Pokemon Switching Statistics - August 2009

[Cathy**]

These are some new statistics which I decided to compile today based on battles completed on the Smogon Shoddy Battle server during the month of August 2009. These statistics give you some insight into switching trends, an area we previously had not looked at with statistics.

There are numerous different definitions of a "switch in" that one could construct, but I've selected the one that was the simplest to implement: Except for at the start of the battle, whenever one player sends out a new pokemon X (including through Baton Pass and U-turn), if there is a pokemon Y on the opponent's side of the field, then we say that pokemon X switched into pokemon Y. I call pokemon X the subject of the switch in and pokemon Y the object of the switch in.

We can sort the switch in statistics both by subject and by object. Given a particular pokemon X, the statistics sorted by subject tell you the most common pokemon that pokemon X switches into. Similarly, given a particular pokemon X, the statistics sorted by object tell you the most common pokemon who switch into pokemon X. I've attempted to avoid confusion by placing some clarifying English throughout the stats pages, but I suggest you read this paragraph very carefully so you understand exactly what statistics we are talking about.

Here is an example on how to interpret this data. This is an excerpt from the statistics sorted by subject showing you the most common pokemon that Gyarados switches into on the Standard ladder:

1. Scizor - 7.12% (12166)
2. Heatran - 6.37% (10897)
3. Swampert - 4.85% (8284)
4. Infernape - 4.62% (7907)
5. Salamence - 3.86% (6597)
6. Gyarados - 3.7% (6321)
7. Lucario - 3.34% (5715)

This means that in August 2009, Gyarados switched into Scizor 12166 times, which was 7.12% of all switches in which Gyarados was the subject.

Without further ado, here are the statistics pages. Warning: These pages are very large and may take some time to load.

Standard ladder sorted by subject (5 MB)
Standard ladder sorted by object (5 MB)

Ubers ladder sorted by subject (768 KB)
Ubers ladder sorted by object (756 KB)

Underused ladder sorted by subject (2.5 MB)
Underused ladder sorted by object (2.5 MB)

Enjoy!

[whistle]

^ . but seriously this is great. it's really fun to look through them and see which switches are "duh, of course" and which are "woah didn't see that coming" (unsurprisingly the majority are the former)... it's sort of like getting a snapshot of the ou/uu metagame. thanks a lot :)

[Xaqwais]

Awesome, Colin. Thanks! This really helps for teams who try to base off a late game sweeper. You see what you have to worry the most about. Good to see real results, not just theory.

[ultimifier]

holy fuck colin. you are amazing

[Heysup]

These are so awesome and useful. Thanks!

Anyways one thing I noticed immediately.....

Pokemon who switch into Blaziken the most:
#3 Slowbro - 4.06% (466)

WHY?

Blaziken ALWAYS 2HKOes Slowbro with Fire Blast + Hidden Power. Why switch into something that will 2HKO you most of the time?

[TheFourthChaser]

Wow Colin this is awesome, great job. I hope we can see more of these like we do with the Smogon Shoddy Stats.

[familyguyman]

Good stuff Colin!

[ChristovaOnIce]

This is an excellent compilation. Now I have something to read when I'm not reading server stats!

....It seems like a lot of people switch Scizor into absolutely everything.

[Staraptor Call]

Great stats. But who are these people switching Breloom, Smeargle, and Azelf into Scizor? People having their teams swept?

[familyguyman]

Originally Posted by Fat Staraptor Call

Great stats. But who are these people switching Breloom, Smeargle, and Azelf into Scizor? People having their teams swept?

Could be Azelf going into Superpower after a power drop. Could be Breloom going into CB Pursuit. Could be Smeargle being the last pokemon or having a Focus Sash and aiming to Spore or something.

[monkfish]

great idea colin

as mentioned on irc, i think accounting for revenge killing would be good, as well as some way to balance overall usage.. scizor switches in on everything partly because it's everpresent in OU!

[Erazor]

Awesome stuff Colin. As stated, it helps in planning a late-game sweep, and these further emphasize that Registeel, Milotic, and Chansey are the only real switch ins to Yanmega.

Originally Posted by Fat Heysup

These are so awesome and useful. Thanks!

Anyways one thing I noticed immediately.....


WHY?

Blaziken ALWAYS 2HKOes Slowbro with Fire Blast + Hidden Power. Why switch into something that will 2HKO you most of the time?

These include Revenge Kills as well, iirc. So Slowbro is certainly a viable switch if it has good health.

[mtr]

Great idea, but

2. Scizor - 4.29% (2867) for switching into Hippowdon...

WHY?!

[Salt]

This is very comprehensive and allow people to see what pokemon are most used to check another.

Scizor being the most common switch in on Salamence is quite odd, as almost all forms of Salamence carry Fire Blast, so provided you predict accordingly you may have knocked out the opponents besy=t way to revenge Salamence, but most Mence Draco Metoer or Dragon Dance turn 1, so Scizor is a relatively decent switch in.

Latias being the second, completely contradicts what I just said.

Salamence and Scizor being the most common Lucario switch ins is odd, but it is generally because:

- bothe of these are around lategame

- they are the most used, and so have a better chance of being on every team compared to others, and therefore a more likely chance of switching in

Stats are very good though

Great stats. But who are these people switching Breloom, Smeargle, and Azelf into Scizor? People having their teams swept?

Scizor wouldve been locked into Pursuit or Super Power in most of these cases.

[Erazor]

Guys, you're forgetting that this takes into account Revenge Killing as well!

[X-Act]

Good job Colin. Let's see what I can envisage with this data...

[d2m]

I'm gonna use this...tomorrow ( or later today depending). The fact that Milotic is 1-3 on nearly every offensive threat in UU bolsters the Defensive Condition case.

Good list.

Also, HeySup: Not only does it not mean that it switches directly into an attack, but Blaziken often telegraphs Superpower, which Slowbro can switch into and not be 2HKO'd and OHKO with any of its 2 STAB moves.

[Hipmonlee]

It also includes pokemon switched in by use of roar.

Which seems like scizor could be high up in since it is the most used pokemon.

Have a nice day.

[Imran]

Originally Posted by Fat Heysup

These are so awesome and useful. Thanks!

Anyways one thing I noticed immediately.....


WHY?

Blaziken ALWAYS 2HKOes Slowbro with Fire Blast + Hidden Power. Why switch into something that will 2HKO you most of the time?

Perhaps it's because people don't ALWAYS switch Slowbro into Fire Blast ;_;

[Dekzeh]

Or because not all Blazikens are the Mixed LO variety (only 50% of all Blazikens carry HP Grass/Electric)

[Heysup]

Still, 3rd most common switch is a little much for something that will take around 40% when it switches in with a huge likely hood that it'll be 2HKOed from there. Revenge kills considered, Slowbro is still not a great switch.

[zorbees]

Originally Posted by Fat Hipmonlee

It also includes pokemon switched in by use of roar.

Which seems like scizor could be high up in since it is the most used pokemon.

Have a nice day.

Ah, I asked Colin this on IRC but, unless I skipped it or something, I don't remember getting an answer.

Latias, Heatran's most common switch-in, is 7th on the list of Pokemon that Heatran switches in against. That struck me as a little odd, don't know how often this happens because I just skimmed the stats a bit.

[Toaster]

wow really awesome thanks colin!

[DJXO9]

Originally Posted by Fat zorbees

Ah, I asked Colin this on IRC but, unless I skipped it or something, I don't remember getting an answer.

Latias, Heatran's most common switch-in, is 7th on the list of Pokemon that Heatran switches in against. That struck me as a little odd, don't know how often this happens because I just skimmed the stats a bit.

Probably because when Heatran switches in, it takes a Dragon Pulse or Draco Meteor, and Scarfed variants can attack with Dragon Pulse or Explosion if need be.

Latias switces in because it resists Heatran's main moves Fire Blast/Overheat/Flamethrower and Earth Power. It also resists HP Electric/Grass.

The overall reason is because the two resist each other's main Choice moves.

[DougJustDoug**]

This is great stuff, Colin! I've always wanted to see switching stats. I'm glad you broke it down into two perspectives (subject and object switches); it makes it very easy to find the data I'm interested in. Thanks for doing this!