p2
Banned deucer.
Balance is the most dominant playstyle in OU right now and between Offense and Stall, Offense is the better one of the two.
-
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!
Resource ORAS OU Simple Questions, Simple Answers MKII (Read the OP First!) (Now with 100% more Rules!!!)
- Thread starter ginganinja
- Start date
Why doesn't anyone run focus blast on keldeo? A set of scald, fb, sis and filler seems viable enough to break past stuff like suicune and tangrowth.
Most people are leaning towards semi-stall teams at the moment, which is why mons like Kyurem-Black and Manaphy (mons that dick this playstyle) are looking broken like.
I feel like there are two reasons for this. One main reason is just the tradition of using Secret Sword Keldeo, and the other being Focus Blast's unreliable, shaky accuracy.
Eh, ss and fb id care to compare them to torn's air slash and hurricane. i think the best set for fb keld is scald, focus blast, ss (for chansey) and hp ele because with fb youre walled by char y. so I dare to compare fb to hydro because theyre both used to wallbreak and they have both have theyre benefits for example fb hits cune, growth, people sacking ferro cant get sr or spikes up, ohkos loom, etc while hydro hits clefable and zapdos.
Because perhaps Secret Sword hits on the physical side, like Psychock, which means it's not walled my special sponges which would wall the hell out of the poor pony otherwise.
It's mainly becuase Focus Blast's 3 targets are Suicune, Gastrodon and Tangrowth (I guess you could argue that Rotom-W is a target but it gets worn down very easily due to its lack of reliable recovery and doesn't take a Secret Sword very well anyway, so most people would prefer to be guaranteed to deal solid damage to it than try to hit it for massive damage and run a huge risk of missing), none of which are OU by usage and therefore not common enough to really be concerned about.
Keldeo's other coverage options are almost always preffered since they come into play more often. Hydro Pump breaks past stuff like Clefable, Sableye, and Mew if running Specs, and on Scarf, acts as a way to deal solid damage without having to rely on terrible accuracy (80% may not seem much better than 70% but it really is, you go from a 4/5 chance to hit to less than a 3/4 chance). Icy Wind hits Latis, Altaria and Dragonite, HP Electric hits Gyarados, Starmie, Azumarill and Slowbro, and HP Bug hits Celebi, Slowbro, Starmie, and Latis, all of which are OU, and therefore common threats worth using up a movelot to hit.
And yes, most people avoid Focus Blast when possible since its accuracy is truly that terrible and no-one wants to have to rely on it. You can't really compare it with Hurricane vs Air Slash since Air Slash is even weaker than Secret Sword, and misses out on a huge amount of KOs against a lot of Pokemon, while Secret Sword hits most of what Focus Blast hits besides a couple of uncommon Pokemon.
Keldeo's other coverage options are almost always preffered since they come into play more often. Hydro Pump breaks past stuff like Clefable, Sableye, and Mew if running Specs, and on Scarf, acts as a way to deal solid damage without having to rely on terrible accuracy (80% may not seem much better than 70% but it really is, you go from a 4/5 chance to hit to less than a 3/4 chance). Icy Wind hits Latis, Altaria and Dragonite, HP Electric hits Gyarados, Starmie, Azumarill and Slowbro, and HP Bug hits Celebi, Slowbro, Starmie, and Latis, all of which are OU, and therefore common threats worth using up a movelot to hit.
And yes, most people avoid Focus Blast when possible since its accuracy is truly that terrible and no-one wants to have to rely on it. You can't really compare it with Hurricane vs Air Slash since Air Slash is even weaker than Secret Sword, and misses out on a huge amount of KOs against a lot of Pokemon, while Secret Sword hits most of what Focus Blast hits besides a couple of uncommon Pokemon.
I've a question on Natures, is there any situations where Neutral natures are preferred or are the pokemon always better off running one that prioritizes a stat?
Yeah generally there'll usually be one stat you just don't really care about and you really want that 1.1X boost. Even in a case where the Pokémon is a mixed attacker, bulky on both sides and has at least decent speed (I think the only things this really applies to are M-Alt and M-Gross iirc), you're still better off sacrificing a defence for that attack/speed boost.
Never. It might seem like a good idea, but it's not. Even for mixed offensive mons, the loss of a bit of defense won't hurt it that much marginally, and the increased stat (usually speed on offense mons) is necessary for it to perform its task.
So I've been testing the water with a paralysis team - Glare Serperior, Spikes Thunder Wave Foul Play Klefki, Thunder Wave Nasty Plot Thundurus, Thunder Wave Nasty Plot Togekiss and Body Slam Iron Head Jirachi. It's playing well - Serperior can Paralyse ground types and counters on the switch, priority TWave shuts down offense, etc.
However, electric types are causing me issue for obvious reasons - Zapdos, opposing Thundurus, Raikou, Mega Manectric, Rotom-W. Is there anything that complements the team, makes good use of paralysis and can counter these easily?
I'd also appreciate things like Knock Off on the same set, maybe some recovery or the ability to cleric - but these are really secondary concerns to handling the electric types.
However, electric types are causing me issue for obvious reasons - Zapdos, opposing Thundurus, Raikou, Mega Manectric, Rotom-W. Is there anything that complements the team, makes good use of paralysis and can counter these easily?
I'd also appreciate things like Knock Off on the same set, maybe some recovery or the ability to cleric - but these are really secondary concerns to handling the electric types.
Hi all, I am a new competitive player but have played all pokemon games and know all about pokemon. I understand EV's and IV's (can't get a pokemon w/ more than 2 perfect iv's tho :() and want to start participating in OU competitive play.
Im thinking about trying to set-up a team around Mega Charizard X. I am currently trying to get a charmander with perfect IV's, but for some reason can't...(help please!!) I have a jolly charmander with "outstanding IV's" but only 2 maxed (health and speed). He is Jolly. He has dragon dance and I plan on giving him earthquake and flare blitz and roost.
I would really appreciate it if someone could tell me who synergies well with charizard x. I would like to have cool pokemon (doesn't really matter) but the priority is a good team that work well together.
Also, I heard that if you breed a 6 iv ditto with another pokemon and you have destiny knot, it transfers, so if anyone kind enough has a ditto they can send me (3 IV's would even be nice) I would love it.
Any help is appreciated!! I need to learn and i am a noob!!!
thanks for reading
Im thinking about trying to set-up a team around Mega Charizard X. I am currently trying to get a charmander with perfect IV's, but for some reason can't...(help please!!) I have a jolly charmander with "outstanding IV's" but only 2 maxed (health and speed). He is Jolly. He has dragon dance and I plan on giving him earthquake and flare blitz and roost.
I would really appreciate it if someone could tell me who synergies well with charizard x. I would like to have cool pokemon (doesn't really matter) but the priority is a good team that work well together.
Also, I heard that if you breed a 6 iv ditto with another pokemon and you have destiny knot, it transfers, so if anyone kind enough has a ditto they can send me (3 IV's would even be nice) I would love it.
Any help is appreciated!! I need to learn and i am a noob!!!
thanks for reading
Ahh I hate to be so noob but what do you mean by FWG and FRS core and balance core.....
p2
Banned deucer.
FWG = Fire + Water + Grass core
DFS = Dragon + Fairy + Steel core
A balance core is typically one with 1-2 offensive Pokemon and the other Pokemon being defensive. Charizard + Azumarill / Starmie + Serperior would be offensive, but Charizard + Azu / Starmie + Ferrothorn would be a balance core.
So would Charizard X, Azumarill, Ferrothorn, Tyranitar, and Garchomp be a good team? Also how do I know what items go best on which pokemon
Sorry for all the noob chat you don't have to answer if you really don't want to :(
I'd suggest you look into the mentorship program to learn a bit and the wi-fi section to trade for things to get you started. SmogDex gives you an idea of what different sets run and can do.
My teambuilding philosophy is to pick a Pokemon I want to build around (in your case, Zard-X), and then focus on what it needs.
For example, Charizard-X is a good set-up sweeper and win condition, so you want to eliminate things that impede a sweep, such as Mega Altaria, bulky Water types like Slowbro and Azumarill, and things that can status it such as Thundurus. Contrary Serperior makes a good teammate for dealing with Bulky Water and Ground Types and being a capable sweeper himself. Then look at things that give these two particular trouble (such as Heatran and Mega Altaria) and pick a mon that in turn can deal with those two and help the core in other ways, such as Starmie to beat Heatran and spin hazards, Kyurem-Black which can break bulkier teams with his good coverage, etc.
A good place to start is here: http://www.smogon.com/forums/threads/oras-good-cores-check-post-714.3524713/
Find a core with the Pokemon you want, look at their roles, support it likes, and threats to the core, and include other teammates to cover those.
SketchUp
Don't let your memes be dreams
Every fully evolved pokemon has an analysis written about it with the best sets, good teammates and how to use it. You can see these analysis by going to this site: http://www.smogon.com/dex/xy/pokemon/corsola/ and change Corsola to the pokemon you're looking for. There are many good guides to start in the OU metagame and this thread sums it up pretty well: http://www.smogon.com/forums/threads/guide-to-the-oras-ou-metagame.3524015/
Thank you so much for the help guys, I really appreciate you guys taking time to help a noob out.
Just a general rule of thumb btw; don't be afraid to come forward with and ask your questions just because you think they're "noob questions". The thread's here to help out; don't worry 'bout a thing :)
p2
Banned deucer.
The 18th
p2
Banned deucer.
Genesect was closer than that, I think it was banned by just 1 vote. #FREE GENE
But I'm not sure if MegaGross is a major concern right now because the meta has settled and its definitely not as threatening as it was at the start of ORAS
Does it honestly even need to be retested at this point? With T-Wave CM Clef at an all time high (a slow Metagross is a near-useless one), Hippo balance running the Meta (aka teams Gross struggles with), and Weavile Offense (which uses a ton of fast mons that pressure Gross) seeing a surge in usage, the initial "omg I can't beat Gross too OP pls ban" argument has very little basis nowadays. The metagame has adapted to its presence and it's not this unstoppable monster like people thought it was 3 months ago. I doubt it'll be retested anytime soon.
e: somewhat ninjad
e: somewhat ninjad