Smogon Community - View Single Post - Pokémon BW2 In-game Tier List Mark II

Dark flame · Oct 15th, 2012, 1:24:55 PM

Just completed Black 2 - I was having a speed race against a friend, so used what I would thought would be a strong, if not particularly ground breaking team to try and get me to the elite four as fast as possible. These are my thoughts...

Oshawott - High Tier

Availability: As a starter, it's obviously available straight away, and remains handy throughout the game,
Stats: Solid. Can be used as a mixed attacker with 100/108 offences, and is strong enough defensively as well. The only stat I'd want to improve is speed, but I think slowness was exaggerated in my game by bad IV's!
Typing: Every team needs a water type to take out rock/ground/fire types and be able to surf. Only two weaknesses is always handy.
Movepool: Really versatile. Revenge is a handy fighting move that comes mid game and remains handy throughout, can be taught blizzard/ice beam for ice coverage and can be taught x-scissor or megahorn once it becomes a samurott for bug coverage.
Major Battles: Useful in most gyms. Destroys clay, and very handy against drayden if it's been taught blizzard. Also handy when taking on champion iris in the final battle before the credits roll. Struggles against elesa and marlon though.
Additional Comments: I'm normally not a fan of water type starters as there are so many water type pokemon out there, but in BW2, I think Oshawott is the way to go. Azurill/Psyduck have pretty mediocre stats, and due to the lack of fishing until post-game, there aren't too many other viable alternatives. Might try using ducklett next time to see how he compares, but suspect defences could be a problem.

Magnemite: Top tier
Availability: Very early, just before the second gym.
Stats: 130 special attack as a magnezone is awesome, strong defensive stats and a ton of resistances make magnemite difficult to take down. Speed is an issue, but this is alleviated with thunder wave, and great defences.
Typing: Electric/Steel is unbelievably good, 13 resistances speak for themselves. Only problem is ground types - sturdy comes in handy, but really you'll want to switch out. Great synergy with oshawott.
Movepool: Somewhat shallow, but sonicboom early in the game 2HKO's pretty much everything, and electric stab is very handy. It's steel stabs come at handy times in the game and provide coverage, but it's stuck for a long time with volt switch as its strongest electric attack until it learns discharge at level 51 (electroball with magnemite's speed isn't worth while.)
Major Battles: Annihilates roxie, skyla and marlon and useful in most gyms. Struggles against elesa and clay, nevertheless probably the most helpful in-game pokemon going!
Additional Comments: Believe the hype, magnemite is peerless in BW2.

Darumaka - Top tier
Availability: Just before the third gym. Great timing for a fire type, and comes just as your team is starting to really take shape.
Stats: Frail defensively, but with 140 attack and 95 speed once it evolves, a lot of the time your opponent won't even be able to get a hit in! Good hp is very handy for flare blitz recoil
Typing: Stab fire is great offensively, and deals with steels which can otherwise be a problem.
Movepool: Somewhat shallow, but fire punch and flare blitz are powerful fire moves, made even more powerful by hustle/sheer force abilities. With sheer force, flare blitz's base power becomes 156. With stab and 140 attack, this alone is enough to OHKO pretty much anything that doesn't resist it, and for this reason I've placed darumaka in the top tier. Superpower and rock slide provide decent coverage.
Major Battles: Destroys burgh, but struggles and against clay and marlon. However, with the team I had, this wasn't a problem. Didn't use it much against the elite four, but a brilliant pokemon to have in reserve late game.
Additional Comments: Accuracy reductions as darumaka are annoying, but its sheer power makes up for it, and its ability to take out pretty much anything that doesn't resist fire makes it stand above growlithe and magby for me.

Scraggy - Top tier
Availability: Just before the third gym at the same time as darumaka.
Stats: Decent attack, made much better by the moxie ability. Very handy defences, but somewhat slow.
Typing: Brilliant. Dark and especially fighting are very useful stabs. Fighting needs no explanation hitting five types for super effective damage, and dark is really useful as there seemed to be a lot of psychics in BW2. Only downside is its weakness to other fighting types (flying types aren't too common.)
Movepool: Excellent. Learns powerful move after powerful move pretty much as soon as you've caught it. Brick break is an excellent stab that I kept all the way through the game, hi jump kick deals out huge damage and crunch is very handy on the dark side. I taught mine dig for coverage as I had no other means for dealing with electrics, and can also learn the elemental punches early on through a move tutor and rock slide.
Major Battles: Destroys 3 out of the elite four by typing alone and very handy against the champion. Can do a job in most gyms apart from skyla's, but it really starts to shine in the late game against team plasma and the elite four.
Additional Comments: By the end of the game, scrafty become my MVP. Stab hi jump kick and crunch deal big damage, especially after one or two moxie boosts.

Sigilyph - High Tier
Availability: In the desert resort - I caught mine after the third gym, but think it can be accessed before. By this point your team should be really coming together, and I found it handy to complete my team this early on. Catching it can be very frustrating though due to whirlwind and a low catch rate.
Stats: Strong across the board with solid defences and very handy 103 special attack and 97 speed.
Typing: Psychic and flying are both handy stabs, and it covered my team's fighting weakness superbly. Originally I had been planning on just using the aforementioned four pokemon, but sigilyph provided great cover for my team's weaknesses.
Movepool: Very good. Starts with stab psybeam and learns air cutter soon after. You're stuck with these as your two stab moves until the early 40's when it learns air slash and psychic, but as it's much stronger than most other pokemon in the early-mid game this isn't too much of a problem. I was surprised it could learn ice beam, which provided very handy coverage in the late game. Can also learn fly, but this is more helpful outside of battle than in it!
Major Battles: Really handy against team plasma and marshal of the elite four. Doesn't shine too much against gym leaders
Additional Comments: Complemented my team very nicely. Only reason it's not top tier is that it doesn't dish out quite as much damage as the likes of magnezone, darmanitan and scrafty, but possibly the best of the flying and psychic types in game.

There you go, probably nothing we didn't know already, but confirmation that these five are all awesome. I did catch a ferroseed with the perfect nature (brave) but ended up not needing to use it as these five were more than good enough to complete the game. Would like to see how useful ferroseed/thorn is, as it can be one of the best pokemon in the game if used correctly. Anyone used it so far?

Oct 15th, 2012, 1:24:55 PM	#102
Dark flame Join Date: Sep 2011 Posts: 1	Just completed Black 2 - I was having a speed race against a friend, so used what I would thought would be a strong, if not particularly ground breaking team to try and get me to the elite four as fast as possible. These are my thoughts... Oshawott - High Tier Availability: As a starter, it's obviously available straight away, and remains handy throughout the game, Stats: Solid. Can be used as a mixed attacker with 100/108 offences, and is strong enough defensively as well. The only stat I'd want to improve is speed, but I think slowness was exaggerated in my game by bad IV's! Typing: Every team needs a water type to take out rock/ground/fire types and be able to surf. Only two weaknesses is always handy. Movepool: Really versatile. Revenge is a handy fighting move that comes mid game and remains handy throughout, can be taught blizzard/ice beam for ice coverage and can be taught x-scissor or megahorn once it becomes a samurott for bug coverage. Major Battles: Useful in most gyms. Destroys clay, and very handy against drayden if it's been taught blizzard. Also handy when taking on champion iris in the final battle before the credits roll. Struggles against elesa and marlon though. Additional Comments: I'm normally not a fan of water type starters as there are so many water type pokemon out there, but in BW2, I think Oshawott is the way to go. Azurill/Psyduck have pretty mediocre stats, and due to the lack of fishing until post-game, there aren't too many other viable alternatives. Might try using ducklett next time to see how he compares, but suspect defences could be a problem. Magnemite: Top tier Availability: Very early, just before the second gym. Stats: 130 special attack as a magnezone is awesome, strong defensive stats and a ton of resistances make magnemite difficult to take down. Speed is an issue, but this is alleviated with thunder wave, and great defences. Typing: Electric/Steel is unbelievably good, 13 resistances speak for themselves. Only problem is ground types - sturdy comes in handy, but really you'll want to switch out. Great synergy with oshawott. Movepool: Somewhat shallow, but sonicboom early in the game 2HKO's pretty much everything, and electric stab is very handy. It's steel stabs come at handy times in the game and provide coverage, but it's stuck for a long time with volt switch as its strongest electric attack until it learns discharge at level 51 (electroball with magnemite's speed isn't worth while.) Major Battles: Annihilates roxie, skyla and marlon and useful in most gyms. Struggles against elesa and clay, nevertheless probably the most helpful in-game pokemon going! Additional Comments: Believe the hype, magnemite is peerless in BW2. Darumaka - Top tier Availability: Just before the third gym. Great timing for a fire type, and comes just as your team is starting to really take shape. Stats: Frail defensively, but with 140 attack and 95 speed once it evolves, a lot of the time your opponent won't even be able to get a hit in! Good hp is very handy for flare blitz recoil Typing: Stab fire is great offensively, and deals with steels which can otherwise be a problem. Movepool: Somewhat shallow, but fire punch and flare blitz are powerful fire moves, made even more powerful by hustle/sheer force abilities. With sheer force, flare blitz's base power becomes 156. With stab and 140 attack, this alone is enough to OHKO pretty much anything that doesn't resist it, and for this reason I've placed darumaka in the top tier. Superpower and rock slide provide decent coverage. Major Battles: Destroys burgh, but struggles and against clay and marlon. However, with the team I had, this wasn't a problem. Didn't use it much against the elite four, but a brilliant pokemon to have in reserve late game. Additional Comments: Accuracy reductions as darumaka are annoying, but its sheer power makes up for it, and its ability to take out pretty much anything that doesn't resist fire makes it stand above growlithe and magby for me. Scraggy - Top tier Availability: Just before the third gym at the same time as darumaka. Stats: Decent attack, made much better by the moxie ability. Very handy defences, but somewhat slow. Typing: Brilliant. Dark and especially fighting are very useful stabs. Fighting needs no explanation hitting five types for super effective damage, and dark is really useful as there seemed to be a lot of psychics in BW2. Only downside is its weakness to other fighting types (flying types aren't too common.) Movepool: Excellent. Learns powerful move after powerful move pretty much as soon as you've caught it. Brick break is an excellent stab that I kept all the way through the game, hi jump kick deals out huge damage and crunch is very handy on the dark side. I taught mine dig for coverage as I had no other means for dealing with electrics, and can also learn the elemental punches early on through a move tutor and rock slide. Major Battles: Destroys 3 out of the elite four by typing alone and very handy against the champion. Can do a job in most gyms apart from skyla's, but it really starts to shine in the late game against team plasma and the elite four. Additional Comments: By the end of the game, scrafty become my MVP. Stab hi jump kick and crunch deal big damage, especially after one or two moxie boosts. Sigilyph - High Tier Availability: In the desert resort - I caught mine after the third gym, but think it can be accessed before. By this point your team should be really coming together, and I found it handy to complete my team this early on. Catching it can be very frustrating though due to whirlwind and a low catch rate. Stats: Strong across the board with solid defences and very handy 103 special attack and 97 speed. Typing: Psychic and flying are both handy stabs, and it covered my team's fighting weakness superbly. Originally I had been planning on just using the aforementioned four pokemon, but sigilyph provided great cover for my team's weaknesses. Movepool: Very good. Starts with stab psybeam and learns air cutter soon after. You're stuck with these as your two stab moves until the early 40's when it learns air slash and psychic, but as it's much stronger than most other pokemon in the early-mid game this isn't too much of a problem. I was surprised it could learn ice beam, which provided very handy coverage in the late game. Can also learn fly, but this is more helpful outside of battle than in it! Major Battles: Really handy against team plasma and marshal of the elite four. Doesn't shine too much against gym leaders Additional Comments: Complemented my team very nicely. Only reason it's not top tier is that it doesn't dish out quite as much damage as the likes of magnezone, darmanitan and scrafty, but possibly the best of the flying and psychic types in game. There you go, probably nothing we didn't know already, but confirmation that these five are all awesome. I did catch a ferroseed with the perfect nature (brave) but ended up not needing to use it as these five were more than good enough to complete the game. Would like to see how useful ferroseed/thorn is, as it can be one of the best pokemon in the game if used correctly. Anyone used it so far?