ORAS - The Contest Spectacular

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With the advent of Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire versions, Pokémon Contests were introduced. These events required the making of Pokéblocks as well as strategic movesets to succeed in a given category of Coolness, Tougness, Cuteness, Beauty or Cleverness. They returned in DPP with Super Contests and Poffins, but have not been seen since. Until now...

ORAS gives us the Contest Spectacular! Upon trying to leave Slateport you will discover a photo shoot for a Contest Star named Lisia and her Altaria, Ali. You will learn about the contest and after your first one, be gifted a free Pikachu who cosplays and has special moves! Keep going into the contests to unlock higher levels, and after beating every single level of every category, you can get the Lucarionite!

So, everybody! What contests do you enter in? What partners do you use for them? What movesets and what tactics? What Pokéblock recipes?
 
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For myself, I always enter in Cool contests. I use my contest partner, Radiance the Masquerain who uses Fell Stinger, Quick Attack, Double Team, and Air Cutter (I would have used Agility instead of Air Cutter for a combo, but I accidentally clicked Forget on it and it's only a level-up move for Surskit). For Pokéblocks, I always mix two of one kind of berry, plus one of two other kinds (e.g. Razz Berry - Razz Berry - Charti Berry - Some Other Red Berry). For me, this makes Pokéblock+s more often.

I think I've actually reached the point where it won't let me feed any more Red Pokéblocks to Radiance. Hmmm. I still can't get that darn Hyper Rank. Seaking keeps coming JUST ahead of me for first.
 
Lots of thoughts on this. I'm working on getting every legal ribbon on my Aromatisse, Stinkerbell, and it's clear that with some Pokemon the real challenge comes down to movepool. Contests have definitely been casualised a lot more, but they were always a bit of a slog, so that's fine. The main change is that you can feed infinite Pokeblocks (that or the upper limit is much higher), which removes a huge barrier for a lot of Pokemon, and makes it so that you can get by with less stellar appeals and still manage a ribbon or two based on persistence and luck.

Aromatisse soared through the Master divisions in Cute, Beauty, and Cleverness, but she just doesn't have a lot of Tough or Cool moves available. I'm yet to see any good list of move combos, and at this stage I'm thinking that's her best option for getting through Master Tough, if some of the old Hoenn combos work again. Currently about to test out Rain Dance (Tough) + Thunder (Cool) to see if it still works. Will report back with some tested combos, seeing as that seems like the most constructive thing to check out right now.

[Edit: Well, that's irritating. Rain Dance is now a Beauty move. I'm sure it wasn't before.]
 
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cant say

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Small nitpick; it's when you leave Slateport

I would love to see this thread full of great pokeblock recipes and some seemingly unbeatable strategies sooner or later. I'll check back once I'm done with the main story as the gen III contests were / still are one of my favourite parts of the series (gonna transfer my Banette up from my original Sapphire to get even more ribbons ^_^ spite > curse > spite > curse > destiny bond for days...)
 
I've noticed the combos have changed. I'm currently using a MSableye for Clever contests, and Calm Mind sets up for a combo but Psychic no longer combos with it this gen. Nor does Shadow Ball, though I was trying to see if it did this gen as it didn't in 3rd gen.

All in all I am loving the contests. I missed them immensely, 4th gen contests were paltry compared to these.

Edit: Also, most importantly, is there no limit to the amount of blocks you can feed your mons? There's no "feel" anymore so...
 
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Small nitpick; it's when you leave Slateport

I would love to see this thread full of great pokeblock recipes and some seemingly unbeatable strategies sooner or later. I'll check back once I'm done with the main story as the gen III contests were / still are one of my favourite parts of the series (gonna transfer my Banette up from my original Sapphire to get even more ribbons ^_^ spite > curse > spite > curse > destiny bond for days...)
Fixed
 
Old rules apply in terms of what the audience dislikes and what is neutral. So, for example, if going for Toughness it's safe to use Clever and Cool moves to set up combos, but Cute and Beautiful will bring down their excitement.

Attacks that are the first part of a combo:

Torment
Calm Mind
Glare
Rain Dance (and probably the other weather moves)

If we can get a list of these going we can test them out against potential combo moves.
 
One thing that has changed is that if you use a move that lowers the excitement, you now lose a heart. This means that having a 'detrimental' move and using it to stop another mon from maxing out the excitement is slightly less viable now.
 

Colonel M

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Does anyone know if the Sunny Day + Overheat combo is still in existence? That was what net me my wins in Beauty contests all the time.
 
I actually found a formula that works for all contests:
Have a move that has general appeal
have a move that pumps the user up
have a move that lowers the appeal of the opponents pokemon.
Make sure your pokemon has max stat in whatever contest (ie if it is entering beautiful contest have it have max beauty)

turn 1) use the move that pumps you up
Turn 2) use the move that lowers the appeal of the opponents pokemon (make sure you are last to go)
Turn 3) use move that has general appeal
Turn 4) use move that pumps you up
Turn 5) use move that has general appeal or move that lowers the appeal of other pokes.
 
I feel like the Lucarionite is supposed to be this huge incentive for completing the contests, but because everyone and their mother has one due to how easy it was to obtain in XY, I just don't see a reason to go for it :/
 
ContestStarEffect.jpg

So there's a new effect that plays when you send out a Pokemon carrying a Contest Star Ribbon from winning every master class. A contest ribbon in a reddish haze as they enter the field.
 
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DragonWhale

It's not a misplay, it's RNG manipulation
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I'll post my findings on Beauty Contest Master Rank here:

Top NPC contender is Gorebyss, by a long shot. Here's its general pattern.
1) Agility - moves first next turn
2) Whirlpool - prevents following appeals from getting any stars. If it reaches four stars at this point (and it usually does), you better have a move that at least gets four hearts, or Gorebyss will move first the next turn for having the most hearts on this turn, and get the super appeal on turn 3. If you don't, then there's hardly any chance to win. Overheat works, but watch out for Electrode, who usually uses discharge when it's in the third or fourth position and jams. If you move later, watch out for Machoke, which usually uses attract in an attempt to make the later contestants nervous.
3) Aqua tail - if it gets its super appeal, then it's pretty much GG. It usually moves first unless you beat it in the previous round.
4) Whirlpool - it prevents the stars from rising again, so it's not likely that another super appeal will happen in that competition
5) Aqua tail - nothing much, other than just getting as many hearts as it can

Long story short, whirlpool (and any trapping move for that matter) is super OP if used correctly (and boy does this Gorebyss do so).

I'm using mega Diancie with diamond storm, flash, explosion, and moonblast, and I'm struggling to find openings against this Gorebyss.
 
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Mastered Cool Rank. I got lucky with that Gyarados not being in there. Using a Swellow with:
-Quick Attack
-Aerial Ace
-Air Slash
-Fly
Managed to win with that combo. Got lucky with being the best judged in the first round.

Still sad no Wi-Fi contests :(
 
Mastered Cool Rank. I got lucky with that Gyarados not being in there. Using a Swellow with:
-Quick Attack
-Aerial Ace
-Air Slash
-Fly
Managed to win with that combo. Got lucky with being the best judged in the first round.

Still sad no Wi-Fi contests :(
Yeah, the local contest part doesn't really excite me, seeing as only one of my friends has the game and lives elsewhere in town.
 
I remember from Ruby/Sapphire that Mean Look + Destiny Bond was a combo for 16 hearts at the cost of no longer being able to appeal. Can anyone check this?
 
I remember from Ruby/Sapphire that Mean Look + Destiny Bond was a combo for 16 hearts at the cost of no longer being able to appeal. Can anyone check this?
Yes, they do form a combo. Although the reason you can't appeal anymore is because of Destiny Bond.

Moves like Destiny Bond, Explosion, and Self-Destruct are highly appealing, but end your entire round so you are meant to use them on the fifth and last round of the appeal.
 
Not sure if appropriate but could we do research into pokemon contests and which would be threats? (Maybe even a contest meta/simulator)
I'm new to forums so sorry if this is short.
 

Codraroll

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Not sure if appropriate but could we do research into pokemon contests and which would be threats? (Maybe even a contest meta/simulator)
I'm new to forums so sorry if this is short.
We already did. I moved your thread into this one instead.
 
Serebii put a list of combos up here, but doesn't seem to have the descriptions of the moves for contests. I wanna prepare, dammit! Looks like there's some interesting new combos though.
I'm quite happy that the contests seem to be back to the RSE versions, I hated the DP contests.
 
I've mastered all 5 categories with 5 different Pokemon and I've learned a few tips that would make winning contests a lot easier.

-As someone already pointed out, Gorbyss is super annoying in the beauty master contest. Agility + Whirlpool usually nets it a super appeal if you don't plan ahead about 90% of the time. When you see Gorbyss or anything else known to use Agility (there are more who do it in cool contests), it's best to try to unnerve it so it won't be able to pull the move off, ruining it's pattern.

-Lisia is a pain to face no matter what category you're in. If you know you're going to face her, DO NOT USE A POKEMON WITH MAXED OUT CONDITIONS. Lisia's Altaria is (purposefully) right under max conditions because it wants to go second. This is especially true in beauty, cute, and cool contests where it can use Round. If you do happen to go first against her, *do not* use a move that fits the category you're in or else Altaria will be able to rack up 6-8 hearts easily with Round. Lisia seems to have a set strategy of getting a super appeal off early (which almost always nets her a near perfect score every time thanks to Altaria MEvolving) and is very good at pulling it off. The best way to beat her is to pull off a super appeal + MEvo of you're own before she can. Lisia also seems to always use a startle-preventing move the turn after she pulls off a super appeal.

-Don't be afraid to lower the crowds excitement with moves from different categories. There is a certain strategy of preventing opponents from pulling off super appeals. If you can successfully make take control of where you are when the crowd's excitement is almost at max, you can easily pull of 2-3 super appeals per match.

-If you plan on having contests competitively against other humans, always have a startle blocking move and a move that lowers appeal.

-Avoid matches where you have to face Lisia and Gorbys, Swellow, Gyarados, or Kirlia. Trust me.
 

Jibaku

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Just beat all Master Rank contests + Lisia with Rayquaza (and got the contest star ribbon ^_^). That particular Gorebyss helped me a lot against Lisia, where it Whirlpooled and left the excitement meter stuck at 4 on the turn I got 8 hearts from Dragon Ascent, giving me enough points to lead on the following turn and maxing out the meter (and of course, mega evolving). That Whirlpool was so clutch because Altaria was immediately after Gorebyss.

In general I didn't have a lot of strategy. A lot of the old contest comboes don't work anymore - the only actual combo I used was Rest/Sleep Talk in cute. I already PP maxed both ES and Dragon Ascent on Ray so I didn't feel like removing them, leaving me with two slots to manage things.

- ExtremeSpeed
- Dragon Ascent
- Swords Dance (beauty)
- Aerial Ace (cool)
- Dragon Tail (tough)
- Giga Impact (tough, general)
- Hyper Beam (cool, general)
- Rest (cute)
- Sleep Talk (cute, combo with Rest)
- Hidden Power (clever)

Yeah I really did not have a lot of options for clever. Rayquaza doesnt learn a lot of those moves and I just went with spamming Hidden Power and ending with Giga Impact, as well as mixing up Dragon Ascents to tone down excitement for that one (it was by far the hardest contest as a result)

Btw there is a Linoone with the moveset Cut/Strength/Surf/Rock Smash in there. Not in Master, but somewhere below. It was kinda funny running into one.
 
Two questions then. Do the Pokeblocks depend on DIFFERENT berries being used, or can we just use 4 Razz and not pop out a gray?

Second question: Is anyone working on improving the Serebii Combo list by putting together the contest type to the moves? I would try, but I lack a PC atm
 
Two questions then. Do the Pokeblocks depend on DIFFERENT berries being used, or can we just use 4 Razz and not pop out a gray?
i just spammed same kinds of low level berries like oran and rawst and got regular pokeblocks and sometimes pokeblocks+. i don't think it matters at all what you put in there; it seems incredibly idiot proof. hell, i bet you could get some good pokeblocks if you put rocks in there.

i kinda like how easy it is to farm ribbons (and berries/comet shards from fans) after you've gotten to master rank at least once. the special effect you get from beating all of the master ranks with one pokemon seems like it works like the shiny sparkle animation, but it seems like it lasts longer, not unlike the pokestar studios effect. it's still kinda time consuming to get, but i think it might be relevant in VGC to run down the short timer.

the main move combo i've been spamming is rest+snore with a hyper beam or explosion move. even though you get one less heart for lowering the excitement level by doing, say, rest in a tough contest, the pros of an appeal combo outweigh the cons. every mon that learns rest can also learn snore from the move tutor on the battle resort, which only costs 4 BP so one or two battles in the maison is all you need to be able to afford it. talisheo 's method works as well, but sometimes it's easier to go for rest+snore. incidentally, rest+snore was my main method of ribbon farming in 3rd gen, too. glad they kept it in.
 

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