Ask a Simple Question; Get a Simple Answer & General Resources (OU Edition)

[Matthew]

MK I

If you're thinking of making a topic that can be answered with one post, please post it here instead. New threads should be for discussion!

When posting in this thread, follow the following guidelines:

1. Your answers should contain at least a brief explanation, even if it was the simplest of questions.
2. While answering Yes/No question, please quote the question you're referring to. It gets confusing otherwise.
3. At least do a simple google search before asking the question here.
4. This is already in the Smogon and Dragonspiral Tower forum rules, but I will reiterate again do not discuss ROMs or other illegal things.
5. Do not ask for Action Replay or other external device codes. Use Google for that.

Frequently Asked Questions
What does [move / item / ability] do?
Check the links in this topic before asking. http://www.smogon.com/forums/showthread.php?t=78983
Also read the first post here: http://www.smogon.com/forums/showthread.php?t=79340

How can I view an alphabetical listing of all the Pokemon threads?
Click here.

Can we breed Dream World Abilities?
From the research thread:

CONFIRMED Breeding a Dream World female parent with any male parent (but not vice versa) has a chance of giving the offspring its respective Dream World Ability. It is unknown whether Ditto counts as the female for this purpose, and we won't know until DW Ditto is released. (Maverick Hunter, 0mastar\The Shadow Knight)

Can you use Rotom's alternate forms over WiFi?
Yes.

Why can't I select a Pokémon to replace a fainted in a Pokémon in a Triple Battle?
First you have to select which Pokémon you want to have replaced. If multiple Pokémon fainted, the game doesn't know which Pokémon you want on which position. So what you have to do is first select one of your fainted pokemon, and then select which unfainted pokemon you want to replace it with. (Thanks Chieliee)

What damage calculator should I use for 5th Gen?
Many a user will rave about this one. You may need microsoft silverlight to run it though.

Gen 5 Resources
Index of Discussion Threads - always check before making a new discussion thread to prevent duplicates

Rotation Battle Discussion
1v1 Metagame Discussion

Creative Movesets Threads

Ubers
OU
UU (TBA)
RU
NU
DW
LC

5th Gen Speed Tiers

Dexes and Other Resources

Veekun - A dex including detailed info on every pokemon's learnset, abilities and stats. Has a powerfull search tool which makes it more suited for competitive purposes.

Serebii - Includes detailed in-game information for every generation, may be less suited for competitivity due to game mechanic inconsistencies

upokecenter - Contains in-depth information on the battle system and other aspects of the Pokemon games for all five generations

Excel Pokedex - An Excel spreadsheet suited for those who value the utility of an offline pokedex

Black/White Animated Pokemon Sprites - A resource created by aragonbird for easy access to all animated sprites.

Training

EV Training Hotspots
Effort Value Yield List
X-Act's Ideal Defensive EV Calculator
Gen 5 Defense Tiers
Metalkid's IV Calculator

Dream World

List of Released Dream World Abilities
How to Access the Dream World Through Global Link

Battle Mechanics

Black\White Research Thread

In-Game

Black & White Battle Subway Records
Item Locations
In-Game Discussion
In-Game Tier List
Battle Subway Pokémon Data

In-Game Challenges

Nuzlocke
Scramble


Translation Help

jumpluff's Japanese to English Pokémon Dictionary
Japanese Character Recognition site - for transferring Japanese in pictures to text so it can be translated through Google Translate\Babelfish

Damage Calculators

Slipperjeans' Damage Calculator - An Excel Calculator including all Gen 5 Pokemon, Moves, Items and Abilities
Smogon's Damage Calculator - NOTE: Has not yet been updated with 5th gen Pokémon, but you can still enter stats by hand
Note: You can use Korski's list to copy/paste stats into this calculator for easier use.
Masara's Damage calculator
Honko's damage calculator - NOTE: Needs Microsoft Silverlight to run

RNG Manipulation

4th Gen RNG Help\Information
5th Gen RNG Research

Battle simulators

Pokemon Online
Pokemon Showdown!
Forum for Smogon's Pokémon Online server

Important aesoft Links

Battle Replayer
Warstory Generator development

Previous Simple Question; Simple Answer Threads:

The first SQSA thread can be found here.
The second can be found here.
The third can be found here.
The fourth is here.
The very brief fifth one is here.

Well here's the new & improved SQ;SA everyone! Sorry for dropping these on you so quick. Either way let's hope this answers a lot more questions right off the bat than the previous ones.

Genny EDIT:

HOW DARE YOU CHANGE THE TITLE I WORKED SO HARD ON!

[The QWAZ]

Can you soft reset an egg so that when it hatches it has a certian ability?

[atsync]

Originally Posted by Fat The QWAZ

Can you soft reset an egg so that when it hatches it has a certian ability?

Once you collect the egg, everything about it is set. Therefore, saving the game AFTER you collect the egg and soft reseting is useless since it will always hatch the same thing. However, if you save in front of the daycare man BEFORE you collect the egg, you can keep soft reseting until you get whatever ability/gender/ivs/nature you want because it will be different each time you collect the egg.

[ShortsTheory]

Couple of questions:

Can a pokemon with the ability Insomnia be put to sleep for the DW?

Can Blaze Blaziken be used in non-Uber tiers? Don't tell me to use Infernape instead.

Thanks.

[Haunter**]

Can Blaze Blaziken be used in non-Uber tiers? Don't tell me to use Infernape instead.

No, Blaziken is banned as a whole.

[Lady Salamence]

The ability Insomnia only affects in-battle sleep, such as Hypnosis and Sleep Powder.

[TrueKite]

Is a super-effective Brick Break stronger than a neutral STAB Dragon Claw?

[Haunter**]

Yes, it's 150 base power against 120.

[The QWAZ]

Why was the last SQSA thread closed so quickly?

[Matthew]

Because we're currently going through a DST revamp. The heads and I figured that we should combine the general resources announcement with the SQSA thread due to general resources answering a lot of questions that are asked in this thread.

I didn't want to update the 5th SQSA with a new OP that people probably wouldn't see, so I simply locked it & created this bigger, stronger SQSA thread.

[Onicon]

What does an offensive Scizor do with 229 speed? Which important threats it can outspeed that way?

[Zacchaeus]

Originally Posted by Fat Onicon

What does an offensive Scizor do with 229 speed? Which important threats it can outspeed that way?

It outspeeds any Tyranitar, Magnezone, Abomasnow, Jellicent, Scrafty, or Blissey that aren't using a Choice Scarf or +Speed nature. It outspeeds any base 50 and ties with any base 55, both lacking Choice Scarf. I really can't find anything else useful at that slow of a bracket

[TrueKite]

What's the difference between Trick and Switcheroo besides the type?

[winterpetrel]

Originally Posted by Fat TrueKite

What's the difference between Trick and Switcheroo besides the type?

Only the distribution, either one works the same way.

[Mario With Lasers]

Originally Posted by Fat TrueKite

What's the difference between Trick and Switcheroo besides the type?

None.

Yeah, they created a Trick clone, gave the move to a 3-4 pokémon and in the following game (Platinum), they made a Trick tutor who would then teach the move to a hundred pokémon. Go figure.

[Ithilanor]

Is there a physical sweeper in OU that pairs well with SubSD Terrakion for a strong one-two punch...that doesn't have issues with Scald, and Water-type attacks in general? Right now I'm using Lucario, but bulky waters generally cause me lots of issues.

[Joeyboy]

Originally Posted by Fat Ithilanor

Is there a physical sweeper in OU that pairs well with SubSD Terrakion for a strong one-two punch...that doesn't have issues with Scald, and Water-type attacks in general? Right now I'm using Lucario, but bulky waters generally cause me lots of issues.

You might wanna give sd virizion a go. Give it a lum berry to act as a buffer against scald but other than that it sets up all over bulky waters. Another option is bulk up breloom, though he is slower.

[Tenodera]

I can sing the praises of SubDD Gyarados all day, but it sets up on just about all Water Pokemon (except Rotom-W) with ease. The Earthquake immunity and Fighting resistance also help it partner with Terrakion.

Virizion and 'loom are both excellent suggestions, but I can throw this one out too.

[Ithilanor]

Thanks for the suggestions. (Incidentally, the rest of my team is Hippowdon, Latias, Scizor, and Rotom-W.) I think SubDD Gyara would be the best fit, I'll try it out.

[StallMandibuzz]

Does anyone know if Sucker Punch gets the first-attack advantage if the enemy is using Metronome in HGSS?

[Wobbanaut]

I would think no because Metronone is Tauntable

[StallMandibuzz]

Awesome. Hopefully not, since I have to solo Morty's Gengar with Metronome for a Scramble, and the only attacking move it can touch me with is Sucker Punch. :|

[Ianny]

Hello everyone, I'm pretty new compared to all of you to this game, and I have a question which I'm not sure should go in this thread but I'll try. So I'm going to start a new game on Pokemon white and planning to play competitive in future. Would u have any advises on how should I start with this , maybe ev train Pokemon from the start or smth. What is required from the very beginning I mean. I'm pretty new to ev training and items and skill setups , though I had finished diamond story line . Thank you

[Wobbanaut]

Well if you're not using a simulator first you should hatch an egg with a good nature and good IVs to do this it's easier to just RNG abuse and then you EV train you should look at the smogon analyses to see what a good set is after you get acquainted to the game you can devise your own sets to suit your needs

[Ianny]

Thank you for your answer but should I finish the game first and then catch Pokemon for my wifi team to be effective or can I like try to get them from the start as I run through the game