destruct is a lovely good-bye kiss on your opponent. Mention counter somewhere
Items:
Expert Belt is probably your best bet for an offensive item, now that Full Incense was nerfed. The usage of Expert Belt goes by the premise that you don't need extra power with Normal moves, but you sure do when said moves aren't enough to get a KO. Expert Belt puts your opponent is a tough "damned if you don't, damned if you do" position, as Snorlax will get enough power to do really well on damage races vs most mons that resist normal, and its normal attacks are, by default, strong enough for mons that resist other typings but don't resist normal. If you are in doubt, go with Expert Belt: you will be right more often than not.
Silk Scarf goes by a completely opposite premise. It boosts Snorlax's main weapon greatly, making it much more dangerous against pokemons that don't resist normal. That option has a stronger punch than Expert Belt, since you will use normal moves more often than not, but should be used carefully. Without the boost of Expert Belt or the usage of hgh BAP moves (more on that below), Snorlax's coverage options are sometimes lacking in power, which increase the number of mons that can defeat it without much hassle. Use Silk Scarf only when you are sure that the pokemon Snorlax will face doesn't resist Normal and can't make it a bad option (with Ion Deluge, for example). If you do so, you will have nothing to worry about.
Full Incense is Snorlax's signature item. It gives it the effects of "No-Guard", but makes it always move last on the same priority bracket. Also, it boosts the healing of rest to 15hp per action. Full Incense gives you two important advantages: access to high BAP moves such as Blizzard, Focus Blast, Thunder and Dynamic Punch, to complement your coverage nicely and in a powerful manner; and the strategic advantage of not having to sub for Evasive Moves or prepare yourself in case of a miss. But the price for said advantages is quite big. With Full Incense Snorlax becomes vulnerable to low accuracy moves, mostly Dynamic Punch or Cross Chop and Zap Cannon to a lesser extent, and it can't patch up its bad speed with Trick Room, a very common strategy to use with Snorlax. Most of the time you will get the same BAP boost for coverage with Expert Belt, making it the best option more often than not. But, if you know that Snorlax won't face an user of Dynamic Punch and you don't intend to use Trick Room, then by all means go with Full Incense, as the No Guard effects makes ordering a hell lot easier.
Finally, leftovers. Thanks to Gluttony, Snorlax is one of the few good users of Leftovers, so it is an option here. But (there is always a but) what I said about defensive natures applies here: Snorlax's high HP already goes leaps and bounds on the bulk business, so you don't need to enhance it further. You will usually get a better return investing on the offensive side (mainly considering that ASB is a very offensive game), mostly on the special side. But, if you know that you can play stall well and you intend to do so, Leftovers is a nice, stable option to consider.
Other items, such as Chople Berry or Macho Brace, may also be used, but they are usually very situational (Chople Berry's case: use it only when you don't need coverage and you are sure that there is a risk that your opponent will switch in a Low Kick user) or, most of the time, outclassed by one of the options above (Macho Brace: Silk Scarf gives it a better output for normal moves, and it is only the better option if you intend to use moves such as Wild Charge or Heavy Slam). Good
Roles and Strategies:
As said above, Snorlax is best used on an offensive position as a damage dealer. The high HP allows you to take some risks, so do that. Don't waste actions with support moves or set up unless really necessary and pick the moves that allow you to deal the most damage right off the bat. A Heavy Offensive approach, more often than not, forces your opponent to also go for the damage race, and lose to Snorlax in the process.
Before sending Snorlax out, if you are to send out first, take a good look at your opponent's team and be certain that thereisaren't any pokemon that can defeat Snorlax (more on that below). If there is, then don't send Snorlax out. I repeat: don't send Snorlax out expecting to defeat a would-be counter with turn-order advantage, as it won't work. Save your Snorlax for when the most dangerous mons of your opponent's team are weakened or fainted or when you can be sure that he can't switch in said mons (when you send out last or when you send out after a KO). Pay attention to U-Turn and Volt Switch too: they may bring your nemesis, and you won't like that.
In the other hand, don't save your Snorlax for too long. The opponent may also be saving its counter and you will end up in a bad match-up. Let Snorlax loose as soon as you have a safe opportunity and call it back as soon as danger approaches. Do that and you should carve some nicely holes on in your opponent's team.
Let me give you some examples of what I mean.
- SimonSays vs Yarnus of Bethany - Snorlax was sent out against a Low Kick user, who managed to deal a good 27.75hp damage on one action, without STAB or a boosting item (but with Slaking). Needless to say, Snorlax wasn't really useful here.
- Frosty vs Dogfish44 and Frosty vs Athenodoros - Good examples of how good Snorlax is on a Damage Race, provided that you use its options well, and keep fightingmons pokemon and Low Kick away.
- Maxim vs Engineer - Snorlax was sent out first while the opponent had a Gallade just waiting for it. Needless to say, Snorlax didn't do much and turn-order advantage wasn't much of an advantage after all.
- Maxim vs Smashlloyd20 - A good example of what I said about saving Snorlax. Smashlloyd had 2 fighting types on his team of 3. Maxim smartly used his other two pokemon to dispatch the fighting mons and only sent Snorlax out when Low Kick-less Kitsunoh was the only mon left.
- Frosty vs TheWolfe - An example of what you should not do to preserve your Snorlax. Frosty switched Snorlax in without much care and TheWolfe counterswitched his Low Kick Swampert and proceeded to destroy Snorlax, while still ordering first. Okay
Partners and Counters:
Regardless the format, Snorlax is easy prey to most fighting mons and most Low Kick users, since both with win any damage races against Mr. Fatso (go go 15BAP Low Kick). Bulky Ghosts like Eviolite Dusclops or Dusknoir (see here) also work wonders, since Snorlax's best option against them is Crunch or Shadow Ball and they don't do nearly enough. Dynamic Punch users also work well against a Full Incense Snorlax. You mentioned Odor Sleuth...
Against them your best bet is running, I am afraid. Bide and Counter may work against the less aware player and Reflect may ease the pain a bit, but Snorlax still loses.
Snorlax should be paired to mons that can defeat those, so it can do its job more easily. Psychic and Fairy mons in general are good options and MegaGengar can be used for Shadow Tag goodness as well.
On Doubles or Triples, Snorlax works great with Helping Hand Support, thanks to the high BAP of his moves. Pair him with Dusknoir or Gallade and you should be ready to lay down the hurt (see here, it was pre-Helping Hand nerf, but it is still a good example).
Stats: 130/4/3/3/4/30 WC/SC?
Abilities: Thick Fat, Immunity, Gluttony
Signature Item: Full Incense What it does?
Avail
Overview: After the downfall of GSC, the great Snorlax finally found another to call "home": the realm of ASB. Combining 130 HP, a huge movepool, strong attacks and decent stats overall, Snorlax is a tank through and through. Whether it is with Double-Edge, Giga Impact and related combos, or through the abuse of moves such as Focus Blast, Dynamic Punch, Blizzard, Thunder and Zap Cannon, Snorlax sure knows how to deal damage to 95% of the mons around... You missed a space here while the opposite sure can't be said. More often than not, Snorlax will emerge victorious in a 1vs1 combat, something
But Mr. Fatso here isn't inv
All-in-all Snorlax is a very good mon, with strong options, a simple and stable playstyle and a vast movepool. Be careful when pairing pokemons and you should be fine. ?
Stats and Natures: As you can see above, Snorlax is a very slow pokemon, which means that investing on Speed is not recommended at all. Most, if not all, natures, useable on Snorlax, are (-)speed ones. So while you may be in doubt of which stat to boost, don't think twice before reducing its speed. You won't notice the difference most of the time.
Quiet (+SpA, -Spe) is probably the most common ability you will see being used on Snorlax. And for a good reason. Being from Generation 1, Snorlax has a very wide movepool, with many options on the physical and special sides. Quiet complements that well
Relaxed (+Def, -Spe) is also a viable nature, although not nearly as common as Quiet. With Relaxed, Snorlax gets even defenses and can resist most moves much better. Since he will be hit mostly with physical attacks, Relaxed patches up a "hole" in his defenses nicely. Although, most of the time, Snorlax prefers an offensive nature, as the 130hp already goes extremely far in the "bulky" scale.
Sassy (+SpD, -Spe) is also a possible nature, albeit not common at all. Still, it is good if you want Snorlax to play a defensive role and you know that your opponents will be mostly special based (on a Raid or a Facility battle, or even against an specific Gym). But it usually isn't a good nature to be kept permanently on Snorlax, only for specific targets.
The next is Brave (+Atk, -Spe). While in-game +atk is the most common route on Snorlax, here on ASB it doesn't need more attack. His weight-based moves already deal great damage and you will hardly ever use physical attacks to hit super effectively (at least compared to special attacks), which means that if you are to boost an offense, boost Special Attack, as it will give you a much better payout. Still, it may work on a specific situations against physically weak targets (like on the EotS raid, or against the psychic gym), as long as you change it back when it is over.
Finally, Impish (+Def, -Spa). Don't use it. Period. No defense boost is worth reducing even more the power of like half Snorlax's offensive movepool. If you want to boost defense, go with Relaxed, as 10% evasion is not nearly as good as +1SpA on Snorlax. This section is good
Abilities, Moves, Movepool and Combos: Snorlax's abilities compliment its defensive side nicely, while the Moves are the main source of its offensive prowess
Thick Fat reduces the strength of Fire and Ice Moves. While, more often than not, Snorlax won't be hit with said moves, it is still a nice thing to have. This is extra useful if you intend to challenge a specific raid (Like Wildfire Plateau) or Gym (Hint: there is no Ice/Fighting mon, and only Weavile knows Low Kick, and you can sure handle it, right?).
Immunity makes Snorlax immune (sorry!) from Poison damage, and is usually the go-to ability in 1-ability matches or RPs. Toxic is a very popular move thanks to ASB enabling more than one status on the same mon, and most popular poison moves (Sludge Bomb, Gunk Shot and Poison Jab) have high poison rates, which means that getting poisoned is quite common actually. Removing it from the equation is a significant advantage, specially if you are challenging the Poison Gym or the Pike.
Finally, Gluttony is only worth noticing if you are using Leftovers. Which you won't more often than not. HP triggered berries have a very questionable
As for the moves, Snorlax sports a 120+ movepool filled with goodies. If you look closely, you will notice that there are several offensive moves, but not many support moves. Aside from Reflect and the Weather Moves, there aren't many support moves worth noticing: most non-offensive moves enhance Snorlax's own capacities (like Belly Drum, Refresh and Odor Sleuth).
But in the other hand, it gets pretty much every attacking move under the sun. To give you an idea, it has coverage on the following types: Physical: Dark (Crunch), Dragon (Outrage), Electric (Wild Charge), Fighting (Focus Punch, Brick Break), Fire (Fire Punch), Grass (Seed Bomb), Ground (Earthquake), Ice (Ice Punch), Poison (Gunk Shot), Psychic (Zen Headbutt), Rock (Rock Slide), Steel (Iron Head); Special: Electric (thunderbolt), Fighting (focus blast), Fire (flamethrower), Ghost (Shadow Ball), Grass (Solar beam), Ice (Ice beam), Poison (Belch, but it is pretty rare), Psychic (Psychic), Water (Surf). If you are counting, that means that only Fairy, Flying and Bug don't have good options. 15 out of 18 isn't bad at all. Solar beam and ice beam have spaces
The attacking moves you will see and use the most are only three though: Body Slam (11BAP), Double-Edge (16BAP) and Giga Impact (18BAP). Body Slam is used when you don't want recoil and when you want paralysis, Double-Edge for middle-game and Giga Impact for finishing off an opponent. These should win you most damage races, and the ones they don't, the coverage handles nicely.
Finally, as far as combos goes, feel free to go wild. Hyper Beam goes well with beam moves and most special moves and is great to KO through a weakness. Giga Impact can be combo'd with most physical moves, now that it is passive; but it is best when comboed with itself or with Double-Edge for great damage. Focus Punch is also a good option to KO through a weakness on the physical side and can combined with itself to crush most fighting-weak mons (like the Weavile I mentioned earlier
Items:
Expert Belt is probably your best bet for an offensive item, now that Full Incense was nerfed. The usage of Expert Belt goes by the premise that you don't need extra power with Normal moves, but you sure do when said moves aren't enough to get a KO. Expert Belt puts your opponent is a tough "damned if you don't, damned if you do" position, as Snorlax will get enough power to do really well on damage races vs most mons that resist normal, and its normal attacks are, by default, strong enough for mons that resist other typings but don't resist normal. If you are in doubt, go with Expert Belt: you will be right more often than not.
Silk Scarf goes by a completely opposite premise. It boosts Snorlax's main weapon greatly, making it much more dangerous against pokemons that don't resist normal. That option has a stronger punch than Expert Belt, since you will use normal moves more often than not, but should be used carefully. Without the boost of Expert Belt or the usage of hgh BAP moves (more on that below), Snorlax's coverage options are sometimes lacking in power, which increase the number of mons that can defeat it without much hassle. Use Silk Scarf only when you are sure that the pokemon Snorlax will face doesn't resist Normal and can't make it a bad option (with Ion Deluge, for example). If you do so, you will have nothing to worry about.
Full Incense is Snorlax's signature item. It gives it the effects of "No-Guard", but makes it always move last on the same priority bracket. Also, it boosts the healing of rest to 15hp per action. Full Incense gives you two important advantages: access to high BAP moves such as Blizzard, Focus Blast, Thunder and Dynamic Punch, to complement your coverage nicely and in a powerful manner; and the strategic advantage of not having to sub for Evasive Moves or prepare yourself in case of a miss. But the price for said advantages is quite big. With Full Incense Snorlax becomes vulnerable to low accuracy moves, mostly Dynamic Punch or Cross Chop and Zap Cannon to a lesser extent, and it can't patch up its bad speed with Trick Room, a very common strategy to use with Snorlax. Most of the time you will get the same BAP boost for coverage with Expert Belt, making it the best option more often than not. But, if you know that Snorlax won't face an user of Dynamic Punch and you don't intend to use Trick Room, then by all means go with Full Incense, as the No Guard effects makes ordering a hell lot easier.
Finally, leftovers. Thanks to Gluttony, Snorlax is one of the few good users of Leftovers, so it is an option here. But (there is always a but) what I said about defensive natures applies here: Snorlax's high HP already goes leaps and bounds on the bulk business, so you don't need to enhance it further. You will usually get a better return investing on the offensive side (mainly considering that ASB is a very offensive game), mostly on the special side. But, if you know that you can play stall well and you intend to do so, Leftovers is a nice, stable option to consider.
Other items, such as Chople Berry or Macho Brace, may also be used, but they are usually very situational (Chople Berry's case: use it only when you don't need coverage and you are sure that there is a risk that your opponent will switch in a Low Kick user) or, most of the time, outclassed by one of the options above (Macho Brace: Silk Scarf gives it a better output for normal moves, and it is only the better option if you intend to use moves such as Wild Charge or Heavy Slam). Good
Roles and Strategies:
As said above, Snorlax is best used on an offensive position as a damage dealer. The high HP allows you to take some risks, so do that. Don't waste actions with support moves or set up unless really necessary and pick the moves that allow you to deal the most damage right off the bat. A Heavy Offensive approach, more often than not, forces your opponent to also go for the damage race, and lose to Snorlax in the process.
Before sending Snorlax out, if you are to send out first, take a good look at your opponent's team and be certain that there
In the other hand, don't save your Snorlax for too long. The opponent may also be saving its counter and you will end up in a bad match-up. Let Snorlax loose as soon as you have a safe opportunity and call it back as soon as danger approaches. Do that and you should carve some nice
Let me give you some examples of what I mean.
- SimonSays vs Yarnus of Bethany - Snorlax was sent out against a Low Kick user, who managed to deal a good 27.75hp damage on one action, without STAB or a boosting item (but with Slaking). Needless to say, Snorlax wasn't really useful here.
- Frosty vs Dogfish44 and Frosty vs Athenodoros - Good examples of how good Snorlax is on a Damage Race, provided that you use its options well, and keep fighting
- Maxim vs Engineer - Snorlax was sent out first while the opponent had a Gallade just waiting for it. Needless to say, Snorlax didn't do much and turn-order advantage wasn't much of an advantage after all.
- Maxim vs Smashlloyd20 - A good example of what I said about saving Snorlax. Smashlloyd had 2 fighting types on his team of 3. Maxim smartly used his other two pokemon to dispatch the fighting mons and only sent Snorlax out when Low Kick-less Kitsunoh was the only mon left.
- Frosty vs TheWolfe - An example of what you should not do to preserve your Snorlax. Frosty switched Snorlax in without much care and TheWolfe counterswitched his Low Kick Swampert and proceeded to destroy Snorlax, while still ordering first. Okay
Partners and Counters:
Regardless the format, Snorlax is easy prey to most fighting mons and most Low Kick users, since both with win any damage races against Mr. Fatso (go go 15BAP Low Kick). Bulky Ghosts like Eviolite Dusclops or Dusknoir (see here) also work wonders, since Snorlax's best option against them is Crunch or Shadow Ball and they don't do nearly enough. Dynamic Punch users also work well against a Full Incense Snorlax. You mentioned Odor Sleuth...
Against them your best bet is running, I am afraid. Bide and Counter may work against the less aware player and Reflect may ease the pain a bit, but Snorlax still loses.
Snorlax should be paired to mons that can defeat those, so it can do its job more easily. Psychic and Fairy mons in general are good options and MegaGengar can be used for Shadow Tag goodness as well.
On Doubles or Triples, Snorlax works great with Helping Hand Support, thanks to the high BAP of his moves. Pair him with Dusknoir or Gallade and you should be ready to lay down the hurt (see here, it was pre-Helping Hand nerf, but it is still a good example).
I can't tell if that's serious or not ._.
Anyway, I do have some experience with Smogon GP, so I'm more than willing to help out with that. Note to other people interested in checking: this link does an excellent job explaining Pokemon-specific grammar (or at least Smogon conventions).
I'm a bit worried about the length of the sample analysis, though; while it is about Snorlax, it's a giant, intimidating wall of text that could definitely be shortened a bit. In particular, for natures, it seems sufficient to list a few stats worth boosting and a few stats that can afford to be lowered instead of going through specific natures, and for abilities, it makes more sense to skip directly to how they help the Pokemon (e.g. "Immunity complements Snorlax's natural tankiness, allowing it to stave off Toxic and the many 30% poison chance attacks in ASB" instead of an entire paragraph). Similarly, the items section could definitely be trimmed down a bit.
I guess I'm just worried about superfluous information; if every analysis is equally long and filled with "this Pokemon gets Bide, which can potentially turn a battle in your favor if the opponent is not careful, Counter, which is highly effective against physical attackers, and Encore, which is a great move that can punish a badly constructed substitution or action set, etc. etc." it's not really helping the reader learn more about the specific Pokemon?
Anyway, I do have some experience with Smogon GP, so I'm more than willing to help out with that. Note to other people interested in checking: this link does an excellent job explaining Pokemon-specific grammar (or at least Smogon conventions).
I'm a bit worried about the length of the sample analysis, though; while it is about Snorlax, it's a giant, intimidating wall of text that could definitely be shortened a bit. In particular, for natures, it seems sufficient to list a few stats worth boosting and a few stats that can afford to be lowered instead of going through specific natures, and for abilities, it makes more sense to skip directly to how they help the Pokemon (e.g. "Immunity complements Snorlax's natural tankiness, allowing it to stave off Toxic and the many 30% poison chance attacks in ASB" instead of an entire paragraph). Similarly, the items section could definitely be trimmed down a bit.
I guess I'm just worried about superfluous information; if every analysis is equally long and filled with "this Pokemon gets Bide, which can potentially turn a battle in your favor if the opponent is not careful, Counter, which is highly effective against physical attackers, and Encore, which is a great move that can punish a badly constructed substitution or action set, etc. etc." it's not really helping the reader learn more about the specific Pokemon?
I am aware of that and I share that concern. I only posted that analysis without revision because people were asking for it to base their own analysis. I didn't want to have the entire project waiting on me.
I do intend to trim it down a bit asap, but time is quite hard to get by. To give you an idea, I have 3 GP checks done on it and I still didn't manage to read them properly...
But also, this:
Since our userbase is small (and so is the number of people capable and willing to write an analysis) I didn't want to put them down by making people worry too much about stuff other then content and grammar when writing for now.
I do intend to trim it down a bit asap, but time is quite hard to get by. To give you an idea, I have 3 GP checks done on it and I still didn't manage to read them properly...
But also, this:
My priority is to get something done. After we have a good set of analysis, we can work on ideal length, writing and stuff like that.some posts above said:
Since our userbase is small (and so is the number of people capable and willing to write an analysis) I didn't want to put them down by making people worry too much about stuff other then content and grammar when writing for now.
WIP
Togekiss
Stats: 100/2/3/5/4/80
Abilities: Hustle / Serene Grace / Super Luck (H)
Signature Item: Shiny Stone
Availability: Evolves from Togetic (Evolves from Togepi (2 CC))
Overview: Togekiss is a medium risk, very high reward kind of pokémon. With an excellent movepool, great stats, three superb abilities, one of the game's best typings, and usable with many playstyles, natures and items, Togekiss is one of ASB's best. Whether on offense or defense, whether soloing gyms (haha we're all just waiting for emma to do it) or winning tournament matches, whether using powerful Hyper Beam combos or creative play with moves such as Encore and Endure, you can be assured that Togekiss will almost always pull its weight -- and more.
Of course, every pokémon has its weaknesses, and Togekiss is no exception. Its typing, while giving it a plethora of useful resistances and immunities, also renders it weak to ice, rock, electric, steel, and poison, and neither of its typings remove any weaknesses of the other. It is particularly weak to tanky steels(aka every steel) that it is unable to play around, as well as most electrics with its lack of ground coverage.
Stats and Natures: Togekiss's weakest stat is attack, and most of its usable attacking moves are special. While hustle makes other natures useful, attack is generally the best stat to lower.
Timid (+Spe, -Atk) is Togekiss's best nature in the opinion of this writer. Not only does timid help negate the reduced accuracy of Hustle, it give Togekiss a decent speed of 92, which I like just because you don't speed tie with Cyclohm that aren't +Spe which can be hella annoying.
Bold (+Def, -Atk) is the other common Togekiss nature. Bold gives Togekiss excellent 100/4/4 defenses, which makes it just a bit more tanky -- but that tankiness can go a long way. In my opinion Timid is a little better but Bold gives the survivability, if that's what you're looking for.
Modest (+Spa, -Atk) is generally inferior but can be used tokill more things increase Togekiss's damage potential. I would only recommend this (actually I wouldn't at all, but you know what I mean) if you intend to run Scope Lens instead of Shiny Stone (more on items later), as with Modest Shiny Stone's Spa boost will raise damage by 1 instead of 1.5 (and therefore be unoptimal).
Finally, Brave (+Atk, -Spe). Don't use it unless you are SubwayJ and want a Lax Mr. Mime-level gimmick.
Abilities, Moves, Movepool and Combos: Togekiss has three excellent abilities increasing its offensive and utility potential and a movepool full of goodies that can absolutely screw with the opponent when ordering second (and even first), as well as dealing super-effective damage to almost everything.
Serene Grace - This Pokemon has a blessing which doubles the success chance of its attack's secondary effects. Serene Grace is helpful as it gives Togekiss a massive harass and support potential, with 60% paralysis on Thunder, 60% flinch on Air Slash, 20% freeze on Ice Beam, 20% burn on Flamethrower/Fire Blast, and much more. Seriously, I could write a book on all the moves in Togekiss's massive movepool Serene Grace buffs.
Hustle - No default effect. When toggled, this Pokemon puts immense force and speed into its physical attacks, increasing the Base Attack Power of all its physical attacks by three (3), but the haste used lowers their accuracy to 80% of normal. Hustle is mainly useful because it gives extra power to Togekiss's often underestimated physical attacks. These can provide extra coverage, but generally special moves are better to win the damage race.
Super Luck (H) - This Pokemon's natural skill increases its critical hit levels one stage above other Pokemon, making its normal moves inflict critical hits 12.5% of the time and its high critical hit moves inflict critical hits 25% of the time. Super Luck is useful for the extra damage, as well as giving Togekiss a 100% crit chance with Scope Lens (!).
Togekiss has a massive movepool of 120 moves (which happens to give a perfect 8 CC bonus <3), and about 100 ones that you will find useful. Really it is only missing a few moves; Icy Wind and Moonblast come to mind. When analyzing a movepool, its always good to start out with good old STAB, which in Togekiss's case is two 8-BAP moves in Dazzling Gleam and Air Slash. Dazzling Gleam is especially nice for its spread in doubles, and Air Slash has that sexy 60% flinch chance. All in all, two excellent STABs.
Next comes coverage. Togekiss has excellent coverage (15 types, 16 with Hidden Power), with goodies such as Aura Sphere, Grass Knot, Silver Wind, Ancient Power, Fire Blast, Flamethrower, Shadow Ball, Psychic, Psyshock, Solar Beam, Water Pulse, Twister, Signal Beam, Heat Wave, Stored Power, Hyper Beam, and Hidden Power (I would recommend Ground). And that's just the special ones.
Togekiss's utility is nothing short of amazing. While it only has one "disruptive" move in Encore, it can inflict almost every status in the game: Thunder Wave, Toxic, Swagger, Psycho Shift, Sweet Kiss, and Yawn. It can support its teammates with Safeguard, Wish, After You, Follow Me, Baton Pass, Heal Bell, Brick Break, Rain Dance, Sunny Day, Reflect, and Light Screen. It finds general utility in Roost, Morning Sun, Double Team, Substitute, Protect, Fly, Psych Up, Sleep Talk, Endure, Rest, Telekinesis, Uproar, Trick, Magic Coat, Endeavor, Drain Punch, Nasty Plot, Foresight, Mirror Move, Feint, Extreme Speed, Swift, and more. Yeah. A lot of useful moves.
Items: I generally find four items usable on Togekiss: Scope Lens, Shiny Stone, Focus Sash, and Float Stone. I'll also talk about one common item that should not be used.
Scope Lens - Raises the critical hit stage of the Pokemon by two (2). Scope Lens is generally seen as a gimmick. However, with the new crit mechanics in XY, crit stage 4 is 100% crit. Guess what? Scope Lens and Super Luck combine to give Togekiss a crit stage of 4. Yeah, you heard me. 100% crit rate. Essentially, +3 BAP on all moves. Free. If that's not OP I don't know what is.
Shiny Stone - Increases the Base Accuracy of all moves used by the affected Pokemon by ten (10). Increases the Pokemon's highest true base stat (e.g. 130 Atk) of Attack, Defense, Special Attack, and Special Defense by one (1) Rank. If the highest true base stat is tied, each Rank is raised. Shiny Stone, Togekiss's signature item, is also a good choice on Togekiss. The main sell here is the acc boost which, when combined with Timid, negates Hustle's acc loss, letting you use it essentially free. It's helpful to note that the +Spa gives Togekiss natural rank 6 Spa without a nature.
Focus Sash - Reduces the Base Attack Power of attacks used against the Pokemon by two (2) while above 50% of its maximum HP. The effect is amplified on OHKO Moves, which are reduced by fifteen (15) Base Attack Power instead. Focus Sash is helpful on more tanky Togekisses. However, it is generally inferior to the damage of Scope Lens or the accuracy of Shiny Stone unless you're in something like a TLR that requires endurance more than damage.
Float Stone (Credit to SubwayJ for the idea) - The Pokemon's weight is cut in half, and all attacks used by the Pokemon with six (6) or less Base Power after ability adjustments have +1 priority. Priority is applied to the summed Base Power of a multi-hit move. Float Stone can be really good when used correctly. It can be used to avoid flinches and get in final hits before dying. I generally find it helpful for ASB's equivalent of revenge killing. Also, with float stone Togekiss gets 9 types of priority iirc, which is obviously incredible.
Expert Belt - There's no reason to use this over Scope Lens unless you are in a one ability battle. Scope Lens provides more damage and doesn't only trigger on SE attacks.
Rest is a WIP.
Stats: 100/2/3/5/4/80
Abilities: Hustle / Serene Grace / Super Luck (H)
Signature Item: Shiny Stone
Availability: Evolves from Togetic (Evolves from Togepi (2 CC))
Overview: Togekiss is a medium risk, very high reward kind of pokémon. With an excellent movepool, great stats, three superb abilities, one of the game's best typings, and usable with many playstyles, natures and items, Togekiss is one of ASB's best. Whether on offense or defense, whether soloing gyms (haha we're all just waiting for emma to do it) or winning tournament matches, whether using powerful Hyper Beam combos or creative play with moves such as Encore and Endure, you can be assured that Togekiss will almost always pull its weight -- and more.
Of course, every pokémon has its weaknesses, and Togekiss is no exception. Its typing, while giving it a plethora of useful resistances and immunities, also renders it weak to ice, rock, electric, steel, and poison, and neither of its typings remove any weaknesses of the other. It is particularly weak to tanky steels
Stats and Natures: Togekiss's weakest stat is attack, and most of its usable attacking moves are special. While hustle makes other natures useful, attack is generally the best stat to lower.
Timid (+Spe, -Atk) is Togekiss's best nature in the opinion of this writer. Not only does timid help negate the reduced accuracy of Hustle, it give Togekiss a decent speed of 92, which I like just because you don't speed tie with Cyclohm that aren't +Spe which can be hella annoying.
Bold (+Def, -Atk) is the other common Togekiss nature. Bold gives Togekiss excellent 100/4/4 defenses, which makes it just a bit more tanky -- but that tankiness can go a long way. In my opinion Timid is a little better but Bold gives the survivability, if that's what you're looking for.
Modest (+Spa, -Atk) is generally inferior but can be used to
Finally, Brave (+Atk, -Spe). Don't use it unless you are SubwayJ and want a Lax Mr. Mime-level gimmick.
Abilities, Moves, Movepool and Combos: Togekiss has three excellent abilities increasing its offensive and utility potential and a movepool full of goodies that can absolutely screw with the opponent when ordering second (and even first), as well as dealing super-effective damage to almost everything.
Serene Grace - This Pokemon has a blessing which doubles the success chance of its attack's secondary effects. Serene Grace is helpful as it gives Togekiss a massive harass and support potential, with 60% paralysis on Thunder, 60% flinch on Air Slash, 20% freeze on Ice Beam, 20% burn on Flamethrower/Fire Blast, and much more. Seriously, I could write a book on all the moves in Togekiss's massive movepool Serene Grace buffs.
Hustle - No default effect. When toggled, this Pokemon puts immense force and speed into its physical attacks, increasing the Base Attack Power of all its physical attacks by three (3), but the haste used lowers their accuracy to 80% of normal. Hustle is mainly useful because it gives extra power to Togekiss's often underestimated physical attacks. These can provide extra coverage, but generally special moves are better to win the damage race.
Super Luck (H) - This Pokemon's natural skill increases its critical hit levels one stage above other Pokemon, making its normal moves inflict critical hits 12.5% of the time and its high critical hit moves inflict critical hits 25% of the time. Super Luck is useful for the extra damage, as well as giving Togekiss a 100% crit chance with Scope Lens (!).
Togekiss has a massive movepool of 120 moves (which happens to give a perfect 8 CC bonus <3), and about 100 ones that you will find useful. Really it is only missing a few moves; Icy Wind and Moonblast come to mind. When analyzing a movepool, its always good to start out with good old STAB, which in Togekiss's case is two 8-BAP moves in Dazzling Gleam and Air Slash. Dazzling Gleam is especially nice for its spread in doubles, and Air Slash has that sexy 60% flinch chance. All in all, two excellent STABs.
Next comes coverage. Togekiss has excellent coverage (15 types, 16 with Hidden Power), with goodies such as Aura Sphere, Grass Knot, Silver Wind, Ancient Power, Fire Blast, Flamethrower, Shadow Ball, Psychic, Psyshock, Solar Beam, Water Pulse, Twister, Signal Beam, Heat Wave, Stored Power, Hyper Beam, and Hidden Power (I would recommend Ground). And that's just the special ones.
Togekiss's utility is nothing short of amazing. While it only has one "disruptive" move in Encore, it can inflict almost every status in the game: Thunder Wave, Toxic, Swagger, Psycho Shift, Sweet Kiss, and Yawn. It can support its teammates with Safeguard, Wish, After You, Follow Me, Baton Pass, Heal Bell, Brick Break, Rain Dance, Sunny Day, Reflect, and Light Screen. It finds general utility in Roost, Morning Sun, Double Team, Substitute, Protect, Fly, Psych Up, Sleep Talk, Endure, Rest, Telekinesis, Uproar, Trick, Magic Coat, Endeavor, Drain Punch, Nasty Plot, Foresight, Mirror Move, Feint, Extreme Speed, Swift, and more. Yeah. A lot of useful moves.
Items: I generally find four items usable on Togekiss: Scope Lens, Shiny Stone, Focus Sash, and Float Stone. I'll also talk about one common item that should not be used.
Scope Lens - Raises the critical hit stage of the Pokemon by two (2). Scope Lens is generally seen as a gimmick. However, with the new crit mechanics in XY, crit stage 4 is 100% crit. Guess what? Scope Lens and Super Luck combine to give Togekiss a crit stage of 4. Yeah, you heard me. 100% crit rate. Essentially, +3 BAP on all moves. Free. If that's not OP I don't know what is.
Shiny Stone - Increases the Base Accuracy of all moves used by the affected Pokemon by ten (10). Increases the Pokemon's highest true base stat (e.g. 130 Atk) of Attack, Defense, Special Attack, and Special Defense by one (1) Rank. If the highest true base stat is tied, each Rank is raised. Shiny Stone, Togekiss's signature item, is also a good choice on Togekiss. The main sell here is the acc boost which, when combined with Timid, negates Hustle's acc loss, letting you use it essentially free. It's helpful to note that the +Spa gives Togekiss natural rank 6 Spa without a nature.
Focus Sash - Reduces the Base Attack Power of attacks used against the Pokemon by two (2) while above 50% of its maximum HP. The effect is amplified on OHKO Moves, which are reduced by fifteen (15) Base Attack Power instead. Focus Sash is helpful on more tanky Togekisses. However, it is generally inferior to the damage of Scope Lens or the accuracy of Shiny Stone unless you're in something like a TLR that requires endurance more than damage.
Float Stone (Credit to SubwayJ for the idea) - The Pokemon's weight is cut in half, and all attacks used by the Pokemon with six (6) or less Base Power after ability adjustments have +1 priority. Priority is applied to the summed Base Power of a multi-hit move. Float Stone can be really good when used correctly. It can be used to avoid flinches and get in final hits before dying. I generally find it helpful for ASB's equivalent of revenge killing. Also, with float stone Togekiss gets 9 types of priority iirc, which is obviously incredible.
Expert Belt - There's no reason to use this over Scope Lens unless you are in a one ability battle. Scope Lens provides more damage and doesn't only trigger on SE attacks.
Rest is a WIP.
I... seriously doubt I ever get around to doing the Scizor write-up. I'm dropping my claim to it for now.
I would like to apologize to everyone for the lack of activity here. The free time I have for ASB is being focused on like...everywhere else and I couldn't even implement the changes and trim down snorlax's analysis.
I will try to get something going here for now on. Also, I would like to know if the people that reserved mons are still willing to write about them so I can update the OP. PM/VM me, k?
Leethoof
smashlloyd20
Geodude6
GemOftheDay
zarator
Maxim
rickheg
Gerard
AOPSUser
Birkal
SubwayJ
Its_A_Random
Also I will go ahead and reserve Necturna.
I will try to get something going here for now on. Also, I would like to know if the people that reserved mons are still willing to write about them so I can update the OP. PM/VM me, k?
Leethoof
smashlloyd20
Geodude6
GemOftheDay
zarator
Maxim
rickheg
Gerard
AOPSUser
Birkal
SubwayJ
Its_A_Random
Also I will go ahead and reserve Necturna.
I know I don't have the most experience with it, but may I reserve Ludicolo?
this makes me very sad but someone else will have to do aggron
I am going to reserve Kitsunoh
I know just the guy...
This is still a WIP, but I wanted to get down what I had before I forget this project any more.
Roles and Strategies:
Partners and Counters:
Dusknoir
Stats: 90/4/5/3/5/45 WC: 5 SC: 4
Abilities: Pressure, Frisk
Signature Item: Reaper Cloth (Raises the Energy Cost of incoming attacks by two and gives the pokemon Levitate)
Availability: Evolve from Dusclops (evolve from Duskull) (2CC)
Overview: Dusknoir is a defensive pokemon in an offensive world. While it isn't a big bruiser like some mons, it can still hurt just about everything
Stats and Natures: Dusknoir has very respectable defensive stats, with his less-than-stellar HP being offset by very good 5/5 defenses. His offenses are passable as well, although they certainly appreciate a boost from Dusknoir's given nature. That said, Dusknoir is slow as dirt, and speed should always be the stat you lower. Dusknoir doesn't have any huge weaknesses to poor accuracy moves, the the drop in evasion is negligable. Which leaves us with two optimal natures for Dusknoir.
Quiet is the most common nature for Dusknoir; it brings his offenses to an even 4/4 and most of Noir's better coverage options are special (such as Ice Beam, Psychic, and Focus Blast). Given that Shadow Ball and Hex, Dusknoir's strongest STAB options, are special, Quiet is usually preferred since Ghost moves don't pack as much of a punch as other types can. Brave is the only other option, and it isn't quite as viable as Quiet. Most of Dusknoir's attacks are physical, including his strongest moves (such as Earthquake, and Focus Punch), and he does still have good physical coverage, like access to the elemental punches. While Brave can boost these moves, as well as his STABs in Shadow Sneak and Shadow Punch, Quiet is usually the better option.
Abilities, Moves, Movepool and Combos: Until Gen 6, Dusknoir had only one true ability; Pressure.
Items: Dusknoir's signature item in ASB is the Reaper Cloth. It gives Dusknoir a pseudo-extra ability in Levitate, and boosts the Energy drain of Pressure. The added Pressure aids Dusknoir in stalling opponents, and Dusknoir has plenty of stalling options thanks to his supporting movepool.
Abilities: Pressure, Frisk
Signature Item: Reaper Cloth (Raises the Energy Cost of incoming attacks by two and gives the pokemon Levitate)
Availability: Evolve from Dusclops (evolve from Duskull) (2CC)
Overview: Dusknoir is a defensive pokemon in an offensive world. While it isn't a big bruiser like some mons, it can still hurt just about everything
Stats and Natures: Dusknoir has very respectable defensive stats, with his less-than-stellar HP being offset by very good 5/5 defenses. His offenses are passable as well, although they certainly appreciate a boost from Dusknoir's given nature. That said, Dusknoir is slow as dirt, and speed should always be the stat you lower. Dusknoir doesn't have any huge weaknesses to poor accuracy moves, the the drop in evasion is negligable. Which leaves us with two optimal natures for Dusknoir.
Quiet is the most common nature for Dusknoir; it brings his offenses to an even 4/4 and most of Noir's better coverage options are special (such as Ice Beam, Psychic, and Focus Blast). Given that Shadow Ball and Hex, Dusknoir's strongest STAB options, are special, Quiet is usually preferred since Ghost moves don't pack as much of a punch as other types can. Brave is the only other option, and it isn't quite as viable as Quiet. Most of Dusknoir's attacks are physical, including his strongest moves (such as Earthquake, and Focus Punch), and he does still have good physical coverage, like access to the elemental punches. While Brave can boost these moves, as well as his STABs in Shadow Sneak and Shadow Punch, Quiet is usually the better option.
Abilities, Moves, Movepool and Combos: Until Gen 6, Dusknoir had only one true ability; Pressure.
Items: Dusknoir's signature item in ASB is the Reaper Cloth. It gives Dusknoir a pseudo-extra ability in Levitate, and boosts the Energy drain of Pressure. The added Pressure aids Dusknoir in stalling opponents, and Dusknoir has plenty of stalling options thanks to his supporting movepool.
Roles and Strategies:
Partners and Counters:
Proofreading Togekiss's anaylisis (at least the parts that are completed). My comments are in red.
rickheg You left part of your Dusknoir alanysis outside of the hide block.
Togekiss
Stats: 100/2/3/5/4/80
Abilities: Hustle / Serene Grace / Super Luck (H)
Signature Item: Shiny Stone
Availability: Evolves from Togetic (Evolves from Togepi (2 CC))
Overview: Togekiss is a medium risk, very high reward kind of pokémon. With an excellent movepool, great stats, three superb abilities, one of the game's best typings, and usable with many playstyles, natures and items, Togekiss is one of ASB's best. Whether on offense or defense, whether soloing gyms (haha we're all just waiting for emma to do it) or winning tournament matches, whether using powerful Hyper Beam combos or creative play with moves such as Encore and Endure, you can be assured that Togekiss will almost always pull its weight -- and more.
Be consistent about putting a comma after the second to last item on a list. Either do not do it at all, or always do it.
Of course, every pokémon has its weaknesses, and Togekiss is no exception. Its typing, while giving it a plethora of useful resistances and immunities, also renders it weak to ice, rock, electric, steel, and poison, and neither of its typings remove any weaknesses of the other. It is particularly weak to tanky steels(aka every steel) that it is unable to play around, as well as most electrics with its lack of ground coverage.
Stats and Natures: Togekiss's weakest stat is attack, and most of its usable attacking moves are special. While hustle makes other natures useful, attack is generally the best stat to lower.
Timid (+Spe, -Atk) is Togekiss's best nature in the opinion of this writer. Not only does timid help negate the reduced accuracy of Hustle, it give Togekiss a decent speed of 92, which I like just because you don't speed tie with Cyclohm that aren't +Spe which can be hella annoying.
Record that it gets an accuracy boost of 10, which changes hustle-boosted 100% accurate moves to only 90% accuracy, unless holding a Shiny Stone.
Bold (+Def, -Atk) is the other common Togekiss nature. Bold gives Togekiss excellent 100/4/4 defenses, which makes it just a bit more tanky -- but that tankiness can go a long way. In my opinion Timid is a little better but Bold gives the survivability, if that's what you're looking for.
Modest (+Spa, -Atk) is generally inferior but can be used tokill more things increase Togekiss's damage potential. I would only recommend this (actually I wouldn't at all, but you know what I mean) if you intend to run Scope Lens instead of Shiny Stone (more on items later), as with Modest Shiny Stone's Spa boost will raise damage by 1 instead of 1.5 (and therefore be unoptimal).
Unoptimal is not a real word.
Finally, Brave (+Atk, -Spe). Don't use it unless you are SubwayJ and want a Lax Mr. Mime-level gimmick.
If this is such a bad idea, wouldn't it be better to not mention it at all?
Abilities, Moves, Movepool and Combos: Togekiss has three excellent abilities increasing its offensive and utility potential and a movepool full of goodies that can absolutely screw with the opponent when ordering second (and even first), as well as dealing super-effective damage to almost everything.
Serene Grace - This Pokemon has a blessing which doubles the success chance of its attack's secondary effects. Serene Grace is helpful as it gives Togekiss a massive harass and support potential, with 60% paralysis on Thunder, 60% flinch on Air Slash, 20% freeze on Ice Beam, 20% burn on Flamethrower/Fire Blast, and much more. Seriously, I could write a book on all the moves in Togekiss's massive movepool Serene Grace buffs.
It would be better to talk in a more formal tone in the last sentence.
Hustle - No default effect. When toggled, this Pokemon puts immense force and speed into its physical attacks, increasing the Base Attack Power of all its physical attacks by three (3), but the haste used lowers their accuracy to 80% of normal. Hustle is mainly useful because it gives extra power to Togekiss's often underestimated physical attacks. These can provide extra coverage, but generally special moves are better to win the damage race.
Super Luck (H) - This Pokemon's natural skill increases its critical hit levels one stage above other Pokemon, making its normal moves inflict critical hits 12.5% of the time and its high critical hit moves inflict critical hits 25% of the time. Super Luck is useful for the extra damage, as well as giving Togekiss a 100% crit chance with Scope Lens (!).
Togekiss has a massive movepool of 120 moves (which happens to give a perfect 8 CC bonus <3), and about 100 ones that you will find useful. Really it is only missing a few moves; Icy Wind and Moonblast come to mind. When analyzing a movepool, its always good to start out with good old STAB, which in Togekiss's case is two 8-BAP moves in Dazzling Gleam and Air Slash. Dazzling Gleam is especially nice for its spread in doubles, and Air Slash has that sexy 60% flinch chance. All in all, two excellent STABs.
Next comes coverage. Togekiss has excellent coverage (15 types, 16 with Hidden Power), with goodies such as Aura Sphere, Grass Knot, Silver Wind, Ancient Power, Fire Blast, Flamethrower, Shadow Ball, Psychic, Psyshock, Solar Beam, Water Pulse, Twister, Signal Beam, Heat Wave, Stored Power, Hyper Beam, and Hidden Power (I would recommend Ground). And that's just the special ones.
Togekiss's utility is nothing short of amazing. While it only has one "disruptive" move in Encore, it can inflict almost every status in the game: Thunder Wave, Toxic, Swagger, Psycho Shift, Sweet Kiss, and Yawn. It can support its teammates with Safeguard, Wish, After You, Follow Me, Baton Pass, Heal Bell, Brick Break, Rain Dance, Sunny Day, Reflect, and Light Screen. It finds general utility in Roost, Morning Sun, Double Team, Substitute, Protect, Fly, Psych Up, Sleep Talk, Endure, Rest, Telekinesis, Uproar, Trick, Magic Coat, Endeavor, Drain Punch, Nasty Plot, Foresight, Mirror Move, Feint, Extreme Speed, Swift, and more. Yeah. A lot of useful moves.
Items: I generally find four items usable on Togekiss: Scope Lens, Shiny Stone, Focus Sash, and Float Stone. I'll also talk about one common item that should not be used.
Scope Lens - Raises the critical hit stage of the Pokemon by two (2). Scope Lens is generally seen as a gimmick. However, with the new crit mechanics in XY, crit stage 4 is 100% crit. Guess what? Scope Lens and Super Luck combine to give Togekiss a crit stage of 4. Yeah, you heard me. 100% crit rate. Essentially, +3 BAP on all moves. Free. If that's not OP I don't know what is.
Shiny Stone - Increases the Base Accuracy of all moves used by the affected Pokemon by ten (10). Increases the Pokemon's highest true base stat (e.g. 130 Atk) of Attack, Defense, Special Attack, and Special Defense by one (1) Rank. If the highest true base stat is tied, each Rank is raised. Shiny Stone, Togekiss's signature item, is also a good choice on Togekiss. The main sell here is the acc boost which, when combined with Timid, negates Hustle's acc loss, letting you use it essentially free. It's helpful to note that the +Spa gives Togekiss natural rank 6 Spa without a nature.
Focus Sash - Reduces the Base Attack Power of attacks used against the Pokemon by two (2) while above 50% of its maximum HP. The effect is amplified on OHKO Moves, which are reduced by fifteen (15) Base Attack Power instead. Focus Sash is helpful on more tanky Togekisses. However, it is generally inferior to the damage of Scope Lens or the accuracy of Shiny Stone unless you're in something like a TLR that requires endurance more than damage.
Float Stone (Credit to SubwayJ for the idea) - The Pokemon's weight is cut in half, and all attacks used by the Pokemon with six (6) or less Base Power after ability adjustments have +1 priority. Priority is applied to the summed Base Power of a multi-hit move. Float Stone can be really good when used correctly. It can be used to avoid flinches and get in final hits before dying. I generally find it helpful for ASB's equivalent of revenge killing. Also, with float stone Togekiss gets 9 types of priority iirc, which is obviously incredible.
Expert Belt - There's no reason to use this over Scope Lens unless you are in a one ability battle. Scope Lens provides more damage and doesn't only trigger on SE attacks.
Rest is a WIP.
Stats: 100/2/3/5/4/80
Abilities: Hustle / Serene Grace / Super Luck (H)
Signature Item: Shiny Stone
Availability: Evolves from Togetic (Evolves from Togepi (2 CC))
Overview: Togekiss is a medium risk, very high reward kind of pokémon. With an excellent movepool, great stats, three superb abilities, one of the game's best typings, and usable with many playstyles, natures and items, Togekiss is one of ASB's best. Whether on offense or defense, whether soloing gyms (haha we're all just waiting for emma to do it) or winning tournament matches, whether using powerful Hyper Beam combos or creative play with moves such as Encore and Endure, you can be assured that Togekiss will almost always pull its weight -- and more.
Be consistent about putting a comma after the second to last item on a list. Either do not do it at all, or always do it.
Of course, every pokémon has its weaknesses, and Togekiss is no exception. Its typing, while giving it a plethora of useful resistances and immunities, also renders it weak to ice, rock, electric, steel, and poison, and neither of its typings remove any weaknesses of the other. It is particularly weak to tanky steels
Stats and Natures: Togekiss's weakest stat is attack, and most of its usable attacking moves are special. While hustle makes other natures useful, attack is generally the best stat to lower.
Timid (+Spe, -Atk) is Togekiss's best nature in the opinion of this writer. Not only does timid help negate the reduced accuracy of Hustle, it give Togekiss a decent speed of 92, which I like just because you don't speed tie with Cyclohm that aren't +Spe which can be hella annoying.
Record that it gets an accuracy boost of 10, which changes hustle-boosted 100% accurate moves to only 90% accuracy, unless holding a Shiny Stone.
Bold (+Def, -Atk) is the other common Togekiss nature. Bold gives Togekiss excellent 100/4/4 defenses, which makes it just a bit more tanky -- but that tankiness can go a long way. In my opinion Timid is a little better but Bold gives the survivability, if that's what you're looking for.
Modest (+Spa, -Atk) is generally inferior but can be used to
Unoptimal is not a real word.
Finally, Brave (+Atk, -Spe). Don't use it unless you are SubwayJ and want a Lax Mr. Mime-level gimmick.
If this is such a bad idea, wouldn't it be better to not mention it at all?
Abilities, Moves, Movepool and Combos: Togekiss has three excellent abilities increasing its offensive and utility potential and a movepool full of goodies that can absolutely screw with the opponent when ordering second (and even first), as well as dealing super-effective damage to almost everything.
Serene Grace - This Pokemon has a blessing which doubles the success chance of its attack's secondary effects. Serene Grace is helpful as it gives Togekiss a massive harass and support potential, with 60% paralysis on Thunder, 60% flinch on Air Slash, 20% freeze on Ice Beam, 20% burn on Flamethrower/Fire Blast, and much more. Seriously, I could write a book on all the moves in Togekiss's massive movepool Serene Grace buffs.
It would be better to talk in a more formal tone in the last sentence.
Hustle - No default effect. When toggled, this Pokemon puts immense force and speed into its physical attacks, increasing the Base Attack Power of all its physical attacks by three (3), but the haste used lowers their accuracy to 80% of normal. Hustle is mainly useful because it gives extra power to Togekiss's often underestimated physical attacks. These can provide extra coverage, but generally special moves are better to win the damage race.
Super Luck (H) - This Pokemon's natural skill increases its critical hit levels one stage above other Pokemon, making its normal moves inflict critical hits 12.5% of the time and its high critical hit moves inflict critical hits 25% of the time. Super Luck is useful for the extra damage, as well as giving Togekiss a 100% crit chance with Scope Lens (!).
Togekiss has a massive movepool of 120 moves (which happens to give a perfect 8 CC bonus <3), and about 100 ones that you will find useful. Really it is only missing a few moves; Icy Wind and Moonblast come to mind. When analyzing a movepool, its always good to start out with good old STAB, which in Togekiss's case is two 8-BAP moves in Dazzling Gleam and Air Slash. Dazzling Gleam is especially nice for its spread in doubles, and Air Slash has that sexy 60% flinch chance. All in all, two excellent STABs.
Next comes coverage. Togekiss has excellent coverage (15 types, 16 with Hidden Power), with goodies such as Aura Sphere, Grass Knot, Silver Wind, Ancient Power, Fire Blast, Flamethrower, Shadow Ball, Psychic, Psyshock, Solar Beam, Water Pulse, Twister, Signal Beam, Heat Wave, Stored Power, Hyper Beam, and Hidden Power (I would recommend Ground). And that's just the special ones.
Togekiss's utility is nothing short of amazing. While it only has one "disruptive" move in Encore, it can inflict almost every status in the game: Thunder Wave, Toxic, Swagger, Psycho Shift, Sweet Kiss, and Yawn. It can support its teammates with Safeguard, Wish, After You, Follow Me, Baton Pass, Heal Bell, Brick Break, Rain Dance, Sunny Day, Reflect, and Light Screen. It finds general utility in Roost, Morning Sun, Double Team, Substitute, Protect, Fly, Psych Up, Sleep Talk, Endure, Rest, Telekinesis, Uproar, Trick, Magic Coat, Endeavor, Drain Punch, Nasty Plot, Foresight, Mirror Move, Feint, Extreme Speed, Swift, and more. Yeah. A lot of useful moves.
Items: I generally find four items usable on Togekiss: Scope Lens, Shiny Stone, Focus Sash, and Float Stone. I'll also talk about one common item that should not be used.
Scope Lens - Raises the critical hit stage of the Pokemon by two (2). Scope Lens is generally seen as a gimmick. However, with the new crit mechanics in XY, crit stage 4 is 100% crit. Guess what? Scope Lens and Super Luck combine to give Togekiss a crit stage of 4. Yeah, you heard me. 100% crit rate. Essentially, +3 BAP on all moves. Free. If that's not OP I don't know what is.
Shiny Stone - Increases the Base Accuracy of all moves used by the affected Pokemon by ten (10). Increases the Pokemon's highest true base stat (e.g. 130 Atk) of Attack, Defense, Special Attack, and Special Defense by one (1) Rank. If the highest true base stat is tied, each Rank is raised. Shiny Stone, Togekiss's signature item, is also a good choice on Togekiss. The main sell here is the acc boost which, when combined with Timid, negates Hustle's acc loss, letting you use it essentially free. It's helpful to note that the +Spa gives Togekiss natural rank 6 Spa without a nature.
Focus Sash - Reduces the Base Attack Power of attacks used against the Pokemon by two (2) while above 50% of its maximum HP. The effect is amplified on OHKO Moves, which are reduced by fifteen (15) Base Attack Power instead. Focus Sash is helpful on more tanky Togekisses. However, it is generally inferior to the damage of Scope Lens or the accuracy of Shiny Stone unless you're in something like a TLR that requires endurance more than damage.
Float Stone (Credit to SubwayJ for the idea) - The Pokemon's weight is cut in half, and all attacks used by the Pokemon with six (6) or less Base Power after ability adjustments have +1 priority. Priority is applied to the summed Base Power of a multi-hit move. Float Stone can be really good when used correctly. It can be used to avoid flinches and get in final hits before dying. I generally find it helpful for ASB's equivalent of revenge killing. Also, with float stone Togekiss gets 9 types of priority iirc, which is obviously incredible.
Expert Belt - There's no reason to use this over Scope Lens unless you are in a one ability battle. Scope Lens provides more damage and doesn't only trigger on SE attacks.
Rest is a WIP.
rickheg You left part of your Dusknoir alanysis outside of the hide block.
I guess Volbeat is ready... I modelled the first bit after the old threat-list but yeah. If you are grammar checking an entry, make sure you have an actual understanding of the Pokémon in question first. Also try to remember Smogon's standard conventions like the serial comma, though given it is ASB, we should be a little more relaxed when it comes to this.
Volbeat
100 HP / 3 / 2 / 2 / 3 / 85 - +11% Accuracy w/ +Spe
Power Lens: 100 HP / 3 / 2 / 2 / 3 / 85 [42] - +11% Accuracy w/ +Spe; Doubles (2×) stage boost value of Special Attack boosters.
Everstone: 100 HP / 3 / 2 / 2 / 5 / 85 - +11% Accuracy w/ +Spe; +2 Bug BAP
Size Class: 1
Weight Class: 2 [3 Power Lens]
Base Rank Total: 16
Abilities: Illuminate / Swarm / Prankster (H)
Accessibility: 4 CC (Starter), 7 CC (Non-Starter)
Overview: Volbeat at a first glance seems like a throwaway Bug-type with hopelessly mediocre stats, okay abilities and not much else about him. Looking closer at Volbeat however, lies a trinity that gives him a unique combination no other Pokémon possesses: Prankster, Power Lens, and Tail Glow. Volbeat's main claim to fame in ASB centers around this trinity; A priority +6 Special Attack boost that can be used in many different ways from straight out attacking to copying to passing. While this is a powerful tool, it also leaves him vulnerable to stat boost removal, phazing, Encore (on setup), Pokémon with Unaware, and the majority of Rock-, Fire-, and Flying-types that get super effective STAB coverage on Volbeat. Without his boost, Volbeat is also pretty weak. Nevertheless, access to a priority +6 Special Attack boost should not be underestimated in any format as with proper setup, Volbeat can prove to be a dangerous attacker/utility Pokémon.
Stats and Natures: Volbeat's stat build leans towards a physical attacker with a decent Sp. Defense stat to boot. Volbeat is also rather fast with base 85 Speed and a decent Accuracy boost with a +Speed nature but other than that, Volbeat's stats are mediocre outside of 100 HP.
Volbeat should generally run a Special Attack-boosting nature as it allows his Special Attacks to reach somewhat competent levels, even with the Tail Glow strategy. Quiet is the optimum nature as it preserves Volbeat's bulk and physical Attack for when it is needed but it makes enabling Illuminate a bit less viable, because it makes opponent's attacks 20% more accurate. Quiet also has the issue of leaving Volbeat with 36 Speed with a Power Lens equipped although he has ways of getting around having such a speed stat. Other options include running Rash to sacrifice Volbeat's special bulk to preserve speed, Modest if Volbeat's physical attacking prowess is not important, and Mild if you want to boost the power of Volbeat's Counter attack although it makes Volbeat's physical bulk actrocious. An Attack-boosting nature can be considered if you wish to focus more on Volbeat's physical attacking prowess but there are many other Bug-type Pokémon that can do this better and hence, Volbeat should generally stick to Tail Glow strategies.
Abilities, Moves, Movepool and Combinations: Volbeat comes with three abilities. Illuminate is useful to make your attacks more accurate but it can also work against Volbeat, especially if he is running a Speed-reducing nature. Swarm is a good pinch ability that makes Volbeat's Bug-type attacks even stronger when his health is in a critical range. Prankster is integral to Volbeat's success in ASB as it allows him to worry less about the side effects of Power Lens and give very useful priority support moves.
Tail Glow is the main reason to use Volbeat. It is the one move that is important to getting the most out of Volbeat and if you are not going to use it, you might as well be using something else instead. With a Power Lens on, Volbeat should use Tail Glow at the first ideal opportunity. What is done after that is up to you. You can use the +6 Special Attack boost to make the most out of Volbeat's special coverage which consists of Bug-, Flying-, Electric-, Fairy-, Grass-, Ground-, Ghost-, Normal-, and Water-type coverage (alongside Hidden Power). You also can use Baton Pass to pass the boost off to another Pokémon to make the most of. You could also just be annoying with Volbeat and use moves like Trick, Encore, and Thunder Wave.
Power Lens and disruptive moves aside, Volbeat comes with a competent support movepool with the aforementioned Tail Glow, Light Screen, Helping Hand, Tailwind, Sunny Day, and Rain Dance. Volbeat can also sustain himself with Roost, Moonlight, Protect, Substitute, and Endure. Volbeat also has competent physical coverage with Bug-, Flying-, Normal-, Fighting-, Dark-, Ice-, Electric-, and Psychic-type moves for when he has to use them (like in the Battle Hall). Finally Volbeat can punish physical attackers with Counter, switch out or erase Taunts in Switch = KO matches with U-turn, and even pull off some creative roleplay shenanigans when you want to with the infamous String Shot.
When using Power Lens, it is generally advised that combinations should not be used as every action is critical after using Tail Glow. By using combinations after using Tail Glow, you will struggle to get the most out of the stat boost while it is still there as you will deal less extra damage in the long run. Furthermore Volbeat cannot afford to be a sitting duck for an action, especially given his structure.
Items: Power Lens was made as if it were designed specifically for Volbeat to abuse and hence, should be the main item. What it does apart from the weight increase and the halved speed (which does not hinder Volbeat that much) is double the boost of all Special Attack boosting moves. Volbeat's access to Tail Glow allows him to hit +6 Special Attack in one action, which is integral to his success in the world of ASB.
Outside of Power Lens, his signature item—Everstone—boosts his Special Defense by two ranks, as well as giving his Bug-type attacks a kick, although this is generally overshadowed by Power Lens, combined with the fact that it boosts only one of the two Defence stats. This makes it too situational to use that effectively and generally leaves the BAP boost outclassed by things like Bug Gem and Silver Powder.
As far as other items go, Bug Gem, Flying Gem, Coba Berry, Charti Berry, and Occa Berry all do well and provide cheap options to boost the power of a move or take less damage from a usually super effective attack, allowing Acrobatics to hit full power in the process. Silver Powder makes his STAB moves more powerful and Life Orb makes his attacks even stronger at the cost of recoil. Expert Belt is also a good generic item to use but outside of super effective attacks, the power output is very lacking. All of these are okay items to use and have a reason to be used over Power Lens, though the lack of power in the resist berries will be very noticeable. Everything else is either bad or outclassed.
Roles and Strategies: As mentioned before, Volbeat's main mission in ASB is to boost his Special Attack to +6 in one action with the assistance of Power Lens before doing something with the boost. This is Volbeat's niche in ASB and this is the one thing that Volbeat can do that no other Pokémon in ASB can replicate. To put things into perspective, Volbeat is not a standalone, destroy all Pokémon; Volbeat is the engine that keeps the team's car running. Volbeat can generate a +6 Special Attack boost in one action which can be copied or transferred. Volbeat should use Tail Glow to achieve this at the first ideal opportunity. From there, Volbeat can do several things with the boost. Volbeat can go on the offensive and deal lots of damage with the boost through his special coverage. Volbeat can use Baton Pass to pass off the Special Attack boost to another Pokémon. These two are generally the best strategies that the Volbeat user can do. Though there are other strategies the Volbeat user can do (like using other priority non-damaging moves), these other strategies are generally reactive and depend on the turn order or opponent. If in a serious match this is not what you end up doing with Volbeat, then you should have considered another Pokémon; other Pokémon tend to do what Volbeat can do a lot better outside of Tail Glow + Prankster.
As far as when to use him in a serious match, Volbeat can generally be used at any time of the match though he is best used as a lead (provided the opponent cannot take full advantage of it). Volbeat is best used when ordering second as using him when ordering first is generally going to be a rough time for Volbeat, especially when the opponent has sent out an Encore user or any of the common anti stat-boosting strategies. Of course this can be patched up in Doubles or higher with good partners like Aromatisse but in Singles, Volbeat will struggle. If Volbeat is attempting to make the most out of Tail Glow by attacking, it is generally not a good idea to switch out other than using Baton Pass. If Volbeat's Sp. Attack decays enough, using Tail Glow again is not a bad idea. Ultimately you need to be careful when using Volbeat, but he can come with a big payoff if used correctly.
As far as roleplays and serious matches go, Volbeat is not a particularly great choice in Gym Matches and Tournaments (though he can function well if used correctly) but he is a bit of a niche pick when it comes to the Grass-, Psychic- and Dark-type gym, due to his niche. Volbeat is not as great of a choice in other gyms as there are generally choices that can do better. This makes Volbeat more of a solid choice for casual play where the stakes are generally lower. Despite his major niche revolving around Tail Glow, Volbeat is also capable of going deep into the Battle Hall. This is primarily due to his competent mixed attacking movepool and his status as a Rank 2 Pokémon, which means he will be generally fighting NFE Pokémon with shallow movepools. Volbeat is a very niche option in the Battle Subway and Battle Arcade due to his synergy and the partners it can have in multiple formats. There is no current raid that suits Volbeat and while Tail Glow passing or copying can be a somewhat effective strategy to use in raids, it is generally inefficient compared to each raid's recommended strategies. Volbeat should never be considered on a TLR run as the marathon structure of the roleplay makes Tail Glow strategies too impractical, especially when the setup has to be started again at the start of each encounter. The fact that Volbeat has little offensive presence otherwise makes Volbeat even less practical for the roleplay.
Partners and Counters: In multiples formats, any specially-based Pokémon with Psych Up will enjoy being alongside Power Lens Volbeat as they will be able to copy the Special Attack boost for themselves. This will allow the two to begin pummelling the opposition with brute force, more than compensating for the action spent to set up the combination. Aromatisse stands out as the best of these as its Aroma Veil ability makes the setup far less susceptible to disruptive strategies such as Taunt and Encore which would normally throw such an attempt on the back foot. The two also have a couple of spread moves to be able to fully exploit the boosts. Slowbro and Slowking can also work in this regard, since their Taunt immunity through Oblivious makes the set-up harder to stop, although the strategy is still vulnerable to Encore.
In Singles, Volbeat can employ Baton Pass in Switch = OK matches to pass its Special Attack boosts to recipients that can exploit the boost far better than Volbeat could. Of these, specially-based Pokémon will enjoy the boost, especially if they have access to a specially-based HP-draining move (like Giga Drain). Of these, Aromatisse makes an good recipient, being able to use the boost offensively and abuse Draining Kiss as a reliable form of recovery, especially with a Big Root equipped. Cradily makes an even better recipient in this regard not just because of access to Giga Drain but its Suction Cups ability prevents the opponent from removing it with moves like Roar or Dragon Tail. Octillery also works in this regard as well because of its Suction Cups ability alongside its highly competent special attacking prowess.
Volbeat, primarily relying on stat-boosting moves to be competitive, suffers from the usual answers to stat-boosting move users in general. Taunt (with Prankster) shuts down his Tail Glow set-up, Encore discourages using Tail Glow, while the boost can be removed through phazing moves like Roar, Clear Smog and Haze. Pokémon with Unaware do not care about Volbeat either, as they completely allow the opponent to ignore Tail Glow in its entirety, rendering it set-up fodder to a degree (though Volbeat can use Encore). Swoobat in particular loves Volbeat, as it can simply set up on Volbeat and then destroy it outside of Encore. Stealing the boost (with Snatch or Heart Swap) or copying it with Psych Up can also make like hard for Volbeat. Outside of that, a powerful Rock-, Fire-, or Flying-type attack will generally give Volbeat problems (though physically-based attackers have to watch out for Counter).
EDIT: Reserving Aromatisse.
Volbeat
100 HP / 3 / 2 / 2 / 3 / 85 - +11% Accuracy w/ +Spe
Power Lens: 100 HP / 3 / 2 / 2 / 3 / 85 [42] - +11% Accuracy w/ +Spe; Doubles (2×) stage boost value of Special Attack boosters.
Everstone: 100 HP / 3 / 2 / 2 / 5 / 85 - +11% Accuracy w/ +Spe; +2 Bug BAP
Size Class: 1
Weight Class: 2 [3 Power Lens]
Base Rank Total: 16
Abilities: Illuminate / Swarm / Prankster (H)
Accessibility: 4 CC (Starter), 7 CC (Non-Starter)
Overview: Volbeat at a first glance seems like a throwaway Bug-type with hopelessly mediocre stats, okay abilities and not much else about him. Looking closer at Volbeat however, lies a trinity that gives him a unique combination no other Pokémon possesses: Prankster, Power Lens, and Tail Glow. Volbeat's main claim to fame in ASB centers around this trinity; A priority +6 Special Attack boost that can be used in many different ways from straight out attacking to copying to passing. While this is a powerful tool, it also leaves him vulnerable to stat boost removal, phazing, Encore (on setup), Pokémon with Unaware, and the majority of Rock-, Fire-, and Flying-types that get super effective STAB coverage on Volbeat. Without his boost, Volbeat is also pretty weak. Nevertheless, access to a priority +6 Special Attack boost should not be underestimated in any format as with proper setup, Volbeat can prove to be a dangerous attacker/utility Pokémon.
Stats and Natures: Volbeat's stat build leans towards a physical attacker with a decent Sp. Defense stat to boot. Volbeat is also rather fast with base 85 Speed and a decent Accuracy boost with a +Speed nature but other than that, Volbeat's stats are mediocre outside of 100 HP.
Volbeat should generally run a Special Attack-boosting nature as it allows his Special Attacks to reach somewhat competent levels, even with the Tail Glow strategy. Quiet is the optimum nature as it preserves Volbeat's bulk and physical Attack for when it is needed but it makes enabling Illuminate a bit less viable, because it makes opponent's attacks 20% more accurate. Quiet also has the issue of leaving Volbeat with 36 Speed with a Power Lens equipped although he has ways of getting around having such a speed stat. Other options include running Rash to sacrifice Volbeat's special bulk to preserve speed, Modest if Volbeat's physical attacking prowess is not important, and Mild if you want to boost the power of Volbeat's Counter attack although it makes Volbeat's physical bulk actrocious. An Attack-boosting nature can be considered if you wish to focus more on Volbeat's physical attacking prowess but there are many other Bug-type Pokémon that can do this better and hence, Volbeat should generally stick to Tail Glow strategies.
Abilities, Moves, Movepool and Combinations: Volbeat comes with three abilities. Illuminate is useful to make your attacks more accurate but it can also work against Volbeat, especially if he is running a Speed-reducing nature. Swarm is a good pinch ability that makes Volbeat's Bug-type attacks even stronger when his health is in a critical range. Prankster is integral to Volbeat's success in ASB as it allows him to worry less about the side effects of Power Lens and give very useful priority support moves.
Tail Glow is the main reason to use Volbeat. It is the one move that is important to getting the most out of Volbeat and if you are not going to use it, you might as well be using something else instead. With a Power Lens on, Volbeat should use Tail Glow at the first ideal opportunity. What is done after that is up to you. You can use the +6 Special Attack boost to make the most out of Volbeat's special coverage which consists of Bug-, Flying-, Electric-, Fairy-, Grass-, Ground-, Ghost-, Normal-, and Water-type coverage (alongside Hidden Power). You also can use Baton Pass to pass the boost off to another Pokémon to make the most of. You could also just be annoying with Volbeat and use moves like Trick, Encore, and Thunder Wave.
Power Lens and disruptive moves aside, Volbeat comes with a competent support movepool with the aforementioned Tail Glow, Light Screen, Helping Hand, Tailwind, Sunny Day, and Rain Dance. Volbeat can also sustain himself with Roost, Moonlight, Protect, Substitute, and Endure. Volbeat also has competent physical coverage with Bug-, Flying-, Normal-, Fighting-, Dark-, Ice-, Electric-, and Psychic-type moves for when he has to use them (like in the Battle Hall). Finally Volbeat can punish physical attackers with Counter, switch out or erase Taunts in Switch = KO matches with U-turn, and even pull off some creative roleplay shenanigans when you want to with the infamous String Shot.
When using Power Lens, it is generally advised that combinations should not be used as every action is critical after using Tail Glow. By using combinations after using Tail Glow, you will struggle to get the most out of the stat boost while it is still there as you will deal less extra damage in the long run. Furthermore Volbeat cannot afford to be a sitting duck for an action, especially given his structure.
Items: Power Lens was made as if it were designed specifically for Volbeat to abuse and hence, should be the main item. What it does apart from the weight increase and the halved speed (which does not hinder Volbeat that much) is double the boost of all Special Attack boosting moves. Volbeat's access to Tail Glow allows him to hit +6 Special Attack in one action, which is integral to his success in the world of ASB.
Outside of Power Lens, his signature item—Everstone—boosts his Special Defense by two ranks, as well as giving his Bug-type attacks a kick, although this is generally overshadowed by Power Lens, combined with the fact that it boosts only one of the two Defence stats. This makes it too situational to use that effectively and generally leaves the BAP boost outclassed by things like Bug Gem and Silver Powder.
As far as other items go, Bug Gem, Flying Gem, Coba Berry, Charti Berry, and Occa Berry all do well and provide cheap options to boost the power of a move or take less damage from a usually super effective attack, allowing Acrobatics to hit full power in the process. Silver Powder makes his STAB moves more powerful and Life Orb makes his attacks even stronger at the cost of recoil. Expert Belt is also a good generic item to use but outside of super effective attacks, the power output is very lacking. All of these are okay items to use and have a reason to be used over Power Lens, though the lack of power in the resist berries will be very noticeable. Everything else is either bad or outclassed.
Roles and Strategies: As mentioned before, Volbeat's main mission in ASB is to boost his Special Attack to +6 in one action with the assistance of Power Lens before doing something with the boost. This is Volbeat's niche in ASB and this is the one thing that Volbeat can do that no other Pokémon in ASB can replicate. To put things into perspective, Volbeat is not a standalone, destroy all Pokémon; Volbeat is the engine that keeps the team's car running. Volbeat can generate a +6 Special Attack boost in one action which can be copied or transferred. Volbeat should use Tail Glow to achieve this at the first ideal opportunity. From there, Volbeat can do several things with the boost. Volbeat can go on the offensive and deal lots of damage with the boost through his special coverage. Volbeat can use Baton Pass to pass off the Special Attack boost to another Pokémon. These two are generally the best strategies that the Volbeat user can do. Though there are other strategies the Volbeat user can do (like using other priority non-damaging moves), these other strategies are generally reactive and depend on the turn order or opponent. If in a serious match this is not what you end up doing with Volbeat, then you should have considered another Pokémon; other Pokémon tend to do what Volbeat can do a lot better outside of Tail Glow + Prankster.
As far as when to use him in a serious match, Volbeat can generally be used at any time of the match though he is best used as a lead (provided the opponent cannot take full advantage of it). Volbeat is best used when ordering second as using him when ordering first is generally going to be a rough time for Volbeat, especially when the opponent has sent out an Encore user or any of the common anti stat-boosting strategies. Of course this can be patched up in Doubles or higher with good partners like Aromatisse but in Singles, Volbeat will struggle. If Volbeat is attempting to make the most out of Tail Glow by attacking, it is generally not a good idea to switch out other than using Baton Pass. If Volbeat's Sp. Attack decays enough, using Tail Glow again is not a bad idea. Ultimately you need to be careful when using Volbeat, but he can come with a big payoff if used correctly.
As far as roleplays and serious matches go, Volbeat is not a particularly great choice in Gym Matches and Tournaments (though he can function well if used correctly) but he is a bit of a niche pick when it comes to the Grass-, Psychic- and Dark-type gym, due to his niche. Volbeat is not as great of a choice in other gyms as there are generally choices that can do better. This makes Volbeat more of a solid choice for casual play where the stakes are generally lower. Despite his major niche revolving around Tail Glow, Volbeat is also capable of going deep into the Battle Hall. This is primarily due to his competent mixed attacking movepool and his status as a Rank 2 Pokémon, which means he will be generally fighting NFE Pokémon with shallow movepools. Volbeat is a very niche option in the Battle Subway and Battle Arcade due to his synergy and the partners it can have in multiple formats. There is no current raid that suits Volbeat and while Tail Glow passing or copying can be a somewhat effective strategy to use in raids, it is generally inefficient compared to each raid's recommended strategies. Volbeat should never be considered on a TLR run as the marathon structure of the roleplay makes Tail Glow strategies too impractical, especially when the setup has to be started again at the start of each encounter. The fact that Volbeat has little offensive presence otherwise makes Volbeat even less practical for the roleplay.
Partners and Counters: In multiples formats, any specially-based Pokémon with Psych Up will enjoy being alongside Power Lens Volbeat as they will be able to copy the Special Attack boost for themselves. This will allow the two to begin pummelling the opposition with brute force, more than compensating for the action spent to set up the combination. Aromatisse stands out as the best of these as its Aroma Veil ability makes the setup far less susceptible to disruptive strategies such as Taunt and Encore which would normally throw such an attempt on the back foot. The two also have a couple of spread moves to be able to fully exploit the boosts. Slowbro and Slowking can also work in this regard, since their Taunt immunity through Oblivious makes the set-up harder to stop, although the strategy is still vulnerable to Encore.
In Singles, Volbeat can employ Baton Pass in Switch = OK matches to pass its Special Attack boosts to recipients that can exploit the boost far better than Volbeat could. Of these, specially-based Pokémon will enjoy the boost, especially if they have access to a specially-based HP-draining move (like Giga Drain). Of these, Aromatisse makes an good recipient, being able to use the boost offensively and abuse Draining Kiss as a reliable form of recovery, especially with a Big Root equipped. Cradily makes an even better recipient in this regard not just because of access to Giga Drain but its Suction Cups ability prevents the opponent from removing it with moves like Roar or Dragon Tail. Octillery also works in this regard as well because of its Suction Cups ability alongside its highly competent special attacking prowess.
Volbeat, primarily relying on stat-boosting moves to be competitive, suffers from the usual answers to stat-boosting move users in general. Taunt (with Prankster) shuts down his Tail Glow set-up, Encore discourages using Tail Glow, while the boost can be removed through phazing moves like Roar, Clear Smog and Haze. Pokémon with Unaware do not care about Volbeat either, as they completely allow the opponent to ignore Tail Glow in its entirety, rendering it set-up fodder to a degree (though Volbeat can use Encore). Swoobat in particular loves Volbeat, as it can simply set up on Volbeat and then destroy it outside of Encore. Stealing the boost (with Snatch or Heart Swap) or copying it with Psych Up can also make like hard for Volbeat. Outside of that, a powerful Rock-, Fire-, or Flying-type attack will generally give Volbeat problems (though physically-based attackers have to watch out for Counter).
EDIT: Reserving Aromatisse.
Last edited:
I did a thing for starwarsfan
Add
Remove
Fixes
Comments
Add
Fixes
Comments
Togekiss
Stats: 100/2/3/5/4/80 Probably add Shiny Stone stats here as well
Abilities: Hustle / Serene Grace / Super Luck (H)
Signature Item: Shiny Stone
Availability: Evolves from Togetic (Evolves from Togepi (2 CC))
Overview: Togekiss is a medium risk, very high reward kind of Pokémon. Pokémon is capitalized With an excellent movepool, great stats, three superb abilities, one of the game's best typings, and usable with many playstyles, natures and items, Togekiss is one of ASB's best. Whetheron offense or defense offensively or defensively, whether Avoid repetitions soloing gyms (haha we're all just waiting for emma to do it) Unnecessary or winning tournament matches, whether using powerful Hyper Beam combos I've seen a lot of usable combos from Togekiss not involving Hyper Beam or creative play with moves such as Encore and Endure, you can be assured that Togekiss will almost always pull its weight -- and more.
Of course, every Pokémon has its weaknesses, and Togekiss is no exception. Its typing, while giving it a plethora of useful resistances and immunities, also renders it weak to Ice, Rock, Electric, Steel, and Poison, and neither of its typings can remove any weaknesses of the other. It is particularly weak totanky bulky Steels (aka every steel) that it is unable to play around, as well as most Electrics with its lack of Ground coverage.
Stats and Natures: Togekiss's weakest stat is Attack, and most of its usable attacking moves are special. While Hustle makes other natures just as useful, Attack is generally the best stat to lower.
Timid (+Spe, -Atk, +10% Acc) is possibly Togekiss's best naturein the opinion of this writer. Not only does timid it help negate counteract Like Mulan said, it only increases the Accuracy value to 90% the reduced accuracy of Hustle, it gives Togekiss a decent speed of 92, which I like just because you don't speed tie with has you outpacing neutral Cyclohm that aren't +Spe which can be hella annoying.
Bold (+Def, -Atk) is the other commonTogekiss nature for Togekiss. Bold gives Togekiss it excellent 100/4/4 defenses, which makes it just a bit more tanky -- but that tankiness can go a long way. In my opinion Timid is a little better gives it a great speed tier but Bold gives the it more survivability, if that's what you're looking for.
Modest (+Spa, -Atk) is generally inferior but can be used tokill more things increase Togekiss's damage potential. I would only This is only recommended this (actually I wouldn't at all, but you know what I mean) if you intend to run Scope Lens instead of Shiny Stone (more on items later), as with Modest this nature Shiny Stone's Spa boost will raise damage by 1 instead of 1.5 (and therefore be unoptimal).
Finally, Brave (+Atk, -Spe).Don't use it unless you are SubwayJ and want a Lax Mr. Mime-level gimmick. It's hardly usable at all, but it does have the gimmick of giving your Extremespeed and other Physical moves a damage boost.
Abilities, Moves, Movepool and Combos: Togekiss has three excellent abilities increasing its offensive and utility potentialand, coupled with a movepool full of goodies that can absolutely screw tamper with the opponent when ordering second (and even first), as well as dealing super-effective damage to having coverage that can hit almost everything.
Serene Grace - This Pokemon has a blessing which doubles the success chance of its attack's secondary effects. Serene Grace ishelpful the most beneficial of Togekiss' abilities as it gives Togekiss it a massive harass and support potential, with 60% Paralysis on Thunder, 60% Flinch on Air Slash, 20% Freeze on Ice Beam, 20% burn on Flamethrower/Fire Blast, and much more. Seriously, I could write a book on all the moves in Togekiss's massive movepool Serene Grace buffs. Avoid personal comments
Hustle - No default effect. When toggled, this Pokemon puts immense force and speed into its physical attacks, increasing the Base Attack Power of all its physical attacks by three (3), but the haste used lowers their accuracy to 80% of normal. Hustle is mainly useful because it gives extra power to Togekiss's often underestimated physical attacks. These can provide extra coverage, but generally special moves are better to win the damage race. Well done with this paragraph. Short and sweet.
Super Luck (H) - This Pokemon's natural skill increases its critical hit levels one stage above other Pokemon, making its normal moves inflict critical hits 12.5% of the time and its high critical hit moves inflict critical hits 25% of the time. Super Luck is useful for the extra damage, as well as giving Togekiss a 100% crit chance with Scope Lens(!). This one too, but I have a problem with the unnecessary exclamation point.
Togekiss has a massive movepool of 120 moves (which happens to give a perfect 8 CC bonus<3), and about 100 ones that you will find useful. Really It is only missing a few moves; Icy Wind and Moonblast come to mind. When analyzing a movepool, it's always good to start out with good old STAB, which in Togekiss's case is two 8-BAP moves in Dazzling Gleam and Air Slash. Dazzling Gleam is especially nice for its spread in doubles, and Air Slash has that sexy an excellent 60% flinch chance. All in all, two excellent STABs.
Next comes coverage. Togekiss has excellent coverage Of Special attacking coverage, Togekiss almost has it all (15 types, 16 with Hidden Power), with goodies moves such as Aura Sphere, Grass Knot, Silver Wind, Ancient Power, Fire Blast, Flamethrower, Shadow Ball, Psychic, Psyshock, Solar Beam, Water Pulse, Twister, Signal Beam, Heat Wave, Stored Power, Hyper Beam, and Hidden Power (I would recommend Ground is recommended for its coverage on Steels that Fire attacks won't hit). And that's just the special ones.
Togekiss's utility is nothing short of amazing. While it only has one"disruptive" Unnecessary quotation marks move in Encore, it can inflict almost every status in the game: Thunder Wave, Toxic, Swagger, Psycho Shift, Sweet Kiss, and Yawn. It can support its teammates with Safeguard, Wish, After You, Follow Me, Baton Pass, Heal Bell, Brick Break, Rain Dance, Sunny Day, Reflect, and Light Screen. It finds general utility in Roost, Morning Sun, Double Team, Substitute, Protect, Fly, Psych Up, Sleep Talk, Endure, Rest, Telekinesis, Uproar, Trick, Magic Coat, Endeavor, Drain Punch, Nasty Plot, Foresight, Mirror Move, Feint, Extreme Speed, Swift, and more. Yeah. A lot of useful moves.
Items:I Generally, find four items are found usable on Togekiss: Scope Lens, Shiny Stone, Focus Sash, and Float Stone. Not actually a grammar fix, but a bolding fix I'll also talk about one common item that should not be used. Unnecessary
Scope Lens - Raises the critical hit stage of the Pokemon by two (2). Scope Lens is generally seen as a gimmick. However, with the new crit mechanics in XY,crit stage 4 is holds a 100% chance crit. Guess what? With Scope Lens and Super Luck, combine to give Togekiss obtains a crit stage of 4, essentially guaranteeing it a free 3 extra BAP on all moves. Yeah, you heard me. 100% crit rate. Essentially, +3 BAP on all moves. Free. If that's not OP I don't know what is. Again, unnecessary
Shiny Stone - Increases the Base Accuracy of all moves used by the affected Pokemon by ten (10). Increases the Pokemon's highest true base stat (e.g. 130 Atk) of Attack, Defense, Special Attack, and Special Defense by one (1) Rank. If the highest true base stat is tied, each Rank is raised. Shiny Stone, Togekiss's signature item, is also a good choice on Togekiss. The main sell here is the Accuracy boost, which ( when combined with Timid), outright negates Hustle's Accuracy loss, letting you use it essentially free. It's helpful to note that the +Spa gives Not only that, but Togekiss will now possess a natural Rank 6 SpA without a nature.
Focus Sash - Reduces the Base Attack Power of attacks used against the Pokemon by two (2) while above 50% of its maximum HP. The effect is amplified on OHKO Moves, which are reduced by fifteen (15) Base Attack Power instead. Focus Sash is helpful on more tanky Togekisses. However, it is generally inferior to the damage of Scope Lens or the accuracy of Shiny Stone unless you're in something like a TLR that requires endurance more than damage. are using a bulkier Togekiss that is set for support rather than damage output.
Float Stone(Credit to SubwayJ for the idea) - The Pokemon's weight is cut in half, and all attacks used by the Pokemon with six (6) or less Base Power after ability adjustments have +1 priority. Priority is applied to the summed Base Power of a multi-hit move. Float Stone can be really good when used correctly. It can be used to avoid flinches and get in final hits before dying falling. I generally find it helpful for ASB's equivalent of revenge killing. Also, with float stone Togekiss gets 9 types of priority iirc, which is obviously incredible. With it, Togekiss has several types of priority it can use. I fixed the grammar, but Float Stone seems like a waste when compared to Pokémon with Technician and more moves such as Mr. Mime
Expert Belt - There's no reason to use this over Scope Lens unless you are in a One Ability battle. Scope Lens provides more damage anddoesn't only trigger on SE attacks triggers at all times.
Rest is a WIP.[/i]
Stats: 100/2/3/5/4/80 Probably add Shiny Stone stats here as well
Abilities: Hustle / Serene Grace / Super Luck (H)
Signature Item: Shiny Stone
Availability: Evolves from Togetic (Evolves from Togepi (2 CC))
Overview: Togekiss is a medium risk, very high reward kind of Pokémon. Pokémon is capitalized With an excellent movepool, great stats, three superb abilities, one of the game's best typings, and usable with many playstyles, natures and items, Togekiss is one of ASB's best. Whether
Of course, every Pokémon has its weaknesses, and Togekiss is no exception. Its typing, while giving it a plethora of useful resistances and immunities, also renders it weak to Ice, Rock, Electric, Steel, and Poison, and neither of its typings can remove any weaknesses of the other. It is particularly weak to
Stats and Natures: Togekiss's weakest stat is Attack, and most of its usable attacking moves are special. While Hustle makes other natures just as useful, Attack is generally the best stat to lower.
Timid (+Spe, -Atk, +10% Acc) is possibly Togekiss's best nature
Bold (+Def, -Atk) is the other common
Modest (+Spa, -Atk) is generally inferior but can be used to
Finally, Brave (+Atk, -Spe).
Abilities, Moves, Movepool and Combos: Togekiss has three excellent abilities increasing its offensive and utility potential
Serene Grace - This Pokemon has a blessing which doubles the success chance of its attack's secondary effects. Serene Grace is
Hustle - No default effect. When toggled, this Pokemon puts immense force and speed into its physical attacks, increasing the Base Attack Power of all its physical attacks by three (3), but the haste used lowers their accuracy to 80% of normal. Hustle is mainly useful because it gives extra power to Togekiss's often underestimated physical attacks. These can provide extra coverage, but generally special moves are better to win the damage race. Well done with this paragraph. Short and sweet.
Super Luck (H) - This Pokemon's natural skill increases its critical hit levels one stage above other Pokemon, making its normal moves inflict critical hits 12.5% of the time and its high critical hit moves inflict critical hits 25% of the time. Super Luck is useful for the extra damage, as well as giving Togekiss a 100% crit chance with Scope Lens
Togekiss has a massive movepool of 120 moves (which happens to give a perfect 8 CC bonus
Togekiss's utility is nothing short of amazing. While it only has one
Items:
Scope Lens - Raises the critical hit stage of the Pokemon by two (2). Scope Lens is generally seen as a gimmick. However, with the new crit mechanics in XY,
Shiny Stone - Increases the Base Accuracy of all moves used by the affected Pokemon by ten (10). Increases the Pokemon's highest true base stat (e.g. 130 Atk) of Attack, Defense, Special Attack, and Special Defense by one (1) Rank. If the highest true base stat is tied, each Rank is raised. Shiny Stone, Togekiss's signature item, is also a good choice on Togekiss. The main sell here is the Accuracy boost, which ( when combined with Timid)
Focus Sash - Reduces the Base Attack Power of attacks used against the Pokemon by two (2) while above 50% of its maximum HP. The effect is amplified on OHKO Moves, which are reduced by fifteen (15) Base Attack Power instead. Focus Sash is helpful on more tanky Togekisses. However, it is generally inferior to the damage of Scope Lens or the accuracy of Shiny Stone unless you
Float Stone
Expert Belt - There's no reason to use this over Scope Lens unless you are in a One Ability battle. Scope Lens provides more damage and
Rest is a WIP.[/i]
Last edited:
Its_A_Random: Looking through your analysis, I can't really find anything wrong with it. The spelling and grammar is good, and the other stuff I'm not really qualified to talk about, although maybe you should include the actual coverage moves they get?
Stats: 90/2 (5 Pure Power)/3/2/3/80 WC: 3/SC: 3 BRT: 15 (18 Pure Power)
Mega Stats: 90/4 (8 Pure Power)/3/3/3/100 WC: 3/SC: 3 BRT: 19 (23 Pure Power)
Abilities: Pure Power/Telepathy/Pure Power (Mega)
Availability: Evolve from Meditite (2 CC)
Overview: Medicham, once overshadowed by fellow Fighting/Psychic type Gallade due to Gallade's superior stats and movepool, now has a new toy: Medichamite. Medichamite allows Medicham to transform into Medicham-Mega, gaining 2 attack ranks (3 with pure power), 1 special attack rank, and 20 speed. Now, with Medichamite in hand, Medicham has found a new role: being the king of damage races with its massive rank 8 attack stat.
However, Medicham is far from invincible. It has only 90 hp, making it rather frail, and has no real way to defeat Ghosts and Psychics, as its only Dark-, Ghost-, or Bug- typed moves are Signal Beam, Shadow Ball, and maybe Hidden Power, all of which use Medicham's mediocre Special Attack stat. Ghosts and Psychics can easily hit Medicham for SE damage as well, with their own Shadow Balls and other assorted Ghost-typed moves.
Stats and Natures: Medicham only has 1, maybe 2 good natures. Medicham should always run either Jolly or Adamant, for reasons explained below.
Jolly is good because it allows Medicham to always hit with High Jump Kick, which is Medicham's favorite move, in addition to letting Rock Slide always hit. In addition, being able to outspeed threats such as Togekiss, Gardevoir, and Dragonite before mega-evolving, things like Gardevoir-Mega after mega-evolving, and speed-tying with neutral Cinccino after mega-evolving is very useful. Medicham doesn't truly care about special attack anyways, as their physical attack is far better.
Adamant is useful because it gives Medicham more power, but Medicham-Mega already has insane attack, and adding 1 damage isn't worth as much as outspeeding. Medicham should usually be running Jolly, but Adamant can be useful in raids and other rps where you know how fast your opponents will be beforehand, if you know Jolly won't let you outspeed (or Adamant already will) and you don't care about HJK's accuracy.
Abilities, Movepool, Moves, and Combos: Medicham's usefulness is heavily reliant on their signature ability, Pure Power. Pure Power raises Medicham from being a terrible pokemon to being a good one, by giving it a large boost in attack ranks. Telepathy is a useful ability is doubles+, as it allows allies to spam moves such as Earthquake and Surf without hurting Medicham, but is not nearly as important as Pure Power.
Medicham has a movepool consisting of 93 moves, consisting mostly of physical moves, with several support moves as well. Medicham also has some special moves, but those don't see much use due to Medicham's low Special Attack. Medicham's physical movepool is very large, consisting of such goodies as Body Slam, Brick Break, Bullet Punch, Drain Punch, Fake Out, Feint, Fire Punch, Focus Punch, High Jump Kick, Ice Punch, Low Kick, Low Sweep, Psycho Cut, Revenge, Reversal, Rock Slide, Thunder Punch, Zen Headbutt, and many other things that aren't quite as useful as these. Medicham's support movepool has lots of cool things, such as Bide, Counter, Endure, Foresight, Gravity, Helping Hand, Light Screen, Magic Coat, Pain Split, Quick Guard, and Reflect.
Medicham's combos mostly involve Focus Punch, Bullet Punch, or Reversal. Many of Medicham's coverage moves combo well with those three, giving you a powerful last shot or an excellent way to punish an opponent for setting up
Items: Use Medichamite. It's the only reason to use Medicham over Gallade.
Roles and Strategies: Medicham should almost always go for the damage race, as Medicham is very good at those. Try to send Medicham out against something it can safely spam High Jump Kick against, because Medicham loves doing that. Revenge, Reversal, and Brick Break are also good Fighting STABs to throw around, due to their high BAP (Except for Brick Break, but Brick Break destroys Reflect and is the safest STAB, so there's that). Pain Split and Reversal are also useful when Medicham is fighting a second pokemon after taking one out.
Partners and Counters: Ghost- and Psychic-types such as Dusknoir and Gallade are the best counters, since they do not take much damage from any of Medicham's moves, and have Ghost-type moves that can hit Medicham super-effectively. However, Ghost-types should be wary of Foresight, and secondary typings can make them vulnerable to Medicham's moves. Fairies and Flying-type pokemon aren't as good counters as you would think, due to Poison Jab, Bullet Punch, Rock Slide, Ice Punch, and Thunder Punch. Medicham can deal significant damage to these pokemon, even if they can defeat it, and can actually win with skillful playing and usage of combos.
Dark-types are good partners for Medicham, since they can easily take out most pokemon that counter Medicham. Steel-type pokemon are also helpful, to get rid of Fairies.